[Funding Opportunity] COVID-19 Science Fund by National Geographic Society

Funding opportunity by the National Geographic Society for up to US$50,000 for issues related to Covid-19 and cultural heritage. Statements of Interest are due at the end of this month (March 2021).

In response to worldwide disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Geographic Society is providing funding for projects focused on how humanity and the natural world have reacted to and are living through the unparalleled circumstances created by COVID-19 in order to better understand how this pandemic—or the threat of another—will shape our world for years to come. Proposed projects should seek to better understand and/or provide solutions to the situations created or magnified by the pandemic, thereby helping us to understand and address the challenges and changes of living in a COVID-19 world.

This fund invites research, conservation, and technology projects on the following two (2) topics; below are examples of the types of questions and projects that the Society would like to receive:

Community-based and inclusive wildlife and cultural heritage site conservation.

• How have community and grassroots organizations dedicated to the conservation and protection of wildlife and cultural heritage sites been impacted by COVID-19?
• How have organizations continued their conservation activities during the pandemic? What types of new models or innovative approaches to conservation are being tried?
• How are local communities that have depended on external visitors or revenues for their livelihoods and other conservation activities, adapting to the new context?
• With people unable to afford to stay in cities, how are rural communities shaped and changed by people returning?
• Given the ongoing economic crises due to COVID-19, what lessons can be applied post pandemic to support sustainable and just economic recovery in areas with high biodiversity and/or cultural heritage resources?

Impacts of tourism changes on cultural heritage sites and wildlife.

• How have changes in global and/or domestic tourism affected wildlife, protected area management, cultural heritage site conservation, and the livelihoods and well-being of nearby communities?
• What lessons can be applied for when/if tourism returns?
• How has tourism been re-invented during the pandemic? What types of new models or innovative approaches to tourism are being tried?
• Some natural and cultural heritage areas may have seen increased domestic and local tourism as a result of the pandemic – what are the impacts, if any?

Source: COVID-19 Science Fund | National Geographic Society