Science for Nature and People Partnership Grant Program

The Science for Nature and People Partnership Grant Program, launched by The Nature Conservancy and Wildlife Conservation Society, supports interdisciplinary teams addressing global environmental challenges. With up to $1 million in funding distributed annually, the program encourages collaboration among scientists, policymakers, and communities to develop scalable solutions in areas such as climate resilience, biodiversity protection, and social equity. Eligible applicants include diverse institutions, fostering inclusive participation from low- and middle-income countries.

Note: Accepting Concept Notes November 3, 2025 to January 6, 2026; The Full RFP Proposal Form will be open by invitation only to applicants who submitted successful concept notes, from February 17, 2026 to April 6, 2026*
About the Grants
SNAPP is a global collaboration launched by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to unite scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and communities around major environmental, social and development challenges. Its Grant Program supports interdisciplinary working groups that produce science‑based, scalable solutions at the intersection of nature conservation, sustainable development, and human well‑being. SNAPP funds working‑group teams that synthesise existing knowledge, co‑create tools or policy‑ready outputs, and help translate science into actionable solutions for issues like climate resilience, water security, food systems, ocean sustainability, biodiversity protection, and social equity. Each year, SNAPP distributes up to US $1 million in total across 4–6 approved working groups.
Benefits
Funding for multidisciplinary working groups combining science, policy, and practice — enabling collaboration between academics, NGOs, governments, community groups, and practitioners.Support for Research Fellows (post‑docs, grad students, research assistants) — including salaries/benefits, giving early‑career researchers a platform to contribute meaningfully under expert mentorship.Funding for meetings and coordination — covering in‑person or virtual workshop costs, travel, facilitation, communications, and technical support to help teams build synthesis science and co‑design solutions.Ability to generate actionable policy/science outputs — peer‑reviewed publications, decision‑support tools, policy briefs, restoration plans or social‑ecological recommendations that can influence conservation, development or governance.Emphasis on equity, inclusion and global reach — SNAPP welcomes applicants from any country; teams can include institutions from low‑ and middle‑income countries; diverse sectors (indigenous/community organisations, NGOs, governments, academia) are encouraged.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include institutions or organisations — academic, governmental, multilateral, or non‑profit — from any nationality. Independent researchers are also eligible. Working groups must be led by 2–3 Principal Investigators (PIs) from different organisations. Team composition should include 12–15 members, representing a mix of sectors: academia, non-profits, community groups or government/policy bodies. At least one full‑time Research Fellow (postdoc, graduate student, or research assistant) with a structured mentorship plan must be included in the proposal. Private-sector institutions can participate but are not eligible to lead as PIs. Proposals must address a question at the intersection of conservation/nature and human well‑being/development: e.g. climate resiliencewater/food securityocean sustainability social equitysustainable development biodiversitySNAPP explicitly funds: research‑fellow salaries meeting costs (in‑person or virtual)facilitation analysis/communications/administrative support

Ineligibility

Pure technical research without a clear link to nature + people solutions, heavy infrastructure, or purely field‑data collection are generally not eligible.SNAPP does not fund: PI salariesmajor data collection or primary fieldwork (unless small part of broader synthesis)infrastructure equipmentlobbyingpurely speculative research lacking application