Access to the ITOPF R&D Award

"A straightforward process, open to any reputable candidate or group of candidates worldwide"

The deadline for reception of applications for the next call has been fixed at 31 December 2013, with the intention to attribute the 2013 Award not later than the end of February 2014.

The ‘ITOPF R&D Award’ is open to any reputable R&D establishment or other organisation world-wide intending to fund a candidate (student, individual or project team) to undertake research (including a possible doctorate) related to accidental marine pollution, in all academic disciplines, although preference will be given to those with an applied scientific focus, such as marine biology, chemistry, ecology, physics, engineering, economics, etc.

Candidates wishing to apply for the ‘ITOPF R&D Award’ are invited to visit the relevant page of this website, where further information and electronic application forms are provided well before the application deadline. Applications are assessed by the ITOPF R&D Committee comprising:

  • 3 members of ITOPF staff, one of them the Technical Director (as the Committee Chair);

  • At least 2 well-respected external and independent members of the scientific community; currently, one from the IMO with a strong background in the chemical industry and involvement in the IMO’s R&D activities, and one, an independent consultant with a long-history of supporting R&D in academic and industry sectors (acting as the Committee Secretary).

In 2012, the deadline for applications was 31st December 2011. Five applications were received, with leaders in Australia, France, Portugal and Sweden. The R&D Committee delivered the results of its evaluation on 15 February 2012. All projects were judged of interest and, while the ranking was very close indeed, the Committee awarded a higher ranking to the “FishHealth” project. This project focused on the health and behaviour of fish in the presence of dispersed oil to provide operational recommendations for using dispersants in coastal waters. “FishHealth” was found to be innovative, had clear objectives and was very relevant, especially given the renewed focus on the consequences of dispersed oil following the DEEPWATER HORIZON incident.

In line with the recommendation of the Committee, the 1st ITOPF R&D Award was attributed by the Directors of ITOPF to the promoters of the FishHealth project, a consortium of our research institutes led by the Laboratoire des Sciences de L’Environnement Marin (LEMAR, France), partnered with the University of British Columbia (UBC, Canada), the Centre de documentation, de recherche et d’expérimentations sur les pollutions accidentelles des eaux (CEDRE, France) and the Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche (CNR-IAMC, Italy). The Award would be used to fund a PhD student who would work with the Consortium members.

A draft Agreement led to a kick-off meeting in Brest on 18 April 2012 and the final implementation agreement entered into force on 15 June.

The deadline for receit of applications for the next call has been fixed at 31 December 2013, with the intention to attribute the 2014 Award not later than the end of February 2014.