Our Small Grants make a big impact

Yuandi Li, Royal Society of Chemistry

Since we launched our Small Grants for Scientific Activities in April 2013, we have supported more than 70 applications, awarding over £83,000 of grants in total. Through the programme, we support our efforts to develop and cultivate skills and talent in the chemical sciences at all levels and to strengthen the voice of our community. The Small Grants enable member-run meetings, policy initiatives and activities to develop our members’ careers.

Each application we receive for a Small Grant is assessed by members of our Division Councils – people like Jeremy Frey, Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Southampton and a member of the Faraday Division’s grants subcommittee. “I like the scheme because it is relatively flexible, providing small amounts of funding on a relatively quick time scale for things for which it can be difficult to raise other funding,” Jeremy says.

“The application process also gives us a chance to suggest how best to use funds to maximise impact,” Jeremy continues, explaining how the assessors’ experience can sometimes benefit the applicants in additional ways.
In return, our Division Councils benefit from seeing “the range of work being undertaken and the high regard shown for the members of the Division, especially the students, in terms of the conferences where they are presenting their work,” adds Jeremy.

Through the Small Grants scheme, we have already supported numerous activities, some examples of which are highlighted below. 

Supporting early-career researchers

We identified early-career researchers as those in particular need of support in the current funding climate. Through the Small Grants we seek to support this challenging career stage in numerous ways.

Complementing our Travel Grants for PhD Students and Postdoctoral Researchers, which supports researchers with up to five years post-PhD experience, the Small Grants support conference attendance by early-career researchers who completed their PhDs more than five years ago.

Jacqueline Stair from the University of Hertfordshire received a Small Grant that covered her travel to the Great Scientific Exchange Conference, where, as an invited speaker, she gave a presentation on her work in novel psychoactive substances. She said that it “was a fantastic opportunity for me as an early career researcher to present my research to an international analytical chemistry audience.” In addition to attending talks that benefited her professionally, she was able to network with researchers and equipment manufacturers, which she hopes will lead to collaborative work in testing for ‘designer’ drugs.

We have also supported many member-run meetings, either aimed specifically at early-career researchers or with a focus on this group. Greg Dunning organised the Southern Universities Spectroscopy and Dynamics Group meeting. This inaugural postgraduate meeting drew 40 attendees from the University of Sussex, University of East Anglia, University of Bristol and University of Oxford. Its five sessions gave many postgraduates their first experience at presenting their research in a relaxed atmosphere.

“This atmosphere also promoted a large number of questions from postgraduate researchers, a noticeable difference from many larger conferences,” says Greg. Furthermore, additional support from the Faraday Division ensured that registration fees were kept very low and the organisers could refund all travel expenses.

Bringing people together

The Small Grants also complement our new Researcher Mobility Fellowship scheme. Those who are not eligible for it can apply instead to the Small Grants scheme.

For example, Kieran Hudson, a PhD student from the University of Bristol, received a grant that helped to turn a conversation with Professor Steve Withers at our Chemical Biology Awards Symposium into a month-long visit to establish a new collaboration. In his post-visit report he wrote: “The techniques I have learned and work I carried out [in Steve’s lab in the University of British Columbia] will significantly enhance the output of my PhD study.

“I was able to learn how to synthesise the carbohydrates that I am interested in with enzymatic methods, under the instruction of world experts in the field and with access to the materials and enzymes required. Making even half of these by conventional chemical means would simply not have been possible within the timeframe of my PhD.”

Encouraging policy initiatives

As a result of receiving a Small Grant, Richard Allan, Managing Director of Cobalt Management Solutions, a water management and renewable consultancy and a member of our Water Science Forum committee, represented the Royal Society of Chemistry and the BSI Group as a technical expert at an international meeting to negotiate a standard for validating technologies with an environmental benefit.

“Currently, many countries have their own verification schemes and the cost of verification is prohibitive to small businesses, which means that they cannot gain entry into international markets,” explains Richard. An internationally-recognised standard would mean new technologies would only need to be verified once, and the verification data produced in this process would be recognised by all regulators worldwide.

“The Panama trip was very successful and the standards that I was working on were largely agreed and we have moved towards publication,” Richard continues. “The small grant was critical to enabling me to attend the International Standardisation meeting, and in doing so, allowed BSI and the RSC influence over the direction of the proposed processes.”

Continuing professional development

We also welcome applications for continuing professional development. Our Analytical Division provided a grant to John Cassidy’s courtroom skills training day that allowed 43 attendees, whose careers involve giving testimony, free registration.

Following the course, John reported that “the student cohort appreciated the value of RSC membership, as they are aware that without the sponsorship by the RSC Analytical Division the event could not have taken place.”

How to apply for our Small Grants

The Small Grants are designed to be as flexible as possible, so even if your activity is not of any of the types covered in this article, we would still like to hear from you. To apply for up to £2,000 for your own activities, simply download and complete the application form.

Please allow us three months from the date of application to return a decision.
Having assessed a variety of application, Jeremy Frey offers the following advice for prospective applicants:

• provide concise and clearly stated objectives;
• make sure you meet the criteria;
• be clear about what the funds would be used for and what other funds have been requested or obtained;
• be clear about how you (or those your application represents) will benefit from the funds and activity.