Project Apis m. Funding Grant

Project Apis m. Funding Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Project Apis m. (PAm)
Amount: US $5,000 - US $200,000
Last Updated: December 21, 2025

Summary

Project Apis m. is dedicated to enhancing honey bee health and crop production through research funding. With over $10 million allocated since 2006, the organization supports innovative projects addressing bee health, nutrition, and pest management. Proposals are confidential and evaluated based on their scientific rigor and relevance to industry needs. Funding ranges from $5,000 to $200,000, with a focus on sustainable solutions that benefit beekeepers and agriculture in North America.

Overview

NOTE: Researchers can submit proposals at any time and there are three review cycles per year. Please allow 3 months after each deadline for for the decision and review process to take place, and please submit only one proposal per cycle. Project Apis m.'s mission Is to fund and direct research to enhance the health and vitality of honey bee colonies while improving crop production. FAQ's & Research Proposal Guidelines for Applicants Since its inception in 2006, Project Apis m. has infused over $10 million into bee research and programs in the USA and Canada, including more than 160 projects involving research institutions throughout North America. We have brought new technologies to honey bee health research, discovered new pathogens, developed Best Management Practices programs, and are supporting long-term stock improvement. We are recipients of grants from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), and USDA-APHIS. Project Apis m. is the largest non-governmental, non-profit bee research funding organization in North America. Thank you for your interest in submitting a research proposal to Project Apis m. We are funded largely by beekeepers and farmers, and dedicated to enhancing the health of honey bees, thereby improving crop production. Proposals are expected to clearly state how they fulfill our mission. Proposals and the review process are kept confidential. We offer the following frequently asked questions to help you submit a research proposal to Project Apis m. for project funding. Proposals are reviewed by the executive director, scientific advisory board, ad-hoc reviewers, and a board of directors. Projects must clearly meet the criteria outlined in the Request for Proposals or address PAm’s mission. Please note proposals must be scientifically sound (i.e., short format USDA or NSF grants without all the extra forms). Funding decisions are primarily based on an overall evaluation, which includes the following review criteria: Focus on solving problems facing the beekeeping industry in either the short or long term.Relevance to bee health, nutrition, productivity, crop pollination                                        Likelihood of obtaining practical/usable results for the beekeeping industryProject strengths and weaknesses    Inclusion of unique strategies, sustainable solutions, or establishment of knowledge that will lead to sustainable solutions in the long-term                                       Use of adequate experimental approaches, inclusion of logically linked experiments and project feasibilityIdentification of risks and adequate solutions (e.g., potential pitfalls and solutions)Likelihood of success (PIs credibility, record of success, experience with techniques, etc.)Adequate indication that PI(s) will communicate their findings to commercial beekeepers.Economical and adequate budget for proposed research What type of research projects does Project Apis m. fund? Project Apis m. seeks projects that will ultimately improve honey bee health. Our main areas of focus include: pests and disease prevention and control,honey bee nutrition, impacts of pesticides on bees, and long-term honey bee stock improvement. We are looking for projects that fill the gaps in honey bee research, and benefit honey bees and agriculture in the USA and Canada. The reviewers will ask questions that ensure the commercial beekeeping community will benefit from the research and its application. For example, PAm seeks research projects that will: Enhance the economic viability of pollination businesses.Provide practical solutions for managed colonies.Yield results that can be efficiently transferred into field practice.Provide an excellent rate of return for beekeepers and farmers. How much does PAm fund? PAm funding is dependent on the project and the goals. We have funded from $5,000 – $200,000. Typically, proposals are in the range from $20,000 to $40,000. As you might imagine, the higher the funding request, the more scrutiny administered in the proposal review. We offer several initiative RFPs, in addition to accepting proposals outside those periods, and do our best to coordinate funding with other industry sources to partner and avoid duplication. RFP: Project Apis m. and the National Honey Board ​are requesting research proposals to support ​and enhance honey bee health. Background U.S. Honey yield per colony is decreasing while colony losses are increasing, as many crops dependent on pollination services continue to expand. Winter honey bee colony losses in the United States were reported at 37.7% during 2019. Colony losses are often attributed to pathogens, parasites, pesticides, hive management (queen mating, genetics, maintenance), climate, and available nutrition. United States honey yield per colony averaged 54.4 pounds in 2018, down 2% from 55.5 pounds in 2017. (www.nass.usda.gov) Sustainable beekeeping is dependent on maximizing outputs (colony health, colony numbers, pollination contracts, honey production, profitability) while minimizing the inputs (time, money, personnel). A sustainable beekeeping industry contributes to a more sustainable agricultural landscape through a stable supply of bees for crop pollination. Therefore, PAm is requesting research proposals that focus on enhancing the health, survival and productivity of honey bee colonies, which provide practical and tangible solutions to the beekeeping industry. The funding sponsor for these proposals is the National Honey Board (NHB), with Project Apis m. (PAm) administering the proposal, accountability and funding process. The NHB funds, collected by a federal research and promotion program ($0.015/lb), for Production Research, were approximately $347,000 in 2019. PAm administers several other initiatives with funding from many sources, including corporate sponsors, private donations and grants. Past proposals received and funded by PAm and NHB reflect a similar focus on supporting the industry. The National Honey Board is an industry-funded agriculture promotion group that works to educate consumers about the benefits and uses for honey and honey products through research, marketing and promotional programs. Project Apis m. is the largest nongovernmental, non-profit honey bee research organization in the USA. Established by beekeepers and almond growers in 2006, PAm has infused over $8 million into bee research to provide growers with healthier bees resulting in better pollination and increased crop yields. Priority Areas for Funding With this call for research proposals, PAm is requesting proposals for research addressing honey bee health, nutrition and productivity. Priority will be given to proposals which aim to produce solutions to industry problems. Current specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to: Addressing practices for sustainable profitability of beekeeping and the provision of pollination services to agriculture Innovations to control and manage AFB, EFB, nosema, varroa and viruses Studying and developing innovative management techniques including: indoor overwintering; supplemental forage impacts on pollinators, resource management, and landscape carrying capacity; cropping system management.addressing gaps in honey bee complete nutrition pollination and colony density economics, including stocking rates, land use and landscape level comparisons, transportation and inspection impacts cover crop efficacy and management studies including seed composition, implementation, establishment, termination, soil benefits, pest/pathogen/beneficial insect use, frost, irrigation, etc. Other projects will be considered, and research outside the U.S. is possible (all application materials must be in English). The goal of this research is to help producers maintain colony health and honey production. Most proposals will likely be of one-year duration. If multi-year projects are considered, it is with the understanding that funding for subsequent years would be contingent on performance and National Honey Board budget availability beyond 2020. The amount of funds available for a particular proposal will depend on the number and merit of successful proposals.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Project Apis m. funds research institutions, USDA-ARS, universities, agricultural extension, etc. primarily in the USA and Canada. International applications can be considered, but will be held to the same expectation of benefitting agriculture and bees in the USA and Canada. Our scientific advisors are attentive to scientific methods, proper controls, and reproducible results. Proposals should be clear cut, have practical implications, and generally lend themselves to statistical interpretation.