Research Topics
Advocate Priorities
Study Shortlist
Study Features
Final Selections
In the end, we select our new studies from those that rise to the top of the list. Selected projects are listed on our Upcoming Projects page .
Priority Research Areas
Faunalytics’ mission is to maximize movement effectiveness by empowering advocates. Therefore, we prioritize research that can have a strong impact for animals for at least one of the following reasons: the research can be used by advocates in multiple cause areas, the topic touches on many animals, it addresses an urgent question, and/or it provides foundational research on an unstudied topic. Projects that address more than one of these four impact types are particularly valuable to the movement as a whole. With our long history of providing research support to animal advocates (since 2000!) we are uniquely positioned to use research as a capacity-building tool.

Topics With Impact In Multiple Cause Areas
These “meta” topics related to capacity-building typically have a more indirect or long-term effect on animals, but achieve their impact through their wide applicability. They are the highest priority for Faunalytics because they build capacity and connections throughout all areas of the animal advocacy movement.
Examples include:

Topics With Impact On A Large Number Of Animals
These topics, while applicable to only subsets of the animal advocacy movement, have the potential to affect a large number of animals, often more directly than those in the previous section.
Examples include:

Topics With Impact Via Urgency And Immediate Use
Because Faunalytics’ original research is not tied to a particular client, stakeholder, or campaign, we are agile and able to address urgent movement needs when they arise. We leave room in our research program for a few projects with quick turnaround and direct impact on high-level decision-makers.
Examples include:

Unstudied Topics With Very High Impact Within A Limited Scope
This category is based on the principle that small amounts of research have high marginal utility in previously unstudied areas. That is, there is a qualitative difference between having zero empirical data on a topic and a small amount of data. In areas where advocates have no data at all, even small-scale, low-cost research can have a long-term impact for animals if it changes how advocates in that area approach a problem.
Examples include:
More Priorities
For more high-impact research topics, you may be interested in lists produced by other animal advocacy organizations. We provide links to several of these on our External Resources page.