Our Sustainable Laboratories Grant aims to accelerate the chemical sciences community’s journey to environmentally sustainable research and innovation.

Funding is available for initiatives and activities that achieve one or more of the following aims:

  • Advance understanding of environmentally sustainable laboratory practice
  • Increase the take-up of environmentally sustainable laboratory practices in the chemical sciences 
  • Facilitate sharing of best practices

These grants follow a commitment we made in October 2022 following the publication of our Sustainable laboratories report, to provide funding to making research practices in the chemical sciences more environmentally sustainable.

Environmentally sustainable research practice refers to doing research activities in a way which minimises their impact on the environment.

Environmentally sustainable research practice is distinct from sustainable or sustainability-focused research, where the outcomes are not applicable to a laboratory or other scientific research setting.  

Please refer to the RSC Sustainable laboratories report and our Frequently Asked Questions for further information about environmentally sustainable research practice, including challenges and potential solutions identified in a survey of chemical sciences researchers. You may also find this recent Chemistry World webinar useful.

If you are unsure whether your project is in scope for this scheme, please contact us.

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Who can apply?

The grants are open to everyone regardless of career stage, job role, sector, or location. Applications may also involve a co-applicant, but they must have a clear role and responsibilities in delivering the project.Please read our FAQs for more information.

The lead applicant (or co-applicant) must be an RSC member (of any level). Applicants, whether as a lead applicant or co-applicants can only be part of one application per round.

Please read the Guidance for Applicants for full eligibility criteria.

Grants are available up to a maximum of £10,000.

 

What can I apply for?

The scheme will be open to a wide range of projects, initiatives and activities that meet the scheme aims. Examples could include research projects, data collection, pilot studies, seed funding towards the development of larger projects, resource development, or activities to support networking, community development and sharing of best practices. This list is non-exhaustive, and we welcome creative ideas which address the above aims.

Please note that for consistency, we refer to any eligible project, initiative or activity as “project” in our documentation for this grant scheme.

Projects and their outcomes should relate to or have impact on chemical sciences research, and must also have benefits to the wider community beyond the grant recipient. Project ideas involving collaboration within and beyond chemistry are also welcome.

Sustainable Laboratories Grants will not be awarded to:

  • projects which do not focus on improving environmental sustainability in chemical sciences research practice
  • projects whose primary aim is to generate a financial surplus or for commercial development;
  • projects for which our support would not significantly enhance the activity;
  • projects which are unlikely to have wider benefit beyond the grant recipient or where wider benefit is not clearly articulated

Please read the Guidance for Applicants for full details.

 

Application timelines

Application open

25 September 2023
Application close 30 October 2023 1400 UK time (GMT)
Initial screening decisions Week commencing 13 November 2023
Funding decisions Early February 2024

Please read the Guidance for Applicants in full before you begin your application.

 

Assessment criteria

All applications will undergo an initial screening by staff. Applications will be rejected at this stage if:

  • You do not meet our eligibility criteria (see above)
  • Your application is incomplete
  • Your application does not adhere to length limits instructed in the application system
  • Your funding request exceeds the £10,000 limit

All eligible applications will be assessed against the following criteria by our grant reviewers:
Relevance to environmental sustainability of chemical sciences research

Your project and its outcomes must focus on improving the environmental sustainability of research practice in the chemical sciences.

Your project objectives should align with one or more of the scheme aims. You should also explain why and how your project builds on or adds to existing knowledge or practice.
Outcomes and impact Your proposal must clearly describe the intended outcomes and/or impact that the project will have and include a plan to evaluate whether the project has been successful in achieving these outcomes and impacts.
Wider benefit

Your proposal must explain how your project will have wider benefits beyond the grant recipient, including how any outputs and/or learnings will be shared.

 

This is an important aspect of this scheme, but we do not wish to be prescriptive in defining “wider benefit”. A key finding from the Sustainable laboratories report is the need for communities to share knowledge and best practice.
Feasibility of proposal Your project must be clearly written and costed, be feasible to complete with the resource allocation and/or support and be within the timeframe that you indicated on your proposal.
Impact of funding Applicants should show that the requested funding will make a significant difference to their ability to deliver the project.

Downloadable documents

download-bl.pngGuidance for Applicants

download-bl.pngFrequently Asked Questions

download-bl.pngBudget breakdown template for Sustainable Laboratories Grant application

 

Help spread the word

Share the Sustainable Laboratories Grant page via social media or download our promotional materials below to share with your friends and colleagues:

Download here:

download-bl.pngSustainable Labs PowerPoint
download-bl.pngSustainable Labs A5 Leaflet
download-bl.pngSustainable Labs (210 x 275 px)

 
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