NABS Research Grant

Research Grants.  Grants for research projects are competitive and all applications are invited via a Request for Proposals (RFP) that is published annually in the summer issue of Bluebird and on the NABS website (www.nabluebirdsociety.org).  The RFP details precisely the format and time schedule for submitting a competitive grant proposal.  The deadline for submission each year is October 31, and awardees will be notified of their selection before February 1st of the next year.  Broadly speaking two kinds of research grants are recognized:  1) pure research grants which examine some aspect of bluebird (or other native cavity nesting species) biology, ecology, or life cycle (e.g., a study of nestbox parasites on chick health) or, 2) applied research grants (e.g., finding more effective ways of defeating nest box predators).   Regardless of whether the grant falls in the category of pure or applied research the same basic elements of the scientific method must be evident in the proposal.  The proposal must clearly state the research question (or hypothesis) and it must show a thoughtful design which has proper controls, a sufficient number of replications (i.e., power) and other quality assurance measures are in place so that conclusions can be verified by some kind of statistical (simple or advanced) analysis.  A proposed project budget as well as how much support is requested from NABS is required.  It is important that the proposal directly show how it addresses the NABS mission as stated above.  Research grants are scored by the NABS grants committee which gives award recommendations to the Board of Directors. Any questions about research grants mentioned in the RFP can be addressed by email (bdaniel@cinci.rr.com) prior to an application submission.