Indo-Pacific Cetacean Research and Conservation Fund 2012: Overview

2012 funding round closed 7 February 2012.

The Indo-Pacific Cetacean Research and Conservation Fund (IPCF) is a competitive grant program administered by the Australian Marine Mammal Centre (AMMC) on behalf of the Australian Government. The Fund aims to attract high quality, innovative and relevant research projects that address research and conservation challenges of interest to the Australian Government, developing countries in the Indo-Pacific Region and the cetacean research and conservation community more generally. The fund comprises approximately AUD$100,000 for the 2012 funding round.

The overall aim of the IPCF is to:

Promote positive conservation outcomes for cetaceans in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean regions by supporting priority cetacean research and related activities that are consistent with priorities of Australia and for the Indian and South Pacific Ocean regions.

Specifically, the objectives are:

  1. to build a stronger scientific base for cetacean policy and conservation in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly within developing countries
  2. to deepen the pool of academic expertise about cetaceans within developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region that have traditionally received relatively less research attention
  3. to contribute to cetacean research efforts for the global public good
  4. to develop partner country capacity to solve local cetacean research, conservation and management issues
  5. to foster linkages that encourage solutions to cetacean research and conservation challenges

For further information on the IPCF, please email the AMMC Coordinator at ammccoordinator@aad.gov.au. A summary of the IPCF and projects funded in 2010 was featured in a recent issue of Australian Antarctic Magazine.

Applications

For further information about the IPCF and applying for grants please consult the IPCF guidelines. All Expressions of Interest (EOIs) must be submitted on the approved IPCF Expression of Interest template [Word]. Please consult the South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) Whale and Dolphin Action Plan 2008-12 [PDF] and/or the Lankanfinolhu Declaration 2009 [PDF] when developing applications.

All EOIs and subsequent full applications will be considering and reviewed by the IPCF Steering Committee.

Please note that the IPCF is open to applications from not-for profit organisations from both inside and outside Australia that meet all the criteria outlined in the IPCF Guidelines. When reviewing the guidelines, "international organisations", should be interpreted as organisations based outside Australia rather than organisations with offices in more than one country.

Successful applicants will enter into a Standard Australian Commonwealth Government Funding Agreement. Sample Funding Agreements are for Under AUD$50,000 [Word] or Over AUD$50,000 [Word]. Projects for more than $30,000 in total are for multi-year approved projects.

Expressions of Interest

EOIs are called for the Australian Government’s 2012 Indo-Pacific Cetacean Research and Conservation Fund. A full application will then be invited for successful EOIs. The grant program, run by the Australian Marine Mammal Centre at the Australian Antarctic Division, aims to promote positive conservation outcomes for whales and dolphins in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. This is the third year of the program, with approximately $100,000 available in this grant round. EOIs close on 7 February 2012 and must be on the IPCF EOI form [Word]. More Information is available above or you can contact the ammccoordinator@aad.gov.au.