Funding opportunities

Funding for public engagement activities is available from a range of sources, either as part of research grants or from dedicated funding awards.

We have compiled a selection of currently available opportunities below, however you can also visit the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) website for a range of regular providers.

British  Ecological Society

Outreach Grant

Funding available: Up to £2,000

This grant supports projects that:

  • Increase public understanding of, and engagement with, ecology
  • Stimulate discussion about ecology and its implications for society
  • Inspire and enthuse people of all ages about the science of ecology, especially those not previously interested

Open to individuals and organisations to organise ecological public engagement events. Proposals must be aimed at a non-academic audience and demonstrate direct interaction with them, and also evidence links to the research community at UK, regional and international levels, where appropriate.

Open to non-members.

Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour

Public Engagement Grant

Funding available: Up to £2,000 (smaller bids encouraged)

This grant is for organising and delivering innovative and exciting outreach activities, aimed at young people and/or the general public, to communicate the science of animal behaviour. Examples might be exhibition stands at science fairs, museum workshops and local talks.

Open to individuals and organisations, researchers, schools, museums, libraries and community groups. Members and non-members of ASAB are eligible to apply.

The Physiological Society

Public Engagement Grant

Funding available: Small grant £500; Large grant up to £20,000

This grant aims to:

  • increase understanding and awareness of physiology amongst the non-expert public
  • increase awareness of the opportunities available To those who pursue physiology in their education
  • increase engagement with physiology research

Outreach grants can be used to support the production of creative digital engagement activities.

Members only can apply for the small grant; members and non-members can apply for the large grant. Collaborative applications are encouraged, including those between expert science communicators, facilitators of public engagement, artists, musicians, thespians and our members.

Royal Society of Chemistry

Outreach Fund

Funding available: Small grants up to £5,000; Large grants £5,000 – £10,000

This fund supports projects that:

  • maximise RSC members’ outreach and engagement contribution
  • offer teachers a range of effective curriculum-enriching activities and opportunities to further engage their students with outreach
  • increase chemistry and chemists’ influence in public discourse and decision-making in line with the findings of the Public Attitude to Chemistry research.

Applicants should seek to engage with members of the Royal Society of Chemistry and member groups (e.g. to inform the chemistry content, to develop long-term sustainability plans, to engage volunteers to take part in the activities). However the lead applicant is not required to be a member.

The Genetics Society

Public Engagement Grant

Funding available: Tier 1 up to £1,000; Tier 2 £1,000 – £5,000

Grants are available to cover costs associated with travel and materials for public engagement activities relevant to Genetics.
Proposals will be accepted for public engagement activities which are delivered virtually.

Open to Genetics Society members only.

Royal Society of Biology

Outreach and Engagement Grant

Funding available: Small grant £200; Full grant up to £500

The aim of the grant scheme is to support outreach and engagement events and activities that are creative, impactful, and suited for audiences or based in locations that may have otherwise limited opportunities to engage with bioscience topics or concepts.

Open to Royal Society of Biology members only. Events must take place outside Biology Week (2-10 October).

 

 

Anatomical Society

Public Engagement Grant

Funding available: Up to £500

This grant aims to:

  • ignite curiosity in young and old audiences about the anatomy of humans and animals.
  • stimulate Anatomists to share their stories, passion and expertise in innovative ways with wider audiences, particularly those that are traditionally hard to reach
  • increase dialogue between researchers and the public, in particular on topics such as animal research and the relevance of such research to health and medicine

Open to Anatomical Society members only

Society for Applied Microbiology

Outreach and Engagement Grant

Funding available: Up to £4,000

This grant supports activities where aspects of microbiology are promoted to the general public and other relevant stakeholders (or to create resources used for education and training). Proposals eligible for support vary from art and drama to popular music, or funds may be used to exhibit at public science festivals.

Applications should demonstrate:

  • that the project is relevant, innovative, microbiology-based and communicates underlying concepts, issues and concerns to the target audience
  • targeting of specific public audiences with clear objectives on how to make an impact on the target audience (cross-disciplinary collaborations are encouraged)
  • evidence of how publicity will be gained to reach the target audience
  • evidence of working with microbiologists to ensure accurate content

Open to non-members.

Microbiology Society

Education and Outreach Grant

Funding available: Up to £1,000

A variety of educational outreach activities to promote public engagement with microbiology will be considered for support. These might include:
Talks, workshops, demonstrations, posters, leaflets, broadcasts, activities at science festivals and audio-visual or computer-based packages.

Applications should demonstrate:

  • The project is relevant to microbiology
  • The project has clear aims that are realistically achievable in the proposed time frame
  • The activity is clearly described and technically feasible
  • The project is innovative and/or timely
  • There is clear benefit to the target audience

Open to Microbiology Society members only

Society for Endocrinology

Public engagement grant

Funding available: Up to £1,000

This fund supports organisation and delivery of outreach activities, aimed at school children and/or the general public.
The Society is currently encouraging applications that may be suitable for our You and Your Hormones website. Proposals fitting with this theme might include, but are not restricted to:

  • Hands-on activities that can be used in classrooms (including printable resources such as worksheets, factsheets or quizzes)
  • Short, YouTube-style videos or podcasts
  • Endocrine-themed science practicals
  • Online website material to reinforce concepts learnt in school

Open to Society for Endocrinology members only.

Royal College of Pathologists

Public Engagement Innovation Grant Scheme

Funding available: Up to £1,000

The scheme aims to:

  • inspire innovative and creative pathology related public engagement projects and activities
  • raise public awareness of, and engagement with, pathology, in particular with those who would not normally engage with the topic
  • develop the science communication skills of pathologists and laboratory scientists
  • stimulate discussion about pathology between pathologists and the public in order to motivate, inspire and enthuse both parties about the value of pathology and its role in prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Open to non-members, however, all proposals must include the involvement of pathologists and/or laboratory scientists as a key part of the activity.

The British Pharmacological Society

Engagement Grant

Funding available: Up to £1,500

This grant supports and promotes engagement with all forms of pharmacology and drug discovery research, and is for creating or developing high quality, in person or digital, engagement and outreach activities that will reach a variety of public audiences.
Preference is given to proposals that result in a resource or tool that can be hosted on the British Pharmacological Society website for use by other members, or that can be used to reach under-served groups and communities.

Open to members of the British Pharmacological Society only

British Society for Immunology

Communicating Immunology Grant

Funding available: Up to £1,000

This grant aims to:

  • stimulate interest, discussion and understanding of immunology amongst a wide range of audiences
  • support formal and informal learning about immunology
  • promote potential careers options within immunology and inspire future researchers

Priority will be given to projects engaging the public about COVID-19 in digital/online formats.

At least one named applicant must be a member of the British Society of Immunology

 

The Institution of Engineering and Technology

Engineering Education Grant Scheme

Funding available: Standard applications up to £5,000; large award up to £15,000

This Grant Scheme supports UK-based educational projects which increase engineering knowledge, improve wider engineering literacy and bring about a better understanding of the role of the engineer, and the contribution engineering makes to society, among young people aged 4-19. Any UK project aiming to promote a better understanding of engineering, inspire young people to study STEM subjects or raise awareness of engineering and technology-based careers could be funded.

Non-members may apply, but all projects must involve an IET or IMechE member as an Advocate

National Centre for the 3Rs of Animals in Research

Public Engagement Award

Funding available: Up to £1,500

This fund is for creative projects that engage the public with the approaches being taken to replace, reduce and refine animal use in science. Ideas can include:

  • Online engagement activities, including videos
  • Laboratory open days
  • Hands-on workshops
  • Informal discussions with public groups
  • Exhibition or talk as part of a local science event (e.g. university open day, science festival)
  • Partnership event with a local community group or scientific society

Applicants must be a current or previous recipient (principal investigator/co-investigator or current research group member) of an NC3Rs grant, fellowship or studentship.

Royal Astronomical Society

Education and Outreach Small Grants Scheme

Funding available: Up to £5,000

This grant is for projects that promote greater interest in and understanding of astronomy or geophysics and Activities proven to interest the wider community and, in particular, young people in astronomy or geophysics.
A range of public outreach activities are funded, such as development of public events, training workshops, broadcasting or podcasting, and development of educational material.

London Mathematical Society

Education Grant Scheme

Funding available: Up to £800

This grant aims to stimulate interest and enable involvement in mathematics from Key Stage 1 (age 5+) to Undergraduate level and beyond, by:

  • enhancing and enriching mathematical study beyond the curriculum
  • engaging the public with mathematics
  • encouraging unusual ways of communicating mathematics

The scheme is primarily intended for activities for which there is limited scope for alternative sources of funding.  Applicants linked to universities should ideally be supported by a member of the Society and ordinarily the Scheme will not fund University outreach activity.  However, anyone based in the UK is eligible to apply for a grant.