Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellowship

Eligibility

Eligible scholars will be exceptional researchers, who have received their PhD prior to the start of the fellowship. Applicants should propose to be based at a Canadian academic or conservation institution, but researchers from any country are eligible for consideration. Applicants will identify a mentorship team of at least one academic and at least one conservation practitioner mentor. Applicants are encouraged to identify the mentor team early in their proposal to foster a meaningful collaboration.

Support

The fellowship will consist of 2 years of support (the second year contingent upon satisfactory progress) with $55,000/yr in salary and a $15,000 annual travel and research budget.

Timeline

Applications for the 2014 fellows are now being accepted (closing date November 1, 2013). Learn more about the 2013 fellows.

Application materials

Fellows will be selected based on evidence of their success and emergence as leaders in a conservation-relevant research field, as well as on the merit of their proposed research and mentorship team. Research proposals must demonstrate a candidate’s capacity to identify a key conservation challenge and must describe how the proposed work will contribute to solving the challenge. The quality and appropriateness of the mentoring team will also be a key consideration, and the proposal should highlight how the team will collaborate to address the conservation problem. Accordingly, the application consists of the following major components. First, register your application, then compile the following as a PDF:

Cover letter (maximum of one page) – Only a short cover letter is requested, which should not repeat information in the application. Rather, it should be a synthesis and tell us more about yourself and your goals.

Research proposal (maximum of four pages) – The proposal is freeform and can be structured as most appropriate, but it must include:

Conservation problem: A successful application must clearly define a conservation problem in Canada that will be tackled and how the fellowship will contribute to solving the problem.

Methods: A section (minimum one page) outlining the methods and approaches to be used, indicating any novel approaches to be developed.

Mentorship: A section clarifying how the applicant and the mentorship team plan to work together to affect real-world change regarding the stated conservation problem.

Impact: A section must describe the potential impact of the proposed research, specifying the communities most likely to benefit from the results.

References: Additional page(s) for literature cited may be included beyond the four page limit.

Statement highlighting past accomplishments demonstrating the candidate’s commitment to conservation science, outreach, and collaborations (maximum of 500 words).

Copy of the applicant’s CV, listing relevant publications, grants, and experiences.

Letters of support from proposed academic and conservation practitioner mentors, a minimum of two. In cases where there are multiple academic mentors, a joint letter is encouraged, when possible (ditto for cases involving multiple conservation practitioner mentors).

Letters of support from two academic references.

All of the material should be submitted to info@liberero.ca as a single PDF; the letters from academic references may be sent directly.

More information can be found in the Fellowship FAQ page.