At the Wenner-Gren Foundation, we are deeply concerned about the impact of the global coronavirus epidemic on those we serve.   It’s harder than ever to be an anthropologist, and yet our research is more relevant than ever.   We have an ethical duty as a Foundation to protect the safety of the anthropologists we fund and the broader communities affected by their projects.  But we also have an ethical duty to help our discipline survive and thrive.   Given our limited resources, we are being forced to make hard choices.  At the same time, we are eager to support anthropologists who are seeking new ways to do their work in these strange and uncertain times.

Over the coming months, we will take certain actions so we can continue to award grants and fellowships.  Click here for further information.

As a Foundation, we have an ethical obligation to ensure that the research we fund is not detrimental to the broader communities affected by our work. In light of the emergence and spread of COVID-19, we are asking our active grantees to suspend research activities involving face-to-face contact at this time.  This should not come as a surprise, as many countries have called for social distancing as a means of slowing the spread of the disease.

Please know that we are committed to working with our grantees on modifications to methodologies, budgets, and timelines to respond to their particular needs.  If you need to leave your field site and return home to ensure your safety, and the safety of your interlocutors, please feel free to do so and contact us afterwards.

Conference and Workshop grant recipients should modify their plans in light of the evolving situation.  No meetings should be held at this time.  We will work with grant recipients who wish to reschedule their event for a later date.

If you have any questions about an active grant or fellowship, please contact the Grant Administrator for your program directly.

If you have a question regarding a pending or future application please contact applications@wennergren.org.  Please note should your pending application be approved and a delay is needed, we will work with you at that time.

The University of Chicago Press and the Wenner-Gren Foundation have expanded their long-standing relationship to include collaboration on SAPIENS, a free online magazine that is dedicated to sharing anthropological research with a public readership. The new initiative supports the missions of both the Press and the Foundation, while maintaining SAPIENS’ editorial independence.

In 2011 Dr. Robin Nelson received a Post-Ph.D. Research Grant to aid research on “Residential Context, Non-Kin Care and Child Health Outcomes in Jamaica”. After being awarded an Engaged Anthropology Grant in 2016 Dr. Nelson had the opportunity to return to the field to carry out her project, “Talking Back: Community Dialogues, Residential Care Settings, and Child Thriving in Jamaica”.