EAZA Elephant TAG RESEARCH GROUP

Dear Researcher,

Thank you very much for your interest in conducting research related to elephants within the EAZA community. We highly appreciate your initiative and willingness to advance knowledge in this important field.

The Elephant TAG Research Group (RG) welcomes scientific studies that advance the welfare, management, and conservation of elephants in human care and supports collaboration among researchers, universities, and elephant-holding institutions.

The RG's primary objective is to improve the quality, transparency, and coordination of research conducted on EAZA elephant populations, and to facilitate effective information flow between researchers and participating institutions. The Group acts in an advisory capacity to the Elephant TAG and seeks to ensure that research projects are well-designed, ethically sound, and aligned with the TAG's Long-Term Management Plan and Best Practice Guidelines.

In this spirit, the RG operates a transparent review process for research proposals submitted for TAG endorsement. This process does not restrict research activity; rather, it helps align projects with TAG priorities and ensures that all participating institutions receive clear and consistent information.

Research proposals are received and evaluated through the RG's dedicated Research Proposal Submission Platform powered by ZAWAPP. Upon successful submission, you will automatically receive an email confirmation.

Proposals are evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Scientific quality
• Relevance to elephant management
• Feasibility
• Resources requested
• Ethical compliance

Based on the review, the reviewers will make a recommendation to the Elephant TAG regarding project approval and the appropriate level of endorsement for data collection among EEP members.

You will be informed of the outcome of the review and the final decision by email within a maximum of four weeks from submission.

If revisions are requested, we kindly ask that the revised proposal be resubmitted via the same platform following the same procedure as the initial submission. Upon approval, the RG will inform the EEP Coordinators and the TAG Chair, who will subsequently communicate the project to elephant-holding institutions at the appropriate level of recommendation.

Should you have any further questions or encounter any difficulties during the submission process, please do not hesitate to contact the Research Group Chair at nemeric@protonmail.com.

We wish you every success with your work and look forward to the possibility of a productive collaboration.