PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Available funds
The Trans-Antarctic Association provides financial grants up to a normal maximum of £1,500 in support of field work or travel to Antarctica, as well as equipment and other research activities directly related to Antarctica. The total funds available for distribution in any one year typically ranges between £10,000 – £15,000. One third of available funds are awarded to New Zealand nationals, with the remainder being awarded to nationals from Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The TAA tries to help as many worthy applicants as possible, although the amount of any grant awarded depends upon the merit of the application and on funds available in a given year, which depends upon the performance of TAA investments. Amounts awarded take these factors into account and are at the sole discretion of the Association.
Eligibility
Grants are awarded only for Antarctic and / or directly related work and only to nationals of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Please note that citizenship is required, and residence in one of these countries alone does not qualify. Citizens of eligible countries that reside in another country are eligible. Proof of nationality may be required.
Please note that the Association cannot support requests for salary funding, and does not normally provide subsistence or living expenses. When all the requests for funding in one year exceed the funds available, priority is given to early career scientists and non-salaried researchers.
Application deadline
Applications must be received before the annual closing date of 31 January in the UK, and 15 March in NZ. Late applications will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
The TAA does not consider retrospective applications (ie. an application to fund an activity that has already taken place, or will have taken place, before the closing date). Applicants undertaking an activity after the application closing date and yet before a decision on award has been made by the TAA do so on the understanding that support for their application may not necessarily be awarded by the TAA.
Application procedure
Applications from New Zealand nationals are considered by the New Zealand Advisory Committee, whilst those from nationals of the other eligible countries are considered by the UK Advisory Committee. Applications are considered before the end of March. The recommendations of the advisory committees are presented for approval by the TAA Committee of Management in April, and applicants are normally advised of whether they have been successful in May. The timing of the review process should be taken into account when applying for a grant, and if you have a deadline or activity close to the normal notification date (i.e. May) please make this clear as it may be possible to inform you a little sooner.
How to apply
Applications should be made by email using a standard form which is available in MS Word format or in PDF format. They are available for download here.
Grant Application Form: Citizens of UK, Australia and South Africa (MS Word format)
Grant Application Form: Citizens of UK, Australia and South Africa (PDF format)
Grant Application Form: Citizens of New Zealand (MS Word format)
Grant Application Form: Citizens of New Zealand (PDF format)
All applications are to be submitted by e-mail. The application form has space for a brief curriculum vitae, a short description of the project, and the names of two referees. The applicant must arrange for the two referees to send references to them so that the references can be submitted at the same time as the application form. A financial statement should show the full costs of the project and any other sources of income. The sum requested from the Association must be clearly identified.
Applicants should search for the most competitive airfares possible, and provide copies of flight quotes, or other high value items for which support from the TAA is sought.
It is a condition of accepting a grant that a report is sent to TAA after the completion of the activity that has been funded.
All recipients are asked to acknowledge their funding from the Trans-Antarctic Association in an appropriate way. For conference presentations please display the TAA logo on your poster or on an acknowledgement slide. Three sizes of the logo are available 150 pixel wide, 300 pixel wide and 2500 pixel wide.
Download Grant Report Form (MS Word format)
Applications by email from citizens of Australia, South Africa and the UK (irrespective of current country of residence) please email to:
Dr James Smith, Grants Secretary, Trans-Antarctic Association. Email: Dr James Smith
Applications by e-mail from citizens of New Zealand (irrespective of current country of residence) please email to:
Em Prof P J Barrett, Secretary, TAA NZ Advisory Committee, Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington. Peter.Barrett@vuw.ac.nz