New Forest Biodiversity Forum - Funding

The New Forest Biodiversity Forum provides grant funding to support biodiversity survey, monitoring, recording, and conservation in the New Forest National Park. In addition to the New Forest Raptor Monitoring Programme, the Forum supports two main funding streams that are open to the community.

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• New Forest Biodiversity Forum - Small Grant Scheme

• New Forest Biodiversity Forum - Strategic Research and Monitoring Programme 

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The Small Grant Scheme is now live and the first five grants were awarded in Q1 2024. Information about active projects can be found on the Projects page. The Small Grant Scheme has a maximum funding limit of £5k and a total funding pot of ~£30k pa. Information for prospective applicants is provided below. Note that information on the Strategic Research and Monitoring Programme will be provided in April 2024.

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1. The New Forest Biodiversity Forum - Small Grant Scheme aims to support relatively small funding requests (up to £5k) related to New Forest biodiversity and conservation.

2. The scheme will have up to £30k available per annum and will initially operate from 01 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2026; applications can be received at any time in this period.

3. Projects should include some of the following elements: biodiversity survey, monitoring, research, and recording, and/or conservation management actions to improve biodiversity.

4. Priority will be given to projects that seek to address known evidence gaps relating to New Forest biodiversity and conservation, and that have policy relevant outcomes.

5. Applications are encouraged to include innovative techniques and/or technologies, including ‘high-risk high-reward’ pilot projects that have potential for wider impact.

6. Applications where this small grant scheme builds upon or leverages other funding sources and/or volunteer time are particularly welcomed.

7. Applications can be submitted by both individuals and organisations, including those who may not have access to conventional grant funding schemes.

8. The Forum Chair is available for informal discussion with applicants about their project proposals prior to submitting any application (contact details below).

9. Applications will be assessed by the Forum Chair and Sponsors, normally with a turnaround time of a few days.

10. In some cases, additional input may be sought from Steering Group members, especially where additional technical or site-specific expertise is required.

11. Applications should be no longer than two sides of A4 including e.g. project rationale, methods, outputs, partners, co-funding, policy implications, and required resources. 

12. Successful applicants will be required to provide an end-of-year summary and will be invited to present their initial results at the annual New Forest Biodiversity Conference.