Our Inclusion and Diversity Fund provides financial support for innovative products, activities and research projects that do just that.
Previous recipients of our funding have included projects related to gender, disability, socio-economic background, language, BAME scientists and the LGBT+ community. These have been delivered via initiatives such as data collection and analysis, workshops, conferences and hackathons.
We will consider individual applications up to the value of £5,000. Funding greater than £5,000 may be considered for one project each year. Please contact the diversity team for more details.
Do you have an idea for a community-driven project that looks at the needs, challenges and opportunities in support of the Black chemistry community?
We have created a specific open call to support these projects through our Inclusion & Diversity Fund.
Find out more about the Inclusion and Diversity fund and make an application below.
Who can apply
The grant scheme is open to everyone (individuals and organisations). This includes, but is not limited to, members of the Royal Society of Chemistry, member-led groups, researchers in academia or industry, museums, community groups, not-for-profit organisations, arts groups and libraries.
Previous recipients of any of our grants are welcome to apply for funding. This can be to scale-up a project that already exists or to fund the development of an original project.
Applicants should not resubmit an unsuccessful application unless invited to do so.
Eligibility
The proposed project must focus on inclusion and diversity – outreach or chemistry research projects will not be considered. If your application is considered more suitable for the Outreach Fund we will contact you and seek your approval to transfer your application.
Applications relating to a range of audiences will be considered, including different age groups, career stages, geographical regions and sectors.
For further detail on our audiences for inclusion and diversity activities please see our inclusion and diversity strategy.
Assessment criteria
All applications should clearly show that the proposed project:
- is centred on increasing inclusion and diversity in the chemical sciences community;
- is relevant to our inclusion and diversity strategy;
- has a clearly defined target audience;
- has a clearly defined intended impact;
- is deliverable; and
- includes clear evaluation plans.
In addition, applicants should show that the requested funding will make a significant difference to their ability to deliver the project.
Restrictions on funding
Inclusion and Diversity Fund grants will not be awarded to:
- projects which do not focus on investigating or addressing inclusion and diversity issues (i.e. outreach projects or chemistry research projects);
- projects whose primary aim is to generate a financial surplus;
- projects for which our support would not significantly enhance the activity;
- projects that are part of an education institution's usual programme of activities, including Open Days and Taster Days;
- cover the cost of general purpose hardware, apparatus or equipment; or
- cover any employment costs of project staff that receive a salary from the applying organisation.
Specific open call for projects supporting the Black chemistry community
The latest surge of action in the #BlackLivesMatter movement has spurred us to do more, quicker, for the Black chemistry community, and to listen to and learn from Black chemists. We are fast-tracking research to understand Black chemists’ experience of racism and discrimination, the depth and breadth of it, and what we specifically need to do to help eradicate it. In the meantime, we are making funding specifically available right now for community-driven projects that support the Black chemistry community.
Do you have an idea for a community-driven project that looks at the needs, challenges and opportunities in support of the Black chemistry community?
We have created a specific call to support these projects through our Inclusion & Diversity Fund. We will consider individual applications up to the value of £5,000. Funding greater than £5,000 may be considered for large-scale projects.
Applications remain open and each application will be evaluated in its own merit. We will respond to you within six weeks of receiving your completed application. If you wish to have your project application be considered in 2020, please ensure it is submitted by Friday 30 November.
All other criteria pertaining to eligibility, assessment and restrictions on funding apply as outlined on this webpage. Please note that the Inclusion and Diversity Fund is intended for projects that investigate or address inclusion and diversity issues. The Inclusion and Diversity Fund is not intended to fund chemistry research.
Please contact the diversity team if you have any questions.
- Tel:
- +44 (0) 1223 438334
- Email:
- send us an email
Past projects
|
Title |
Project summary |
Amount Awarded |
Contact |
Institution |
|
Gender awareness in initial teacher education in chemistry |
A research project to evaluate gender awareness in teacher training across universities offering PGCE programmes in Chemistry in Scotland. |
£1,200 |
Claire Smith |
University of Glasgow |
|
Supporting inclusion and encouraging diversity in Chemistry - where do you see yourself?
|
Creation of a Careers in Chemistry Toolkit to record career journeys of minority group chemists and pharmaceutical scientists. |
£2,000 |
Baljit Thatti |
Individual |
|
When, why and where does gender affect performance in chemistry |
A study to assess the learning approaches of undergraduate chemistry students, in relation to gender. |
£5,000 |
Sylvia Draper |
Individual |
|
The impact of prior knowledge on first year chemistry performance |
Examination of the effect of pre-university chemistry education on engagement to identify the barriers to inclusivity. |
£4,878 |
Lorna Nisbet |
Anglia Ruskin University |
|
Evaluating support strategies for positive mental health among academic staff in Higher Education STEM departments
|
Investigation into mental health support for academics in STEM departments across England. Dissemination of success stories and good practice. |
£3,050 |
Gemma Sweeney |
University of Huddersfield |
|
Science is for everyone, Unconscious Bias training for Primary schools |
Development and delivery of a teacher toolkit and training session for chemistry teachers to address Unconscious Bias in the classroom. |
£5,000 |
Francesca Gale |
Genome Research Limited |
|
Establishing a Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network |
Establishment of a mentoring network to increase diversity within the global supramolecular chemistry community. |
£4,825 |
Jennifer Hiscock |
Individual |
|
Towards a better understanding of the barriers and opportunities for children with learning difficulties in the chemistry classroom
|
A case study approach to understanding the barriers that current practices in school chemistry present to learners with SEND. |
£4,916 |
Jane Essex |
University of Strathclyde |
|
Women in Chemistry conference and careers event 2020 |
International Women's Day Conference bringing together 150 chemists (of all genders) from academia, industry and science communication. |
£2,000 |
Rhona Savin |
University of Nottingham Women in Chemistry Group |
|
PSoC distinguished seminar series: breaking barriers |
A series of inclusion and diversity events, including round-table discussions on issues of equality and diversity to celebrate the successes of underrepresented groups. |
£4,193 |
Nicola Rogers |
PSoC - Postdoctoral Society of Chemistry, University of Warwick |
|
Deaf students: removing barriers to education and training in chemistry |
Investigation into the uptake and attainment of chemistry education by deaf school pupils and development of bespoke HPLC training courses.
|
£5,000 |
Mark Jones |
RLC-lab |
|
Beyond breaking bias |
Continued investigation into a breaking bias textbook survey, aiming to provide high-quality and curriculum-focused resources to teachers.
|
£4,950 |
Claire Murray and Michael Seery |
Diamond Light Source and University of Edinburgh
|
|
Title |
Project summary |
Amount awarded |
Contact |
Institution |
|
Analysis of the undergraduate degree course selection of female A-level students studying chemistry |
Investigation into the barriers faced by girls at the A-level to chemistry undergraduate transition in the Huddersfield/Wakefield/Leeds area |
£5,000 |
Gemma Sweeney |
University of Huddersfield |
|
Assessing and promoting inclusion of the differently-abled in educational institutions in eastern India - with special reference to the chemical science community |
Assessing and promoting inclusion of the differently-abled in educational institutions in eastern India |
£4,450 |
Abha Rani |
Indian Institute of Technology, Dhanbad |
|
Breaking Bias - Representation of Women in Chemistry Curricula |
Critical evaluation of the gender of scientists reported in UK and ROI secondary school chemistry textbooks, in order to identify whether there is unconscious bias which diminishes the work of women |
£2,000 |
Claire Murray |
Diamond Light Source |
|
Chemclusion: investigating factors that promote active inclusion in undergraduate chemistry among people with disabilities |
Preliminary research on approaches that work in supporting learners with disabilities in pursuing chemistry education. |
£4,550 |
Michael Seery |
University of Edinburgh |
|
Reaching Equilibrium |
'Hackathon' to bring together 40 early career researchers and industry representatives to work on projects to increase diversity in STEM |
£1,000 |
Jess Wade |
Imperial College London |
|
INCLUDE: An Inclusive Chemical Landscape Underpinning Diversity & Equality |
Investigating and overcoming the barriers for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds engaging with the chemical sciences. |
£3,875 |
Alex Hamilton |
Sheffield Hallam University |
| Title | Project summary | Amount awarded | Contact | Institution |
|
Inspiring language communities - Multilingual Manchester |
Bilingual researchers work with difficult to reach communities where English is not the first language |
£500 |
Nick Weise |
University of Manchester |
|
Quest University Canada Supporting our Minorites in STEM |
Funding for a COACh workshop to develop women in leadership |
£1,500 |
Emma Davy |
Quest University, Canada |
|
Stories of women in STEM |
Exhibition of photographs and interviews with women in STEM |
£2,000 |
Rhys Archer |
University of Manchester |
|
SciSisters |
Technical support for the scisisters website |
£925 |
Polly Arnold |
University of Edinburgh |
|
BAME researchers - How to stay in academia conference |
A one-day conference at King’s College London, Workshops include speed networking, importance of mentoring, well-being, career life balance, and applying and writing fellowships. |
£2,000 |
Bernadine Idowu |
KCL |
|
International Outreach (NZ) |
University of Otego working with rural schools in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia to share outreach experiences working in NZ rural schools with teachers and teacher trainers in Sarawak |
£2,000 |
David Warren |
University of Otago |
|
LGBT+ STEMinar |
The LGBT+ STEMinar is a one-day event designed to benefit people who work or study in STEM subjects and identify as LGBT+ or are allies. |
£1,000 |
Derek Wann |
University of York |
|
Richness in Diversity Career Pathways in STEM |
One day conference to raise the profile of female and minority academics. Particular focus has been paid to selecting speakers who have had a ‘non-typical’ route into academia, who represent a minority group, or who have experienced life events that may have had a major impact on their career. |
£1,545 |
Jennifer Rudd |
Swansea University |
|
Seen and Heard seminar series |
A series of 30-minute lunchtime seminars that |
£2,000 |
Martha Gulman |
Women in research Ireland |
|
Sensory Science |
The Sensory Science programme enables disabled children to discover the world of science through play, exploration and creativity and in doing so, challenges the misconception that the scientific world is not a place for people with disabilities. |
£1,996 |
Katherine Sparkes |
|
|
Title |
Project summary |
Amount awarded |
Contact |
Institution |
|
Adaptation of Forensic Science Teaching Materials |
Adapting Forensic Science teaching materials for students with disabilities or ESL |
£850 |
Lynsey Shaw |
Strathclyde University |
|
Anonymising CVs |
Developing approach for anonymising CVs; Chemistry department want to be involved as well |
£2,000 |
Jenny Clark |
Sheffield University |
|
Big Bang Bristol |
Big bang event targeting girls and BAME students from hard to reach areas (free school meals, no university connections, under performing schools etc.) |
£2,000 |
Matthew Lee |
University of Bristol |
|
Career returners workshops |
Women career returners workshop |
£2,000 |
Penny Coggill |
CamAWiSE |
|
Durham PG Events Comm |
Careers events for postgrads and postdocs including discussions about gender balance in STEM academia and associated challeges |
£2,000 |
Laura Smith |
University of Durham |
|
Hidden Women Wikithon |
Producing wikipedia pages for women in STEM |
£500 |
Jess Wade |
Imperial College |
|
LGBT STEMinar |
LGBT STEM conference |
£500 |
Craig O'Hare |
Lancaster University |
|
WICTO |
Women in Chemistry Toronto conference |
£2,000 |
Nimrat Obhi |
Toronto |
The application process
| Application round deadline: | 19 April 2021 |
| Funding decision: | 4 June 2021 |
| Application round deadline: | 13 September 2021 |
| Funding decision deadline: | 29 October 2021 |
- Tel:
- +44 (0) 1223 438334
- Email:
- send us an email