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The Asian Regional Section of the International Association for Vegetation Science is launching a special small grant project to assist its members in their career development.
Objectives
The scheme will:
Support innovative and scientifically robust research in vegetation science across Asia.
Enhance opportunities for PhD/MSc students and early-career researchers to conduct fieldwork and data-driven studies within Asia.
Strengthen scientific collaboration and build research capacity in underfunded regions.
Increase the visibility and contributions of Asian vegetation scientists within IAVS.
Area of activities
The grants will mainly support projects based on first-hand field data collection from Asian ecosystems, with priority given to:
Field surveys and vegetation plot sampling
Laboratory or analytical work using fresh material collected from the field.
Important information
Application deadline: March 31, 2026, 23h59 CET
Each grant will be funded up to 1.000,00 EUR.
Reporting Requirements
If the project is granted funding, the awardees must:
Submit a 1–2 page final report summarising activities, outcomes, and expenditure.
Agree to publication of their report in the IAVS Bulletin.
Acknowledge the IAVS–Asian RS Small Project Grant Scheme in all outputs resulting from the funded work.
Failure to submit a final report may result in ineligibility for future Asian RS or IAVS funding. If the project is not completed and the final report is not submitted, the awarded funds must be refunded by the awardee.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
Conduct research within Asia, with clear relevance to vegetation science or plant ecology. The extent of Asia should follow the United Nations (HERE)
Be a member of both IAVS and the Asian Regional Section. Applicants can join IAVS HERE (and the Asian Regional Section at the same time) or if already an IAVS member can join the Asian Regional Section (How to join Asian RS: HERE). Financial support can be provided (further information here).
Be early-career researchers (MSc students, PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, or within 5 years of PhD).
Applicants must declare (in the motivation statement) all IAVS support received in the last two years (2024–2025) and any project-based IAVS grants they intend to apply for in 2026. If an applicant already holds an active IAVS project grant, any approved funding under the Asian project scheme will be limited to 50% of the approved budget. GSC travel grants for attending IAVS and working group symposium/conferences are exempt from this rule.
Store the data collected in open repositories in the following year (if the data is intended to be used in a publication, then the data must be uploaded together with the resulting paper)
Not supported: international travel, conference fees, salary costs, or publication fees.
Application
You must submit the application, containing the following documents via the form at the bottom of this page:
1. A project proposal including:
Introduction and aims (max. 300 words)
Methodology (max. 300 words)
Timeline (max. 100 words)
Detailed budget justification (including fieldwork costs, local travel, and any required equipment not available at the applicant’s institution) (max. 200 words)
2. A current CV (max. 2 pages)
3. Motivation statement (max. 300 words)
4. Letter of Support from supervisor/employer in case you are a PhD/MSc student (max.one page)
Evaluation
Applications will be evaluated on:
Scientific merit and feasibility.
Relevance to vegetation science or plant ecology.
Clarity of objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes.
Appropriateness and justification of the budget.
Potential contribution to capacity building in underfunded or understudied regions.
Expected benefits, such as new data collection or support for student training.
Selection and awarding process
1. Scientific merit, feasibility and budget appropriateness (70% weight towards final score) 2. Motivation statement (15% weight towards final score) 3. CV quality (15% weight towards final score)
