Call for Proposals

Application Timeline: 

• Expressions of Interest are due on June 15, 2025.

• Invitations to submit full proposals will be sent by June 30, 2025.

• Full proposals are due on July 31, 2025.

• Notifications of awards will by made by August 31. 

Grant Amounts: 

• Small grants: Up to $10,000 USD

• Large grants: Up to $50,000 USD

Trillions of insects are reared and slaughtered each year in commercial contexts. Recent research suggests that at least some of these species may be sentient (i.e., capable of experiencing valenced states like pain). Unfortunately, we know very little about how to improve the welfare of farmed insects in current production systems.

The mission of the Arthropoda Foundation is to support research that can inform decision-making about the most pressing problems facing arthropods. In particular, we prioritize foundational research that has yet to be explored by traditional funding bodies, thereby increasing its impact for the organisms in Phylum Arthropoda.

The Arthropoda Foundation is open to any empirical proposal on arthropod welfare. In this funding cycle, however, the Foundation is especially interested in expressions of interests for projects that focus on strategies for mitigating welfare challenges for black soldier flies in commercial contexts. Possible projects could focus on topics like:

• Feed withdrawal periods

• Nutritional inadequacies in feed

• Disease management

• Factors affecting rates of larval cannibalism

• Factors affecting lethal overheating

• Welfare challenges associated with new genetic lines

Eligibility & Review Criteria

Any scientist with appropriate experience and access to appropriate equipment for their project is eligible (in most geographic locations). We do not require specific degrees or institutional affiliations to apply. An exception is that we are unable to fund research carried out in nations subject to sanctions by the United States or researchers who are residents of those nations. Please note that the Arthropoda Foundation does not provide funding for indirect costs or institutional overhead. 

We will prioritize funding projects with the following features (in order of priority): 

• Technical Appropriateness: Well-designed projects with appropriate sample sizes, statistical analysis, and experimental design 

• Application: Projects that are readily able to be applied in a commercial context

• Fit with Priority Area: Projects focusing on welfare challenges facing black soldier flies in commercial contexts

• Welfare Impact: Projects targeting the most severe welfare concerns

• Co-benefits: Projects with scientific co-benefits, such as validating new welfare indicators

• Interdisciplinary and industry-inclusive collaborations: Projects that include welfare scientists, entomologists, and industry partners

Our hope is that research arising from this RFP is of the kind that can inform standard operating procedures in commercial settings.