Applications Guidelines - SSC Internship Grants

Format guidelines

● Proposals must be present in the indicated template for SSC Internal Grants here.
● Proposals must be submitted in English.
● All additional materials should be included in the Annex section of the template, such as:
links to references, publications, photos, videos, campaigns, among others.
● The Letter of Endorsement by the SSC Chairs or Red List Authority Coordinator should
be sent as a separate file, included in the Application Form.
● The intern's CV should be sent as a separate file, included in the Application Form.
● Once the Application form is complete, please send an email with all documents
(proposal, intern’s CV and letter of endorsement to [email protected]. All
correspondence should have “SSC Internship Grant Proposal: Group name¨

Application submissions

We encourage the groups to submit their proposals at least one week prior to the deadline, so
there is enough time to review them and return them in case of need of additional information or
clarifications.

Important dates

● Call open for applications: June 19th 2023

● Grant application deadline: July 24th 2023
● Grant decision/notification date: Last week of September 2023
● Successful applicants will receive an email with the results, asking for confirmation
on the person or organisation who will receive/manage the funds and all the details
to prepare the paperwork and sign the grant agreement: 2-6 October 2023
● Grant payment dates: 9-31 September 2023
● Submission of final narrative and financial reports: dates will depend on each
project timeline (indicated in the grant agreement)

Project criteria

● SSC GroupS can only submit ONE proposal. We encourage the SSC Chairs/RLACs to
evaluate all proposals from their members and choose one prior submission.
● Proposals must contemplate the implementation of targets set up in the SSC DATA
Information System and should contribute with the priorities set by the SSC Groups for
the 2023-2024 period, with focus on any of the components of the Species Conservation
Cycle.
● Proposals must include a background and justification of why the activity/project is or will
be of importance to the conservation of the species and the work led by the SSC Group.
● Proposal in sound with scientific methodology, IUCN tools, logistically feasible, and with
a high probability of completion.
● The execution of the timeline of the intern’s activities can be less than 6 months up to a
maximum of 12 months. Any extension of the project date must be notified in advance
to Mayerlin Ramos via email ([email protected]) informing the reasons for
the extension request.
● The work must be carried out within the SSC Group and may or may not involve partner
organizations, universities or a research group.

Who can apply

This funding opportunity will be open to the entire SSC Network: Specialist Groups, Stand-alone
Red List Authorities, Task Forces, Conservation Committees and National Species Specialist
Groups. Any SSC group interested in submitting an application should contemplate the
following:

● The proposal must be submitted by the chair or a member of the group properly
registered in the IUCN Union Portal.
● The intern's supervisor may be the SSC Group Chair/RLACs or any other member of the
group.
● Intern must be under the age of 35 and provide proof of this within the proposal.
● Intern must be a student (undergraduate or graduate) or have graduated within the last
three years. Must be pursuing or have completed a bachelor's or master's degree in
areas such as biology, environmental sciences, sustainable development, natural
sciences, and/or careers related to communications.
● The intern should have an affinity with the vision and mission of the IUCN SSC group
applying and a strong interest in the IUCN network.
● Good chance that the intern will become a member of the group and be highly motivated
to learn and develop new skills.

Budget and eligible costs

● Budgets should be submitted in United States dollars for a maximum of US$ 3,600.00
● Funds can be used to cover the partial or total cost of the proposed activity.
● The budget must clearly show how the funds will be used to cover all of the activities
performed by the project indicated in the proposal, which will be carried out in 2023
-2024 and which contributes to a target set for the SSC Group for the current
quadrennium (2021-2025).
● The budget may only be used to cover the monthly compensation of the intern, any other
expenses associated with work in the field will be considered. In the event that the
project receives other funds, it is important that the budget table indicates the additional
funds already secured to enable project implementation.
● Budgets to cover the execution of regular activities of SSC Group staff (Chairs, Red List
Authority Coordinators or Program Officers) are not eligible.
● Expenses related to permit fees, personnel costs, personal internet or cell phone costs
are not eligible.
● Administrative and overhead costs for management of funds will be covered directly
within the allocated amount, the SSC Chair’s Office will not cover these funds.

Application process

Preparation of the proposal

Step 1: SSC Chairs and members may identify activities/projects for the 2023-2024 period
aligned with their registered targets. You can check a simplified version of the IUCN SSC
Framework.
Step 2: Check with the group’s chair if targets for 2021-2025 and 2021/2022 results have been
uploaded to the SSC DATA Information System. Applications from SSC Groups that have not
uploaded their targets and results to SSC DATA will not be accepted.
Step 3: Verify that the proposed project/activity clearly contributes to a target uploaded to SSC
DATA. The target in the proposal must MATCH the target in the SSC DATA Information System.
Step 4: Download, review and prepare the SSC Internal Grant Proposal Template. You can
review this Tutorial for step-by-step instructions on how to correctly complete the requested
information.

Applications will be received from June 19th 2023 to July 24th 2023–11:59 PM (GMT-4)
Caracas, Venezuela.

Step 5: Submit your proposal by completing the SSC Internship Grant Proposal Template. All
sections are mandatory and cannot be deleted. Applications must be submitted through the
following Application form.
Step 6: Once the application is submitted through the Google form, please send the proposal by
email to Mayerlin Ramos ([email protected]).

Evaluation process after July 24th 2023

Step 7: The SSC Chair’s Office evaluation team will start the evaluation process. If possible, the
SSC Chair and focal points of the project will be contacted to clarify, verify or provide any
additional information missing in the proposal.
Step 8: Selected proposals will be announced in late September 2023 by email and through the
SSC Internal Grant website here and via email.

Reporting process

Step 9: Selected groups will be required to prepare and submit a final narrative and financial
report as a funding requirement. The SSC Group Chairs/RLACs and the focal points of the
projects will receive detailed information on the requirements and templates to be used for the
reports once they are selected.
Step 10: The SSC Chair's Office will use the information provided in the reports to highlight
project results in the SSC official communication channels. The project focal point is expected to
assist in the development of this material and provide the necessary audio visual material.

Reports templates

Unique reporting templates are available for the SSC Internship Grants.

1) Narrative report: All the requested sections are key to know the details of your project,
identify areas of work and help us to improve processes. Please try to fill in as many sections as
you can and add any additional information you consider relevant for the project.

2) Financial report: It is important to include detailed information about the expenses incurred
during the project implementation. Supporting documents are required in order to close the
grants, such as: invoices, receipts, consulting contracts, bank transactions, among others.
These documents can be gathered in a single PDF document and uploaded to the Rewild
platform, add a link to the final report or can be added as images within the file.in a new tab.

3) Media Submission: This section is important to help us disseminate the results of the
projects. Therefore, photos, short videos and links to official publications, brochuse, books,
guidelines, etc are very valuable. If you have any problems uploading files in the Rewild
platform, please contact Mayerlin Ramos ([email protected]) to provide you with a
unique link to a Drive folder for your project.

Extensions

The SSC Chair’s Office is fully aware that some activities may be delayed due to weather
conditions, availability of collaborators, external partners, travel restrictions, unexpected
changes in meetings schedule and other reasons. For this reason, we encourage SSC Group
Chairs/RLACs and focal persons to report within the first 3 months of project implementation,
any changes in the timeline, provide details of the context and an estimated extension to
complete the project. This will be reviewed, evaluated and approved by the SSC.

General tips

1. Apply early and often.

2. Don’t forget to include a Letter of Endorsement within your Application form.
3. Answer all the sections on the template.
4. If rejected, revise your proposal and apply again.
5. Be explicit and specific.
6. Be realistic in designing the activity/project.
7. Follow the application guidelines.