The Value of Animal Welfare

Welfare issues in animal husbandry can not be ascribed primarily to a lack of biological knowledge. The problem rather is that animal welfare clashes with production methods because the economic interests of producers and consumers clash with the views of the general public (i.e. society) on how animals should be treated. Nevertheless, society, both at home and abroad, is increasingly calling for better animal welfare, and this prompted the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) and the Earth and Life Sciences division (ALW) of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) to develop a new, dedicated research programme. A programme that requires an integrated, interdisciplinary approach because of the range of scientific, socio-economic and societal issues involved. A programme, moreover, that will involve all the parties responsible for animal welfare. This should help ensure that the findings and recommendations are genuinely appropriate and can be applied in practice.

Who can apply

Scientists holding a doctor’s degree and employed by Dutch universities, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research institutes, institutes of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the former Agricultural Research Agency (DLO), providing the latter are cooperating with a university in the proposal for which funding is applied and the researchers are free to publish in international scientific journals.

What can be applied for

PhD student and postdoc positions can be applied for on the basis of the standard remuneration agreed in the covenant between NWO and VSNU. In view of the desired interdisciplinary collaboration both within and between institutions, several positions can be applied for in each project proposal, subject to a maximum of 3 PhD-student and/or postdoc positions. Consumables and analysis expenses can be funded up to an annual maximum of € 45,000 per application.

When can be applied

The deadline for submitting full proposals was 3 February 2009.

Extra Information

You are advised to consult the programme brochure, available on www.nwo.nl/dierenwelzijn, before writing your application. This document gives a general description of the programme and includes detailed information on the programme’s focus areas and key fields. The criteria for the full proposals are described in detail in the call for proposals, which you are also advised to consult.

Criteria

For the pre-proposals, the evaluation committee will consider the following criteria:

1. Relevance to the objective of the programme;
2. Scientific quality;
3. Applicability of research results;
4. Active participation of industry (see 3.5 in the call for proposals);
5. The interdisciplinary extent and added value of cooperating groups (national or international).

A proposal should combine at least two focus areas (preferably a combination of natural science research and social sciences research.

Procedure

Full proposals will be assessed by international referees after which applicants will be asked to comment on these reports. The evaluation committee will use its specific knowledge of animal welfare to formulate a recommendation. The final decision is taken by the programme’s steering committee.

Committees

The composition of the programme committee, the steering committee and the international evaluation committee are or will be published on the programme website (www.nwo.nl/dierenwelzijn).

Budget

A budget of up to 3.2 million euro is available for this call for proposals. For the entire programme (period 2008-2012) a total budget of 3.6 million euro is available.

Financiers

The programme is funded by the NWO division Earth and Life Sciences, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

Contacts

• Dr. K.M. Spoorendonk
  phone: +31 (0)70 344 07 76, fax: +31 (0)70 381 90 33, e-mail: k.spoorendonk@nwo.nl