Projects must have a nature/biodiversity conservation focus.

• Rufford Small Grants are designed to support small-scale or pilot projects, rather than providing a small amount of funding for a large-scale project.

• The Foundation has a broad scope of interest - as well as the conservation of particular threatened charismatic species, the protection of which is likely to benefit their natural habitat, it is also interested in those often neglected or less well known species. In addition, the Foundation is also keen to support projects which go beyond a species- specific focus to provide habitat protection at a wider scale. Beyond this, the overriding requirement is that the work must be structured to provide long-lasting and practical conservation outcomes on the ground. There will often be a significant human element to a successful proposal, with community education / involvement being very important.

• In general, the Foundation favours work at a habitat or ecosystem level rather than species-specific work. However, we recognise that data gathering may be a critical element in developing a conservation or management strategy.

• The Foundation seeks to fund those project leaders who intend to make a significant and long-lasting impact on their chosen subject. This means that the applicant should intend to devote a considerable period of time to the project and set it up in such a way that it can have a long-term future - hence local team members are an essential part of the equation so that the project can carry on functioning usefully once the team leader moves on to other work.

• The Foundation almost never funds projects in developed countries. We do not support projects undertaken within EU countries. Projects in less developed areas are likely to take priority. Those projects which offer opportunities to train local team members in the running of the project and those with an educational element for local communities are strongly preferred.

• Due to finite resources the Foundation can only award grants to a few post-graduate applications. There needs to be a strong emphasis on fieldwork with clear conservation benefits. Any award will be for the field-based element. Moreover, the judging panel will scrutinise how any application sits within our general criteria. Any grant will need to cover a significant part of the PhD’s overall cost.