John Z. Duling Grant Program

John Z. Duling Grants may be used to support exploratory work in the early stages of untested, but potentially transformative, research ideas and approaches. Examples may include application of new approaches to research questions, or application of new expertise involving novel disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives.

For 2023, the Duling program will focus on Propagation, Plant Selection, Development of New Varieties, and Planting/Establishment.

Funding Information

• Projects are expected to be completed within one to three years with a maximum grant award of $25,000. No project may receive more than one award from this program.

Budget Elements, Including:

• Institutional Compensation, Stipends and Benefits
• Travel and Transportation
• Equipment (e.g. Vehicles, Growth Chambers, Etc.)
• Other Materials and Supplies (e.g. Paper, Ink, Etc.)
• Contract Labor (Consultants, Speakers, Etc.)
• Institutional Overhead (Maximum 10%)
• Other/Miscellaneous
• Cash or In-Kind Funding from Other Sources (Minimum 10%; unrecovered institutional overhead may be applied to meet this minimum).

Eligibility Criteria

• Letters of inquiry for Duling Grants that do not focus on topics related to the focus area will be rejected from further consideration. TREE Fund welcomes research proposals and applications from a wide range of academic and technical disciplines, of both a qualitative and a quantitative nature. TREE Fund does not fund the following types of projects, and will not accept applications for such work:
  • Grants to individuals;
  • Projects that are primarily municipal tree surveys or assessments;
  • Tree planting programs;
  • Studies of individual tree species for the primary purpose of agricultural or timber/forest planting yield;
  • Commercial tree- or soil-related product testing primarily for the benefit of the company that manufactures the product.

Criteria for Selection

• Staff will screen all applications for applicant eligibility, adherence to submission directions (including word counts), alignment with the TREE Fund mission, and compliance with minimum requirements. Proposals meeting these criteria are then forwarded to the TREE Fund’s Research and Education Committee for a more thorough and competitive evaluation. Prospective applicants can be sure that reviewers will place highest emphasis on:
  • Prior record of accomplishment by the investigative team.  (Scientists early in their research careers may wish to include others with more research experience as active co-investigators or advisors)
  • Potential contribution of the project to the arboricultural industry.
  • Approach, including statement of hypotheses and experimental design
  • Dissemination plan to the scientific community and to tree care professionals
• 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.

For more information, visit TREE Fund.