Utility Arborist Research Fund (UARF) Grant
The UARF Grant funds research to advance safety, reliability, and best practices in utility vegetation management, with an emphasis on impactful, widely disseminated results.
Funder: Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund
Due Dates (Anticipated): March 2027: Letter of Intent deadline (projected) | March 2027: Full application submission deadline (projected)
Funding Amounts: Up to $50,000 per award; minimum $10,000; project duration 1–3 years; 1–5 grants/year.
Summary: Supports research to improve safety, reliability, and best practices in utility vegetation management, with results disseminated to both academic and practitioner communities.
Description
The Utility Arborist Research Fund (UARF) Grant, managed by the Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund) in partnership with the Utility Arborist Association (UAA), funds research addressing critical issues in utility vegetation management. The grant aims to enhance employee, contractor, and public safety, improve service reliability, and support regulatory compliance. Projects should deliver measurable changes in urban forest management and produce tangible outputs such as publications or outreach materials. TREE Fund emphasizes broad dissemination of research findings to maximize practical impact and welcomes innovative proposals relevant to the utility vegetation sector. The program encourages projects that address prioritized topics—safety, reliability, and compliance—but is open to other relevant research questions.
