Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Call for Proposals

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission is now accepting pre-proposals for the 2026 funding cycle for the Fishery Research Program and Sea Lamprey Research Program. The Commission's research programs consist of a portfolio of funded basic and applied research organized by designated theme areas.

Pre-proposals and pilot proposals are encouraged to be cross-cutting and address multiple themes or integrate multiple disciplines. Review the theme papers (Sea Lamprey Themes; Fishery Themes) or associated research priorities (Sea Lamprey Control Board Research Priorities; Fishery Research Priorities) to help inform project development and relevance. Investigators should reach out to research@glfc.org for committee and/or task force contact information for project idea development and research coordination.

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission also supports the submission of pre-proposals investigating fishery management and sea lamprey control issues that have been identified as important to Indigenous Peoples around the Great Lakes. Pre-proposals covering these topics are expected to be Indigenous-led or have Indigenous partners fully engaged at all stages of the project from proposal development to project completion.

Explore examples of successfully funded projects in the commission's Project Catalogue.

Deadline: JANUARY 15, 2025 11:59 PM EST

Webinar

Interested applicants are encouraged to join the informational webinar to learn more about research needs of the Commission and its partners and the research funding process.

Friday, November 22, 2024, at 1:00 PM EST

Eligibility

Awards for multi-year projects are typically between $35,000 and $150,000 per year for projects beginning no earlier than January 1, 2026.

Pilot proposal awards must be less than or equal to $20,000 USD and up to one year in length.

Awards are available to academic institutions, Indigenous communities, government agencies, and private corporations through research contracts.

Post-docs and students may not be Principal Investigators on proposals unless the PI's institution has its own accountability policy as outlined in the commission's PI eligibility policy. Post-docs and students can be recognized as co-PIs.

Review the full description of our pre-award policies.

Submission

  • Download the pilot proposal template.
  • Pilot proposals are accepted twice a year.
  • Pilot proposals must be submitted via email to research@glfc.org.
  • Pilot Deadline: JANUARY 15, 2025 11:59 PM EST - to be considered for funding at the March research board meeting
  • Pilot Deadline: JULY 15, 2025 11:59 PM EST - be considered for funding at the September research board meeting.

Special Topics

In addition to the research needs highlighted in the theme areas (Sea Lamprey Themes; Fishery Themes), the Great Lakes Fishery Commission invites proposals on these special topics for the 2026 funding cycle:

Fisheries Research Program

  • Human dimensions
    • Funds are available for projects focused on advancing human dimensions research. Topics of interest include demographics, fishery valuation (including alternative ways of measuring value), and relationships of fishers to food systems. Other topics of interest include barriers and challenges amongst fishers, food sovereignty, and environmental justice in fisheries management. For more information, contact the human dimensions theme leaders.
  • Coregonine conservation and restoration
    • Funds are available for projects focused on improving the understanding of ecological, evolutionary, or environmental drivers that underlie coregonine population dynamics and ideally inform science planning steps in the Coregonine Restoration Framework. For lake whitefish, projects seeking to determine potential recruitment limitations (e.g., dreissenid mussels, thiamine deficiency, predators, degree of exploitation) are desired. For the ciscoes, projects seeking to determine the extent and/or fitness consequences of hybridization/introgression and risks associated with alternative gamete sources for restoration are desired.
  • Indigenous-led research
    • The Indigenous Great Lakes Network identified ecosystem conservation and protection, data and technology, contaminants, environmental restoration and reclamation, ecosystem monitoring and protection, fish research and management, and mining as desirable areas of research need. In response to these needs, and in the broader context of issues important to Indigenous communities, we seek Indigenous-led research proposals on stewardship of fish populations guided by Indigenous knowledge.

Sea Lamprey Research Program

  • Impacts of climate change on sea lamprey control
    • The Sea Lamprey Control Board is concerned about the potential effects of climate change on lampricide treatments and barrier efficacy. Understanding how climate factors impact the different elements of sea lamprey control are critical for developing a climate-adapted program to maintain effectiveness under future scenarios. These include, but are not limited to, treatment effectiveness under varying temperatures, alkalinity, pH, and flow, timing of treatments, and understanding changes in physical river conditions and barrier stability associated with more frequent extreme weather events.
  • Population level effects of lampricides on non-target organisms
    • The Sea Lamprey Control Program is keenly interested in understanding the population level effects of lampricides on non-target organisms. Organisms of concern include, but are not limited to, mudpuppies, native lampreys, native mussels, and any state/provincial or federally listed aquatic species. Additional research in this area would help further our understanding of how non-target species respond and recover from lampricide exposure and would inform treatment protocols to minimize negative effects. Key documents to reference include Kaye 2021, Pratt et al. 2021.

Evaluation

  • Pre-proposals are evaluated based on five areas, (1) Relevance, (2) Novelty, (3) Feasibility, (4) DEIC, and (5) Letter of Response (if applicable). Successful pre-proposals will be advanced to full proposals, which will be evaluated using the peer reviewer criteria.
  • Relevance: Pre-proposals are evaluated for relevance and against information needs identified by the Research Themes under which they are submitted, and the research needs identified by the Sea Lamprey Control Board and Council of Lake Committees. Review the theme papers (Sea Lamprey Themes; Fishery Themes) or associated research priorities (Sea Lamprey Control Board Research Priorities; Fishery Research Priorities). Pre-proposals submitted under non-theme will be evaluated for their relevance to the commission's Strategic Vision.
  • Novelty: Pre-proposals should clearly demonstrate how the proposed research is innovative, breaking new ground, or is building on past work, which will generate critical information to the commission's programs.
  • Feasibility: Methods should clearly demonstrate how the work is achievable given the proposed methods, timeline, and budget.
  • DEIC: Demonstration of awareness of diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural competency considerations should be embedded throughout the proposal and summarized in a separate DEIC statement.
  • Letter of Response (if applicable): Investigators resubmitting a pre-proposal should demonstrate how they addressed board and/or reviewer feedback provided for the previous submission in both the pre-proposal and letter of response.
  • Pre-proposals from new and early career investigators are evaluated against the same criteria and compete for the same funding as established investigators; however, bringing new and early career investigators into the programs is a high priority. To the extent possible, new investigators are provided opportunities to engage with the research board to further develop submissions. Review the new and early career investigator criteria to determine if you are eligible. New and early career investigators are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Science Director at research@glfc.org in advance of a pre-proposal submission.

Additional Resources

Review Process & Timeline

  • January 15 - Pre-proposals due to the online portal. Pilot proposals submissions due via research@glfc.org.
  • Early March - Pre-proposals and pilot proposals reviewed by the Board of Technical Experts (FRP) and Sea Lamprey Research Board (SLRP). Investigators may be invited to give a presentation to the board.
  • March 31 - Investigators notified of decision. Authors of successful pre-proposals are requested to develop a full proposal. Investigators notified of spring pilot proposal funding decisions.
  • June 01 - Full proposals due from successful pre-proposals.
  • July 15 - Pilot proposals submissions due via research@glfc.org.
  • Mid-September - Full proposals and pilot proposals reviewed by the Board of Technical Experts (FRP) and Sea Lamprey Research Board (SLRP).
  • September 30 - Investigators notified of board recommendations. Recommended proposals are required to submit a letter of response to board comments. Investigators notified of fall pilot proposal funding decisions.
  • December - Investigators notified of commission funding decisions.

If you have questions regarding the research programs or a proposal submission, please contact Science Directorate staff at research@glfc.org or call 734-662-3209 x136.

If you would like to be notified of future calls for proposals please subscribe to our call for proposals list.