Please note that the deadline for applications to support activities during British Science Week in 2027 has passed. It is usually each November.
Grants of up to £8,000 are available for UK community-groups and organisations to run their own science activities during British Science Week, particularly where such activities engage underrepresented groups and communities.
The British Science Association’s Community Grants programme is part of a wider 6-year programme to engage the public with research and innovation across the UK. Funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), this new initiative will celebrate the full breadth of UK research and innovation, from science and technology to the arts, humanities and social sciences – and the contribution it makes to improving lives and livelihoods.
Projects must have a connection to science. However, the Association will take a broad and inclusive view of what that means. Eligible projects can relate to STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), as well as the social sciences.
Applications that explore research and innovation across all disciplines, not just traditional science or STEM fields, are welcomed. Projects that bring together perspectives from the humanities, social sciences and STEM subjects are particularly encouraged.
Two types of grant are usually available:
Pilot Grants – grants of £2,500 for community organisations and groups to use research to test small scale pilot projects exploring how research can make a difference to local communities. This could be to explore an idea, investigate a question, test a new approach or build relationships with researchers that could lead to future collaboration. Pilot Grants are intended to support learning, experimentation and community leadership.
Incubator Grants - grants of between £5,000 and £8,000 for projects that are co-designed between community organisations and researchers to explore how research can make a difference to local communities. As with the Pilot Grants, Incubator Grants could also be used to explore an idea, investigate a question, test a new approach or build on existing relationships with researchers that could lead to future collaboration, and they are intended to support learning, experimentation and community leadership
For Incubator Grants, applications will also be considered from ‘broker organisations’ such as festivals, who can broker and facilitate relationships between communities and researchers.
Applications are welcome from organisations and community groups based in the UK that work with one or more of the following underrepresented communities:
- People from ethnic minority backgrounds
- People living in communities which face deprivation, including people disadvantaged in terms of education and income
- People with a disability or long-term health condition
- People living in remote and rural communities, and
- Girls and women (for community groups that work with girls and women, applications will be prioritised from those who work with at least one other underrepresented group).
Applications can be submitted by charities, community interest companies (CICs), constituted community groups, unincorporated associations, faith organisations and other community-led organisations.
Further information, guidance, frequently asked questions (FAQs) and a link to apply online is available on the British Science Week website.