Seed Grants - Wild Animal Initiative
Seed Grants support academic researchers with preliminary studies and method development that build a foundation for future wild animal welfare research and inform improvements for many animals.
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Funder: Wild Animal Initiative
Due Dates: October 31, 2026 (Expression of Interest) | January 30, 2027 (Invited full proposal)
Funding Amounts: Up to $30,000 USD total for projects lasting six months to two years
Summary: Seed Grants support preliminary research and method development that lay the groundwork for future wild animal welfare studies.
Key Information: Projects must have a principal investigator affiliated with a university or other research institution.
Description
Wild Animal Initiative’s Seed Grants fund small academic research projects addressing preliminary questions before researchers attempt welfare indicator validation or develop proposals for its other research grant types. Supported activities include systematic literature reviews, meta-analyses, observational and pilot studies, identifying potential welfare indicators, and prototyping data collection methods or technology. The program emphasizes groundwork that can generate justified hypotheses and lead to a subsequent competitive proposal.
The wider grants program aims to establish a pathway from foundational research to responsible interventions that improve wild animal welfare. Projects must explicitly address welfare—the quality of animals’ subjective experiences—rather than only fitness, health, or conservation. Field, laboratory, and desk studies, including theoretical research, can be considered when their relevance to wild animal welfare is clearly articulated.
