ASP Melinda Novak Primate Welfare Grant

ASP Melinda Novak Primate Welfare Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: American Society of Primatologists
Amount: Up to US $2,000
Last Updated: February 07, 2026

Summary

The ASP Melinda Novak Primate Welfare Grant supports innovative research aimed at enhancing the welfare of nonhuman primates across various settings. Projects must receive prior approval from ethical review boards, and applicants must be current ASP members. The focus is on welfare-based initiatives, with merit-based evaluation emphasizing innovation, research quality, and potential impact. The grant encourages collaboration and requires letters of recommendation, ensuring comprehensive support for welfare advancements.

Overview

ASP Primate Welfare Grant Funding for the ASP Primate Welfare Grant will be awarded to research projects designed to improve the lives of nonhuman primates in any setting (captive, semi-free ranging, and wild) which are highly impactful and innovative. Grant proposals should be designed to test hypotheses relating to the development/piloting of new welfare-based ideas and the evaluation of their impact. Examples include (but are not limited to) the evaluation of: innovative enrichment and/or husbandry techniques; new clinical or behavioral treatments; improvements to positive reinforcement training; new technologies as welfare tools; new concepts that directly affect wild primate welfare; ways that the environment (space, structure, location, social composition, social network analysis, etc.) can affect behavior, health, and welfare; innovative, noninvasive methods of assessing health and well-being; etc. Proposals focused purely on conservation or basic research activities are not eligible as a welfare focus is required. Assurance should be given that if adjunct funding critical to the overall project does not arrive, the ASP funds will only be used for the proposed project. Field/Zoo/Sanctuary/Research Facility applications will be treated equally. For proposals that include an (optional) education or outreach component, applicants should describe the proposed activity and how they will evaluate the success of that activity. Projects must document full approval by their Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, or equivalent ethical research reviewing body, before funds are disbursed.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Applicants must be a current ASP Member. Membership in ASP for individuals from habitat or developing countries is FREE for those unable to pay dues.Please contact the ASP Treasurer for more details on complimentary membership. Please note that new and complimentary memberships can take up to a week to process.For an ASP Primate Welfare Grant application, you will need to provide two letters of recommendation. The online grant application will require the email addresses of your two letters of recommendation and automatically emails them with instructions on how to submit their letters. To ensure that the letters are received in time for review, these letters should be submitted within 2 weeks of the grant application deadline.Undergraduate and graduate student applicants must have a sponsor/mentor. The sponsor/mentor does not need to be a member of ASP but should write one of the two letters of recommendation.Postdoctoral, junior faculty, and other professionals do not need a mentor to apply.The applicant must be officially affiliated with an institution that can assure that the funds are used appropriately (e.g., Primate Center, University, Foundation or established Field Program), funds will be distributed to the institution, not the individual. You must be a member of this organization to apply for this award - become a member. Applicants must be a current ASP Member. Membership in ASP for individuals from habitat or developing countries is FREE for those unable to pay dues. Please contact the ASP Treasurer for more details on complimentary membership. Please note that new and complimentary memberships can take up to a week to process.

Ineligibility

Funds should not be used to support institutional overhead costs, build institutional infrastructure, to purchase institutional equipment that is typically provided by the sponsoring institution, or to cover publishing fees.Previously awarded applicants are not eligible to apply the following year after receipt of funding.