UFAW: Small Research Grants

UFAW: Small Research Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Universities Federation for Animal Welfare
Amount: Up to £5,000
Last Updated: November 28, 2025

Summary

The UFAW Small Research Grants support research aimed at improving animal welfare across various species, including those affected by human activity. Grants of up to £5,000 are available for projects that focus on scientific advancements in animal welfare, addressing challenges faced by farm, zoo, and companion animals, among others. The initiative encourages innovative research that promotes the well-being of animals while ensuring that animal welfare is the central focus of all funded projects.

Overview

About UFAW The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) is an independent registered charity that works with the animal welfare science community worldwide to develop and promote improvements in the welfare of animals through scientific and educational activity. UFAW has long promoted and supported a scientific approach aimed at finding ways to gain insight into what matters to animals, assessing their welfare and improving the quality of their lives through practical developments in all aspects of their care. Purpose UFAW’s purpose is to support science which is in the service of animal welfare. We fund research and other activities which help to understand and/or ameliorate challenges to the welfare of animals. We are interested in the welfare of all animal species where they are affected by humankind including farm, zoo, companion, laboratory and wild or feral animals. UFAW is concerned with the welfare of animals when it is affected by humankind, so work which reduces animal suffering whilst also addressing conservation issues may be supported but a clear case for how the work benefits animal welfare must be made. Small Research Grants UFAW is concerned with the welfare of farm, companion, laboratory, captive wild animals, and with free-living wild animals whose welfare is compromised by humans. Through our Small Research Grants, UFAW supports smaller research projects (up to £5,000) for the benefit of animal welfare.  Animal welfare must be the main focus.

Eligibility

We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The UFAW Small Research Grant is open for all individuals/organisations worldwide, to support scientific research projects to improve or advance the welfare of animals.  Grant are open to any applicant, worldwide.Where a project forms part of a student’s compulsory coursework, we would normally expect the host institution to support such projects in their entirety and any application to fund such work would need to clearly justify why this was not possible and indicate what contribution the institution is making.

Ineligibility

We do not support projects focused on e.g. conservation or the improvement of livestock yield.  Although we think species conservation is admirable, we won’t fund work where the sole aim is conservation.We do not fund work where the main focus is animal productivity or improvement of livestock yield.  We do not generally fund work which has already taken place or is already wholly funded by another body.