HYLAND R. JOHNS GRANT PROGRAM - TREE FUND

 

Please review the information below before proceeding to the online application.

Established in 1995 to honor one of the leaders in the arboriculture industry and a founder of the ISA Research Trust, the Hyland R. Johns Grant Program funds longer term research and technology transfer projects that have the potential of benefiting the everyday work of arborists.

Projects are expected to be completed within three to five years; with a maximum award value of $50,000. TREE Fund requires a match of at least 10% cash or in-kind. No project may receive more than one award from this program. Applicants may include institutional overhead costs in the project budget. TREE Fund caps such costs in its grant awards at 10% of total grant value. Unrecovered institutional overhead costs above this cap may be counted toward the required grant match.

Application Process

Applications are due April 1 and will only be accepted through the online application form.

You will need the following to complete the online application:

Project’s purpose, significance, design and goals

Itemized project budget

Information on funds pending or received from other sources (A match of at least 10% is required and may be made in cash, labor costs, in-kind contributions or other material and sub-contract expenses)

Priority Areas

TREE Fund research priority areas are derived from the Revised National Research and Technology Transfer Agenda for Urban and Community Forestry. Proposals in the following priority areas are more likely to be funded, but all proposals will be considered.

Root and soil management: Many urban tree problems originate below ground. Promoting root development, protecting roots from injury and managing conflicts with infrastructure are issues that arborists encounter regularly. Managing roots includes soil management.

Propagation, planting and establishment: Methods of ensuring survival and vigorous growth of trees after planting are of concern to arborists and the entire green industry. Arborists are increasingly dealing with problems that originate in, or could be avoided during the planting process.

Plant health care: Healthy plants have more effective defense systems and are better able to resist pests. Complete understanding of plant health may lead to new pest control strategies.

Risk assessment and worker safety: Safety is a major concern. It can be a life-or-death issue to both tree workers and the public. Detection of defects, and knowing how they develop, are important. Improved equipment and work practices are needed.

Urban forestry: Management of urban trees and forests requires improved understanding of how urban forest ecosystems function, their management, and how they interact with people in communities and at the urban/rural interface.

Criteria for Selection

Recommendations on grant awards will be presented to the TREE Fund Board of Trustees for final approval at or before the May Board Meeting and will be announced within two weeks of their decision. Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Potential impact of the topic: Does the project address a problem/issue within TREE Fund’s mission? Does the project address topics that benefit the everyday work of arborists and urban foresters? Will this project have application to a broad sector of the arboriculture and urban forestry communities? Are there measurable outcomes which will occur as a result of this project?

Approach: Are the methodology and proposed analysis appropriate? Is the project creative or unique in its approach to the problem? If this is a technology transfer project, is the transfer vehicle/method appropriate for the target audience?

Feasibility: Has the investigator demonstrated appropriate qualifications to accomplish the project? Can the project be completed in the given time frame?

Funding: Is there a clear explanation of how funds will be used in the context of the total project budget? Are additional sources of funding for the project being pursued? Is the potential cost/benefit ratio for this project appropriate?

Applications will be scored on the following scale:

Applicant is qualified (10 points)

Applicant has experience (10 points)

Project directly meets one or all TREE Fund priorities (10 points)

Project has clearly stated need (10 points)

Project is clearly linked to arboriculture and/or urban forestry (10 points)

Research has practical application (10 points)

Methods are clear (10 points)

Objectives are achievable within proposed time frame (10 points)

Objectives are achievable within proposed budget (10 points)

Requested funds are matched with at least 10% cash or in-kind (10 points)

TREE Fund does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, disability or national or ethnic origin. Current Trustees of TREE Fund or any member of the family of any such Trustee are ineligible to receive grants from TREE Fund.

It is TREE Fund’s explicit desire that research findings eventually be freely and widely available to any and all parties who may benefit from the author’s work, though TREE Fund recognizes the importance of academic and professional journal publications and will work with grant recipients to ensure that findings are disseminated in a manner that is respectful to all parties’ schedules and needs. Any anticipated proprietary elements of proposed research must be identified clearly in the initial application; should applications fail to make such declarations, TREE Fund reserves the right to negotiate royalties from patents, sales, copyrights, or other commercial results of funded research.

Reporting Requirements and Funds Distribution

Recommendations on grant awards will be presented by the Research Committee to the TREE Fund Board of Trustees for approval at its May board meeting, and grant recipient(s) will be notified in writing within two weeks of Trustee approval. A Grant Conditions and Agreement Form will be provided with notification, and it must be completed within two weeks of notification, and returned to TREE Fund with all required supporting documentation.

Upon TREE Fund’s receipt of the signed Grant Conditions and Agreement Form, along with additional required documents, the first installment (60% of the award amount) will be sent to the recipient. Upon review and approval of an interim progress report due to TREE Fund midway through the project, the second installment (30% of the award amount) will be sent. A final report is due to TREE Fund within 15 days of the project completion date identified in the application. After review and approval the final installment (10% of the award amount) will be sent.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the sample Grant Conditions and Agreement Forms (which can be viewed here) with their employers’ financial or grant management offices, as appropriate, to ensure that the Agreement Forms can be signed expeditiously upon receipt. Potential difficulties with Agreement terms that are identified during the application process may be considered and negotiated more favorably than those presented after the grant award process. Grant recipients will also be required to submit a brief summary of their projects in lay terms, as well as a photo for use in TREE Fund and industry publications, prior to initial payment being disbursed.

The reports shall supply sufficient information as described in the Grant Conditions and Agreement Form to verify that the grant is being used for the purposes intended and to allow TREE Fund to fulfill its public reporting responsibilities. Recipient should inform TREE Fund when funded research findings are published or presented at conferences so that these accomplishments can be widely publicized. Recipients should also recognize the support provided by TREE Fund in their articles or presentations related to the funded project. Recipients are strongly encouraged to publish findings to relevant professional journals, i.e. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Arboricultural Journal, Trees: Structure and Function, Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, Plant Pathology, Hortscience, Horticultural Science, Sustainable Development, Landscape and Urban Planning, Journal of Urban Health, Environment and Urbanization, Urban Ecosystems, etc.

 

http://www.treefund.org/grants/research-grants/johns

 

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