RFP Invited from Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) to Fund Science to Solutions Teams

RFP invited from Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) to Fund Science to Solutions Teams

About the Organization:

The Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between three partners: The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. SNAPP envisions a world where protecting and promoting nature works in concert with sustainable development and improving human well-being. They deliver evidence-based, scalable solutions to global challenges at the intersection of nature conservation, sustainable development, and human well-being.

Background:

The world’s most urgent conservation and sustainable development challenges demand innovative and decision-relevant solutions. The Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) believes successful solutions require integration of science with strategy, and a process that requires collaboration across sectors and organizations. They now release our 2020 Request for Proposals to find new cross-sector and interdisciplinary teams willing to do science differently for lasting impact.

SNAPP funds science that rapidly leads to tangible and enduring benefits to conservation and sustainable development. To achieve this, SNAPP funds teams of 12-15 people from diverse organizations to gather for 3-4 collaborative sessions over the course of 12-24 months.

Each year, SNAPP provides up to US $1 million total across 4-6 approved working groups, led by academic, governmental agency, multilateral, or nonprofit institutions.

What does SNAPP mean by sustainable economic development, human well-being, and nature conservation?

• Sustainable economic development refers to the policy and investments that create the conditions for equitable and inclusive economic growth and improved quality of life by expanding livelihood opportunities for all segments of society including individuals, business interests, and communities while advancing mutual gain for the public and the private sector.
• Human well-being, in the broadest terms, is about the objective and subjective factors that make up a person's health and quality of life. It is context specific. Human well-being can be affected by material and non-material components, such as basic material needs (e.g., adequate income, housing), physical and mental health, social relations (e.g., cohesion, strong social support networks), freedom and choice, governance, and equity and equality.
• Nature conservation can refer to either broad issues of conservation that are problem-oriented (e.g., climate change, land-use change, sustainable fisheries, biodiversity offsets, illegal trade in wildlife) or biodiversity conservation efforts directly (e.g., matters related to composition, structure, and function of ecosystems). Nature conservation can also include efforts focused on conserving ecological processes that form the foundation for ecosystem services (e.g., natural flow regimes, fire regimes, nutrient cycling).

Who is eligible to apply for a SNAPP working group?

• Researchers and practitioners of any nationality affiliated with an academic, governmental agency, multilateral, or nonprofit institution may submit a proposal. Individuals operating independently are also eligible to apply.
• Individuals from private sector institutions are fully eligible to be participants of a working group but are not eligible to lead SNAPP working groups as PIs.
• Individuals and organizations from the humanitarian and development sectors are encouraged to submit SNAPP proposals.
• Proposals from low- and middle-income countries are especially welcomed.

What is the model of a good working group?

SNAPP has supported synthesis science teams since 2013. In an evaluation of our outcomes, we have found that effective working groups tend to include the following:

• A trans-disciplinary team of 12-15 individuals from a broad suite of sectors, institutions, and specialties who would not otherwise convene around a science and conservation challenge. Scientists, practitioners, other experts, and (in some cases) stakeholders will work together from the beginning to design the project and co-produce its products and outcomes.
• A willingness to abide by SNAPP’s open science data principles.
• Principal Investigators (PIs, or team leads) with demonstrable experience and skills leading diverse teams to achieve both scientific and action-oriented objectives.
• Working group members from WCS and/or TNC are highly recommended, as are representatives from other conservation and sustainable development NGOs (and similar organizations or government agencies). See the related question below about working group composition.
• One designated Communications Liaison to work with SNAPP staff on the outreach aspects of the project, including the creation of a project website and announcements about products and outcomes. This could be one of the PIs, a post-doc, or another working group member who has agreed to fulfill this role.

Due Date: 10 June 2020* at 5:00pm, Pacific Time

Website: https://snappartnership.net/

For inquiries email: proposal@snappartnership.net

For more information please check the Link