The RSC-funded Chemistry for All project set out to explore and address barriers to participation in UK chemistry undergraduate study through a longitudinal five-year programme. In November 2020, we released the findings from this project to the community.
Through our Chemistry for All outreach grants we are now inviting applications from universities, consortia of organisations and charities to interpret the findings from Chemistry for All and apply these in the design and implementation of a two-year outreach programme for school students.
Through this fund we aim to:
- Develop and test design principles for chemistry outreach, based on the findings from the Chemistry for All project, in a new set of contexts.
- Bring about reflective, evidence-based practice to address the barriers to progression in chemistry for target students.
- Provide insights into the success, or otherwise, of the intervention activities in overcoming barriers to progression in chemistry.
- Build on our collection of outreach resources using the findings of Chemistry for All.
Funding
A maximum of £25,000 (including VAT) is available for each grant. We expect the organisation(s) to provide an in-kind contribution or match funding.
This grant scheme is open to all organisations that provide outreach activities to secondary school-aged children. This includes, but is not limited to, universities, not-for-profit organisations and charities.
In addition:
- To be eligible for funding, your organisation must be based within the UK.
- Previous recipients of any of our grants, including the activity providers from the Chemistry for All project, are welcome to apply for funding. The assessment panel will take into account the quality of all evaluations received for any projects for which we have awarded previous funding.
- Outreach programmes should run for six academic terms. There is flexibility for programmes to start between January - April 2022 and finish between December 2023 and March 2024.
All applications will be judged on the following criteria and should clearly demonstrate:
- A design and rationale for a two-year programme of chemistry-focused interventions which shows explicit attention to the findings from Chemistry for All.
- Appropriate methodology for identifying target schools and students from the relevant widening participation groups in your region.
- Opportunities for collaboration between the partner schools and outreach providers in the design of the outreach programme.
- Cross-departmental collaboration within the outreach provider institution and/or partners, which is required to provide the necessary range of expertise in, for example, science pedagogies, careers education and motivational work with students.
- A range of appropriate staff at the school who will engage with the grant, for example senior management, science department, PHSE and careers coordinators.
We do not expect the applicants to plan their programmes ahead of selection. There will be a workshop following the award of the grants where we will discuss the design of the programmes and share ideas.
We cannot award grants to:
- Cover the cost of supply cover for teachers, teacher stipends or salaries.
- Projects intending solely to develop or deliver teacher CPD.
- Projects whose primary aim is to generate a financial surplus.
- Projects where our support does not significantly enhance the schools’ usual programme of activities, including Open Days and Taster Days.
- Projects which do not significantly enhance a science communication organisation's existing programme of activities.
How to apply
Please note, our deadline for applications has now passed.
Application deadlines
| Application round deadline: | 28 June 2021 |
| Funding decision: | 22 July 2021 |
| Grant holder meeting | September 2021 |
| Outreach programme in schools starts: | January - April 2022 |
| Outreach programme in schools finishes: | December 2023 - March 24 |
| Grant holder evaluation due and contract terminates: | February - May 2024 |