Inclusion & Diversity Fund

This fund is now closed for applications

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, race and ethnicity, the LGBT+ community and more. 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.

Who can apply?

The grant scheme is open to RSC members or non-members based in the United Kingdom/Republic of Ireland.

Eligible applicants can apply either as individuals or on behalf of an organisation. This includes, but is not limited to, 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, provided they fit the current eligibility criteria below. 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.

Please note, the Inclusion & Diversity Fund is intended for projects that directly investigate or address inclusion and diversity issues in the chemical sciences. The Inclusion and Diversity Fund is not intended to fund chemistry research.

Assessment criteria

Applications will be assessed on:

Focus on the chemical science community	Your project must be centred on increasing inclusion and diversity in the chemical sciences community.
Relevance to RSC I&D Strategy	Your project must be relevant to our inclusion and diversity strategy.
Audience	You project must have a clearly defined target audience within the chemical sciences community.
Impact	Your proposal must clearly describe the impact that the project will have on the target audience and/or beyond.
Outcomes	Your project should be deliverable and include clear evaluation plans.
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.

Please ensure you read the “Restriction on funding” section before you begin your application.

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
cover any employment costs of project staff that receive a salary from the applying organisation

Projects that have received funding in the past

In the table below you can view all the projects we have supported with our Inclusion & Diversity funding, including special calls for specific projects, such as those helping the Black chemistry community.

Details of our Special Calls

To advance inclusion and diversity in the chemical sciences we created the Inclusion and Diversity Fund. Since its inception in 2016, the ID Fund has supported community-driven projects addressing a wide range of topics, covering many different aspects of diversity. However, evidence continues to show the systemic underrepresentation of particular groups within the chemical sciences, and we have created ringfenced funding opportunities focusing on specific topics through special calls for projects.

2020

We launched our first special call for projects through the Inclusion and Diversity Fund, to specifically encourage and support projects focusing on addressing the underrepresentation of Black chemists, as part of our ongoing work focusing on race and ethnicity inequities in the chemical sciences. This special call for projects in support of the Black chemistry community funded 15 projects including 11 based in the UK/ROI, the details of which can be found in the Past projects table.

2021

We launched our second special call, to encourage applications for projects focused on disability and accessibility in the chemical sciences. We understand that disabled chemists are diverse, and we explicitly welcomed projects focusing on any and all experiences of disability, including mobility and sensory impairments, chronic illness, neurodiversity, and mental health conditions. We were delighted to award funding to 9 projects representing this broad diversity of focus, the details of which can be found in the Past projects table.

2022

We launched an additional special call for projects to research and tackle disabled under representation in chemistry. Applications were received from a wide variety of countries worldwide and were pleased to award funding to ten projects the details of which can be found in the Past projects table.

2023

We launched the socioeconomic inclusion special call which aimed to further understand and support the needs and challenges of chemists from low socioeconomic backgrounds to promote inclusive access and progression within the chemical sciences. We particularly encouraged applications for community driven projects or events that focus on intersectionality to fully understand the multiple disadvantages due to different protected characteristics

See past projects

Round 1

Projects funded with Round 1 of the Inclusion & Diversity fund in 2024

Title	Project summary	Amount awarded	Contact	Institution
Elements of Inclusion	A series of podcast-style interviews and a panel event to discuss inclusivity and diversity in STEM, primarily from the LGBTQI+ community.	£1150	Dr Jason McNulty	Individual
A Scottish study on entry requirements and attainment for students from deprived backgrounds	This project will determine if there is any difference between outcomes for students from a deprived background in comparison to those from a more affluent background studying Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde.	£5000	Prof Debbie Willison	University of Strathclyde
Identifying Barriers Faced by Female Academics in the Chemical Sciences	This project aims to interview a range of female academics and researchers, with a focus on identifying and discussing the opportunities and barriers faced during the progression of their career, in light of previous studies.	£1500	Miss Hannah Hilton-Tapp	University of Leicester
Widening Access to Chemistry: Chemistry for me, Chemistry for all.	Secondary pupils in chemistry from minority groups, underrepresented/underserved communities, or who face other barriers, will research access to Chemistry. Reflecting on their own journey, their findings/recommendations will shape how we truly make chemistry for all.	£5000	Mr Graeme Rough	Saturday School Ltd
Photography Competition to Promote Fairness and Inclusiveness in Chemical Science Community	The proposed Photography Competition is aiming to promote fairness and inclusiveness in chemical science community, which is open to the public. All photos will be displayed during the exhibition event at the University of Aberdeen.	£5000	Dr Yeshui Zhang	Individual
Developing Inclusive Python-based teaching resources for Chemistry Education	Develop inclusive and accessible teaching materials which introduce chemistry students to the key concepts of programming through chemical examples and applications. These materials will implicitly and explicitly challenge students’ preconceptions about “who can program”.	£2100	Dr Alan Lewis	Individual
WoNDRS: A conference to support Women and Non-binary Doctoral Researchers in STEM	The inaugural Conference for Women and Non-binary Doctoral Researchers in STEM (WoNDRS) will be held in Liverpool, to foster a sense of community among PhD students and celebrate the achievements of underrepresented groups in science.	£2613	Prof Brianna Heazlewood	University of Liverpool
Advancing Inclusivity Through Collaboration: Co-Creating Digital Assessment Strategies with Mature Chemistry Students	Our project at London Metropolitan University aims to co-create digital tools with instant feedback for chemistry practical’s, supporting students, especially mature learners. Through collaboration, evaluation, and dissemination, we will enhance inclusivity in Chemical Sciences.	£4500	Dr Daniel Sykes	Individual
Pathways in Chemistry	Identify and then systematically address the barriers that prevent pupil premium students in Medway from engaging in post-16 chemistry education.	£4,000	Mrs Emilija Kay	Individual
Postgraduate Network in Chemistry	Creating a social enterprise that can motivate, support and develop postgraduate students in science to reach the top of their career.	£3227	Mr Teghtegh Samoh	Individual
Breaking Language Barriers: A Chemistry Dictionary App	Developing a free English to Bahasa Malaysia chemistry dictionary app to address language barriers, promote inclusivity, and enhance educational opportunities for students and teachers in Malaysia.	£3500	Dr Lai Chun Wong	Individual
Your chemical heritage - Bringing chemistry to indigenous people	The history of chemistry is too often focused on European culture. This project emphasises to indigenous peoples the role of chemistry in their culture and history in order to increase their participation in chemistry education.	£5000	Prof Nigel Mason	Individual
Mitigating the Burden of Self-Advocacy: Understanding neurodivergent experiences of early career chemists.	By documenting neurodivergent experiences at different transition points along the early-career pathway we seek to understand barriers to career progression within Chemical Sciences. Results will identify areas where systemic change can improve inclusivity for neurodiversity.	£4934.25	Dr Lauren Marsh	Individual
Careers in chemical sciences – capturing the career journeys of neurodivergent students	A rich picture research project on the career experiences of neurodivergent students in the chemical sciences, evaluating career exploration and employment activities, in order to map real-life career “journeys” and share good practice and learning.	£4185	Mrs Claire Toogood	The Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS)
Gender Pay Gap Reporting in the Nuclear Sector	To enable what began as an internal research piece, to be professionally published and distributed with maximum reach and impact across the nuclear community by funding design and print resources which we don't have ‘in-house’.	£4830	Mr Rory Laye	Inclusion and Diversity in Nuclear
Lab Coat for Wheelchair Users	Develop a waterproof and chemical resistant labcoat for wheelchair users working in a wet lab, the labcoat will be based upon an existing design currently used in a dry lab.	£5000	Mr Oliver Collier	University College London

Projects funded with Round 1 of the Inclusion & Diversity fund

Projects funded with Round 2 of the Inclusion & Diversity fund

Projects funded with Socieconomic Inclusion Special Call of the Inclusion & Diversity Fund in 2023

Round 1

Title	Project summary	Amount awarded	Contact	Institution
Diverse Science Podcast	Creation of a podcast to elevate the voices of ethnic minorities in science, explore social issues, and empower those at all levels in the chemical sciences.	£330	Miss Johanna Fish	Individual
Promoting Science at the grassroots level	To enhance the learning environment at the grassroots to influence talented young scientists.	£5,000	Dr. Solomon Omwoma Lugasi	Kenya Chemical Society
Colourful Chemistry: Bringing experimental Chemistry closer to disadvantaged high schools in the city of Gqeberha, South Africa	Creation of inexpensive chemistry kits for black learners from disadvantaged schools to gain hands-on active learning experiences.	£4,500	Dr Adeniyi Ogunlaja	Individual
Understanding the experience and perception of gay and lesbian university students studying chemistry in the UK	To understand the experience and perception of gay and lesbian students, at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, who are pursuing studies in chemistry in the UK.	£500	Dr Wing-Fu Lai	Individual
"STEM-inism: Equity in STEM" podcast	To produce a 10-episode podcast that addresses the under-representation of minoritised identities in STEM, primarily from the black community.	£4,750	Mr Ali Saad	Vanta STEM
Lennard-Jones Centre Women's Network	To enhance diversity and inclusion in molecular and materials modelling by establishing a supportive community through regular events, mentoring, and talks, fostering career development and empowerment for women in the field	£5,000	Dr Stephen Cox	Lennard-Jones Centre
Catalysing job applications from women in the chemical sciences	To catalyse applications from women into PhD, postdoctoral and research fellow positions by providing an opportunity to visit the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol prior to a job opening.	£5,000	Dr Basile Curchod	School of Chemistry, University of Bristol
Neurodiversity from the lens of neurodiverse university students	To develop resources and guidelines raising awareness among Chemical Engineering University students and to normalise being neurodiverse by engaging stories and avatars and encouraging students to recognise signs and seek assistance.	£5,000	Dr Vijesh Bhute	Individual
Faces of Chemistry	To create a database of cutting-edge research in Chemistry at Bath by diverse scientists from the postgraduate, postdoctoral and permanent staff, linked to specific aspects of the undergraduate curriculum, as examples for lectures.	£4,876.80	Dr Adam Squires	Individual
Student mental health and anxiety as a hidden disability in UK chemistry labs.	To explore the main causes of anxiety in students undertaking practical laboratory work, in the UK, the effect that a mental health diagnosis may have, and implications for inclusive practice.	£5,000	Dr Patrick Thomson	University of Strathclyde
Engaging students with disabilities in marine chemistry research with recreational sailing	To develop and pilot a citizen science activity that engages high school student with disabilities in marine chemistry education through recreational sailing and provide them with confidence in a future chemistry research career	£5,000	Dr Enrico Davoli	Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS
Addressing the gender imbalance in surface science	To produce a video series focusing on prominent women within the surface science community at different career stages and on different pathways to showcase their careers and research.	£5,000	Dr Mark	HarwellXPS
Rousing the interest of derived basic school students in Chemistry using computer simulations, models, games, puzzles and fun practical Chemistry	To arouse the interest of chemical sciences among deprived junior high school learners (grades 7 to 9) and increase the enrolment of female learners in the chemical sciences.	£4,992	Dr Gershon Amenuvor	Individual
Mandatory Internship for M.Sc. Thesis to underprivileged students from remote locations of Uttar Pradesh (India) pursuing chemical sciences in post-graduation.	To promote diversity and inclusion in chemical sciences by increasing the presence and supporting the under-represented students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds from remote locations in Uttar Pradesh (India) for a career in chemistry.	£5,000	Dr Sushil Maurya	Individual
Adaptation of laboratory workshops in the disciplines "General Chemical Technology" and "Chemical Technology of Inorganic Substances" for students with physical disabilities caused by military actions in Ukraine.	To adapt and modernize laboratory equipment, to make it possible to provide high-quality competence-oriented training of specialists with physical disabilities in the speciality of chemical technologies of inorganic substances.	£5,000	Prof Zenovii Znak	Lviv Polytechnic National University (Ukraine)
Enhancing inclusion and diversity strategies for early career in organic chemistry for high school students and undergraduates in the south-south region of Nigeria	To increase the number of students from underrepresented groups pursuing organic chemistry, improving their academic performance and engagement, and fostering a culture of inclusivity in the study of organic chemistry in the South-South region of Nigeria.	£5,000	Mrs Edet Patience	Individual
ChemRxplorer: AI-powered gamification of pharmaceutical sciences	To create an AI-powered gamification app that engages students in medicinal chemistry through interactive quizzes	£5,000	Dr Moe Elbadawi	Individual
Neuroinclusive Chemistry Education	To provide neuro-inclusive support to undiagnosed neurodiverse students. The support provided by this funding will allow all students to prosper in their educational environment with and without an official neurodiversity diagnosis.	£2,232	Dr Niamh O'Mahoney	Individual

Round 2

Title	Project summary	Amount awarded	Contact	Institution
PERIODicallly Season 2: Instigating the impact of reproductive health in academia	A student led podcast series which discusses the impacts of reproductive health on academic life.	£5000	Miss Charlie Simms	Individual
Reducing the learning barriers for deaf bilingual students studying A Level chemistry	Produce accessible learning resources and required practical investigations in British Sign Language (BSL) for students studying A Level chemistry in order to improve the educational outcomes	£4800	Mr Derek Rodger	Heathlands School for the deaf
Expanding the development of audio-tactile images for teaching chemistry to students with severe visual impairment or blindness	Development of audio-tactile images describing the main spectroscopic analytical techniques used in chemistry laboratories for students with severe visual impairment or blindness and comparison of their efficiency with verbal description approach	£5000	Professor Victoria Samanidou	Individual
Young Chemists for Change (YCFC): Advancing Equity in Chemistry	A conference organised by young chemists for young chemists with the objective to have every attendee reflect on how their research is promoting diversity and/or inclusion	£5000	Miss Francesca Adami	Institute of Chemistry of Ireland Young Chemist Network (ICI-YCN)
Chemistry and Mathematics with gender equality: a lecture series.	In this two-day lecture series, female speakers and members of the LGBTIQ+ community will share their experiences in the Chemistry and Mathematic field to encourage and motivate students to complete their university goals.	£3000	Mx Silvia Paulina Toimil Dávila	Quimática Academy of the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
Women in Crystallography - a video series	A series of video interviews on the personal experiences of crystallographers, focusing on gender bias (both conscious and unconscious), with the scope of raising awareness within the chemical scientific community and beyond.	£5000	Doctor Annalisa Guerri	GIG-03 "Education in Crystallography" - General Interest Group of the European Crystallographic Association
Catalysing Diversity – A Chemistry Seminar Series for All	The ‘Catalysing Diversity – A Chemistry Seminar Series for All’ will create a platform to improve the visibility of scientists from diverse backgrounds and identities in the Chemical Sciences to university students from under-represented groups.	£5000	Dr Prachi Stafford	Individual
EDUCATE: Empowering Diversity in Undergraduate Chemical Sciences Through Engagement	Enhance EDI in Nigerian scientific space through the publication and distribution of Science Diversity Magazine across Nigeria and a research study at Kaduna State University	£4160	Mr Kenneth Bitrus David	Pharmafluence Education Advancement Network (PEAN)
Pedagogy refresher workshop for chemical science trainers of persons abled differently in selected counties of Western Kenya	Pedagogy workshop will be conducted to chemical sciences trainers of special high schools in selected counties in Western Kenya to ensure delivery of quality chemical education and uptake of chemical sciences among persons abled differently	£4990	Dr Fredrick Okumu	Individual
Fostering Equity in Chemical Sciences for BAME Students in North East England	Support BAME students in Chemistry through collaboration with various stakeholders, explore challenges in the application process and post-graduation networking, involving student interns to identify industry-desired skills and boost self-assurance.	£4992	Dr Cristina Navarro	Individual
Catalyzing diversity, Equity and Inclusion in chemical sciences	The workshop “Catalysing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Chemical Sciences” will provide a platform for the chemical sciences community to discuss ideas and best practices for creating more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments.	£5000	Dr Mildred Airo	Maseno University
Balancing learning and life to become a chemist: investigating how external responsibilities shape student success inequity in first year undergraduates	This study will combine large-scale survey data and in-depth interview insights to understand how undergraduate students from marginalised social demographics navigate at-home responsibilities while completing their chemistry studies.	£2500	Dr Joshua Wang	Individual
Visibility and mentorship campaign for underrepresented groups in Computational Chemistry	Championing diversity in computational chemistry, providing mentorship and seminars to underrepresented groups. We're expanding our impactful schemes, supported by an enriching digital platform, with ambitions for a robust 2024 mentorship program.	£2000	Dr Michelle Sahai	The Molecular Graphics and Modelling Society

Socioeconomic Inclusion Special Call of the Inclusion & Diversity Fund

Title	Project summary	Amount awarded	Contact	Institution
Sharing Good Practice in Attracting Young People to Study Chemistry in Scottish Schools	Identify and share good practice in attracting young people to study Chemistry by creating a support network for chemistry teachers, particularly newly qualified teachers and teachers who are the lone chemist in a science faculty.	£1,200	Dr Clare Smith	University of Glasgow
A Scottish perspective on the barriers to progression into, and through, Chemistry HE for those from deprived backgrounds	Establishing a continuing network of academics for widening participation of individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds.	£4999.39	Professor Debbie Willison	University of Strathclyde
Marginalisation in science: Being the 1st Generation in your family to attend university	Focused on the sense of belonging of individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds and encouraging individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds to pursue a career in chemistry.	£5000	Dr Jennifer Leigh	University of Kent
Levelling Up: Chemistry	Levelling Up: Chemistry will support attainment- and aspiration-raising with mentoring and academic tutoring for up to 25 students studying post-16 Chemistry from low socioeconomic backgrounds in the East Midlands.	£5000	Dr Valentina Cuzzucoli Crucitti	University of Nottingham
Shifting your mindset from can't to why not	Individuals from low socioeconomic background working in the chemical sciences, often lack the confidence to take advantage of opportunities to progress their career. This project will develop a self-affirming toolkit to shift their mindset.	£5000	Dr Marcia Philbin	Faculty of Pharmaceutical medicine & RSC Management Interest Group
Passport to Success: understanding the impact of positive action for HEI students in Chemical Sciences	Increase progression and retention of post-1992 university students’ by assessing the impact of application preparatory support. Specifically goal setting, application form, interview skills and evaluating participants’ confidence/willingness to applying to other initiatives.	£5000	Mr Kevin Coutinho	Windsor Fellowship
Does Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) improve continuation and progression rates for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds?	Developing and assessing the impact of PLTL to improve low success rates, fostering discussions, problem solving and deeper engagement with course material.	£4549.65	Dr Lesley Howell	Queen Mary University London
A Mentoring Scheme to Improve Inclusion & Retention of Chemistry Students from Lower Socioeconomic Groups	Establishing and evaluating a mentoring scheme to support the induction and retention of individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds over the first year of their university education.	£4871	Professor Caroline Dessent	University of York
Supporting Scientific Literacy and Careers in Chemistry for Young People from Economically Deprived areas	Supporting and encouraging the uptake of economically disadvantaged young people to explore and contextualise career pathways into the chemical sciences.	£5000	Mrs Candice Leckie	St Columba’s High School

Projects funded with Round 1 and Round 2 of the Inclusion & Diversity fund in 2022

Projects funded through the special call in support of improving accessibility and disability inclusion in the chemical sciences

Round 1 and 2

Title	Project summary	Amount awarded	Contact	Institution
Addressing the Chemical Sciences gap among minority groups in Nigeria: Measuring the impact of instrumentation and soft skills for global competitiveness	To improve research projects by undergraduate and postgraduate chemistry students to address the graduate-unemployment gap in Nigeria through the development of technical skills needed for employability and sustained career continuity in chemical science.	£5,000.00	Mr David Izuogu	Africa of Our Dream Initiative
Barriers - Chemistry in the science foundation year	To establish the barriers to success for neurodiverse students in their first footsteps into studying chemistry on a science foundation year and remove them.	£2,580.00	Mrs Linda Berry (now Forbes)	Individual
Inclusion for All	Challenge perceptions of the Chemical Sciences and highlight the inclusive environment and diverse community of people working in this important field.	£4,800.00	Mr Peter Duff	Peter Duff Consulting Limited
Advancing Science in Primary Schools of Western Kenya	To boost the attitude of upcoming scientists, a contingent of professionals who share similar poor backgrounds to students will visit primary schools in Western Kenya.	£5,000.00	Dr Solomon Omwoma LUGASI	Kenya Chemical Society, Western Chapter
Pilot scheme for the provision of Writing Retreats for staff in the School of Applied Sciences	Enbale STEM staff to attend a four-day Writing Retreat to concentrate on career-enhancing activity (such as manuscript writing, funding bids, book chapters).	£5,000.00	Dr Gemma Sweeney	University of Huddersfield
Future Scientist - Diversifying Pharma	Enable a group of Black A level students to gain some hands-on experience on top of range analytical equipment in pharma and academia environment to strengthen their personal statements for university applications.	£5,000.00	Dr Azzedine Dabo	Individual
Life after school: Chemistry-related career choices for undergraduate female chemistry students and senior high female science students	A 2-day workshop to pique the interests of undergraduate chemistry students, and senior high science students in integrating into chemistry-related areas after graduation from the university.	£5,000.00	Dr Pennante Naa Ayikailey Bruce-Vanderpuije	Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Institute-Water Research Institute
Strategies supporting inclusion and diversity for early careers in chemical sciences for secondary students in arid and semi-arid areas in eastern region of Kenya	Motivate and endeavour diversify, include and create equity in accessing and acquiring chemical sciences knowledge to boy and girl child from selected high schools in arid and semi-arid Eastern Region of Kenya.	£5,000.00	MR FRANCIS KIEMA	Individual
Kenyan women researchers in chemical sciences: #SuccessJourney	Spotlight ten established Kenyan women researchers in chemical sciences and share their research success journey and advice with upcoming women researchers using academic social media platforms.	£3,000.00	Dr Lucy Ombaka	Individual
ENRICHEM 2	To produce two suites of animations addressing two major Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion issues. The topics will cover Imposter Syndrome and Disability and Inclusion.	£5,000.00	Prof Ritu Kataky	Individual
MAINSTRAEM: Mentorship and Inclusive Networking for Solar Themed Researchers Accelerating Emerging Megastars	Promote and support career progression of early stage solar researchers with caring responsibilities and from marginalised gender and ethnic backgrounds through a targeted programme of training, mentoring and the creation of a peer-network.	£5,000.00	Dr Alexandra Ramadan	Individual
Investigating the Sexual Orientation Identities in General Chemistry Classrooms of Kenyan Universities	Measure the representation of LGBTQ+ students in general chemistry classrooms in Kenyan universities. The study will then explore ways of retaining these students in STEM fields.	£4,800.00	Dr. Anthony Pembere	Individual
Chromatographic techniques accessible for individuals with visual impairments using audio-tactile pictures	Produce accessible audio-tactile pictures related to chemistry, for students with visual impairments. This multimodal approach contributes significantly to the perception of educational material by students with blindness.	£5,000.00	Professor Victoria Samanidou	Individual
Assessment of the inclusiveness of the limitations of learners with disability in the construction of chemistry laboratory learning spaces in institutions in Nigeria	Assess the adequacy of chemistry laboratory learning space for learners with physical disabilities in educational institutions of Nigeria.	£4,932.00	Dr John Gushit	Individual
Inspirational Chemists: A Student Conference Activity to Raise Awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Chemical Sciences	Student-led conference designed to raise student awareness of Diversity and Inclusion in Chemistry by working with each other to explore inspiring examples of research and innovation led by chemists from diverse backgrounds.	£5,000.00	Dr Dylan Williams	University of Birmingham
Catalysing solutions to address inequities in research	One-day symposium bringing together researchers, funders, publishers, and others to address inequities in chemistry research linked to gender, disability, and race by developing more inclusive working environments with equitable funding and publishing processes.	£1,572.00	Dr Katherine Manfred	University of York
Researching and Designing a Credible Wheelchair-Friendly Lab Coat	Address barriers to entry, inclusivity and ableism in wet lab-based chemical and biological sciences by researching, designing and prototyping a wheelchair-friendly, dignified and credible lab coat, and take steps towards mass production.	£4,776.00	Dr Andrew Cook	University of Dundee
Low enrolment in chemistry and other chemical sciences in Nigeria, the case of Southwest	To enhance the interest of young girls and female undergraduates in chemical sciences through career and psychosocial mentorship.	£4,800.00	Dr. Adebola A. Adeyi	University of Ibadan
Intensive Internship Programmes in Chemistry for Girl Students from Socially & Economically Backward Communities	Provide Internship training comprising Lab work and theory under experienced guide to enable girl students studying chemistry from socio-economically backward classes to be industry-ready after their graduation/post-graduation degree.	£4,715.00	Dr Pintoo Ganguly	Individual
Delivering workshops and guidance in environmental chemistry to female children living in small Maldivian islands to inspire future scientific careers	Promoting gender equality and an environmental chemistry career among female children living in small Maldivian islands, starting by practical experiments at the beach to discover the beauty of nature and the importance of sustainability	£4,600.00	Prof Francesco Saliu	University of Milano-Bicocca
Accessible Modern Data Science based Data Analysis Platform for Diverse Users of X-Ray Absorption and Fluorescence Spectroscopy	Modern data science-based data analysis platform at SESAME light source can facilitate diverse users and researchers of chemical sciences (XAFS/XRF data analyses) in developing world from ASIA to Africa with ethnic and gender equality.	£5,000.00	Dr Latif Ullah Khan	Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East
Visibility and mentorship campaign for underrepresented minorities in Computational Chemistry	Provide encouragement, mentorship, and guidance to underrepresented minorities and allies at all career levels in the field of Computational Chemistry.	£2,000.00	Dr Michelle Sahai	Molecular Graphics and Modelling Society
Students Challenging Inequalities in Chemistry Higher Education	Listen to students’ experiences of inequalities in chemistry education and amplify our participants voices through creative dissemination via the website and social media.	£4,728.60	Dr Julia Sarju	Individual
Engineering performativity in the case of BAME women’s inclusion in the UK’s Chemical Sciences.	To take an emic approach to explore the issue of gender and systemic inequalities for BAME women’s inclusion and persistence in the field of Chemical Sciences within the UK.	£2,500.00	Dr Aparna Venkatesan	Individual
The experience of British-Asian chemistry students in higher education	To understand the experiences of British-Asian students in chemistry higher education to address their sense of belonging in the chemical sciences and better understand underlying issues in their attainment gap.	£5,000.00	Dr Namrah Shahid	Individual
Exploring chemistry from a historical perspective as a method that breaks the stereotype of inaccessible science and enriches the presentation of scientific knowledge	Encourage non-chemists at various ages to explore chemistry, support the didactic process for teachers and students in understanding how chemistry knowledge is generated, and initiate a chemistry history room.	£5,000.00	Dr Dawid Zych	Individual
A Survey of Barriers to Combining Pregnancy and Breastfeeding and an Academic Career in the Physical Sciences	To explore the main barriers (both lived experiences and perceived) to combining pregnancy and breastfeeding and an academic career, using a mixed method approach: quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups).	£1,000.00	Professor Alison Hulme	Individual
A Student Report Website: Monitoring the Science Students challenges resulting from poor student-Lecturer relationships	To identify and address the irregularities leading to poor academic performances of science students while advocating for a student report website platform which will not expose reporters’ identity.	£4,325.57	Mr Teghtegh Samoh	Individual
From camp to lab – Bringing to light the chemistry potential of refugees in Greece	This project aims to facilitate the integration of migrants in the educational system and the job market of Greece and EU, inspiring immigrant teenagers and supporting adults with chemical background.	£5,000.00	Dr. Ioannis Pavlidis	University of Crete
Towards a better understanding of Chemistry behind Phytochemical and their medicinal importance amongst a diverse group of Undergraduate rural college students of West Bengal, India	A seminar series to spread the knowledge of Chemistry behind Phytochemicals used as herbal medicine for treatment of various diseases of human being amongst marginalized and economically deprived rural college students.	£4,000.00	Datta Samir Kanti	The Bhawanipur Education Society College, Kolkata, India
I belong in Chemistry event	Increasing awareness that individuals with minoritised protected characteristics can be chemists by organising an event with talks from minority groups, including individuals’ backgrounds and research/current activities as well as a networking social.	£1,910.00	Dr Rebecca M. Smith	University of St Andrews
Let's Talk About EDI: A HE Chemistry Perspective!	Centred around a series of EDI podcasts and related EDI content to be hosted on a website where both podcasts and content are available to connect the audience to the related content.	£3,665.20	Dr Sweta Ladwa	Individual
Podcast on the experience of having periods while studying Chemistry	A podcast series in which students talk with each other about the experience of having periods while studying for a chemistry degree.	£2,417.00	Dr Michael O'Neill	Individual
Addressing barriers in the education of mature postgraduate students in the Chemical Sciences	To identify the barriers that mature PhD students face and address them by making a resource pack for them and their mentors/supervisors.	£5,000.00	Dr Kalliopi Kousi	Individual
Chemistry, Calories & Combustion: Addressing the Barbadian Epidemic of Youth Obesity and Examining Fossil Fuel Combustion and its linkage to Climate Change	To show chemistry’s role in daily life. Food and fossil fuels are energy sources, where detrimental effects of their immoderate use are evident worldwide as obesity and climate impacts.	£5,000.00	Dr Claire Durant	Individual
Decentralized Science, a new vector to tackle inclusion and diversity in Chemical Sciences	A networking event bringing together academics and professionals to discuss how the Decentralized Science movement and the blockchain community can collaboratively develop transformative projects and community actions to improve inclusion and diversity in Chemical Sciences.	£4,785.68	Dr Francois Sicard	Individual
LGBTQ+ visibility for STEMM	This project supports the work of the PRISM Exeter network, which provides a community and visible platform for LGBTQ+ STEMM professionals and students	£5,000.00	Dr Claire Davies	PRISM (Pride & Representation in STEMM Matters) Exeter
All-Ireland Athena Swan Workshop for the Promotion of Gender Equality in the Chemical Sciences.	This workshop will bring together, for the first time, representatives from Schools of Chemistry in Ireland for a workshop to share ideas and best-practice to support and promote gender equality in the chemical sciences.	£4,600.00	Dr Paul Kavanagh	Queens University Belfast
The Ball World	To establish a worldwide data base to put on the map the contribution to the scientific community of forgotten/invisibilised scientists.	£5,000.00	Dr Alba Acevedo Fernández	Centro Nacional del Hidrógeno (CNH2)
Developing an ID self-talking Chemistry textbooks for South Sudan.	To review inclusion and diversity policies in the curriculum of South Sudan; assesses the extent to which these policies are inserted in the Chemistry textbooks; finally, develop an ID self-talking Chemistry textbooks.	£4,980.00	Mr Onen Tony	Individual
The Science of Indigenous Paint and Technologies	To afford opportunities to explore necessary pedagogical considerations for incorporation of Indigenous traditions into chemistry curriculum and research.	£4,564.00	Dr Raphaell Moreira	The REDI Instituto in STEM
Equity-centred mentoring in Chemistry	To explore how marginalised chemistry graduate students navigate between their marginalised and chemistry identities, as well as how research mentors perceive the challenges and abilities of marginalized chemistry graduate students.	£5,000.00	Dr. Paulette Vincent Ruz	Individual
Maximising Chemistry Attainment through Inclusion and Diversity	Fully funded scholarships for young people from underserved, underrepresented, and disadvantaged groups to support and sustain their Chemistry learning, attainment, and engagement, both in secondary school and future pathways in FE, HE or work.	£5,000.00	Mr Graeme Rough	Saturday School Ltd

Projects funded through the special call in support of improving accessibility and disability inclusion in the chemical sciences

Title	Project summary	Amount awarded	Contact	Institution
Participatory teaching and learning strategy: A mean of improving the learning outcomes of educable mentally challenged students in basis science.	Application of participatory teaching and learning strategy drawn on constructivist theory, stepwise and visual aided teaching approach aimed at improving the learning outcomes among educable mentally challenged leaners in Basic Science	£2,100	Rev Dr Idowu Emmanuel Obolo	Individual
The Grey Area of Colour Blindness: Enhancing Inclusivity in the Chemistry Laboratory	To develop a method to identify students with colour vision deficiencies, provide safe protective colour-enhancing eyewear for the lab and to analyse the benefits to these students.	£1,530	Dr Michael McKeever	Swansea University
Spotlight Series: Celebrating Disabled Scientists	Creation of poster resources, illustrated by Compound Interest, to highlight disabled scientists, talking about both their disability/disabilities and their scientific research.	£3,600	Dr Zoë Ayres	Enable Science
Promotion of Inclusion of disabled students by training University lecturers teaching chemistry in Kenya	To bridge the gap that exists in the delivery of chemistry materials to students with disability at higher learning institutions in Kenya.	£5,000	Dr Naumih Noah	United States International University-Africa
An Inclusive Library of Assistive Tools for Practical Laboratories	To purchase tools to provide a library of resources which would benefit and assist disabled students in practical teaching laboratories.	£5,000	Miss Amy Lunt	University of Liverpool
Adaptation of laboratory equipment for use by students with disabilities	Adapted equipment will be used to reach students with disabilities at secondary school level, showing that chemistry careers are possible.	£4,500	Bachiller Gabriel Belmonte González Muzio	University of the Republic, Uruguay
Strengthening the response to disability in chemistry teaching at FCEyN-UBA Argentina	Design and construction of an accessible portable lab bench, and workshops tutor training focused on socio-educational support & Universal Design for Learning and Information and Communication Technology to enhance educational strategies for people with disabilities	£5,000	Doctor Nahir Vadra	University of Buenos Aires
Neurodiverse Chemistry	Neurodiverse Chemistry is a digital zine telling the life-stories of four successful neurodivergent chemists in graphic novel form, depicting the barriers they faced, and the lessons they learned to thrive as chemists.	£5,000	Mr Jonathan Berliner	Individual
Understanding Disability in UK HE, a student-centred approach	An open access, accessible, self-paced, online course for staff and students at UK HEIs to educated them about living with a disability co-created with disabled staff and students.	£5,000	Dr Helen Coulshed	King's College London
Supporting neuro-differences in analytical chemistry through the development of leadership support approaches	To develop and pilot a new group coaching approach with our analytical chemistry teams focused on embedding leadership understanding, awareness and respect for neurodivergent colleagues.	£4,250	Professor Elise Cartmell	Scottish Water

Projects funded through the disability and accessibility special call

Title	Project summary	Amount awarded	Contact	Institution
Accessible Laboratories: understanding the needs of disabled chemists including those with hidden impairments and long-term conditions	Accessible Laboratories addresses the question of what an accessible chemical sciences research laboratory would look like for those with longterm conditions and hidden impairments.	£4025.84	Dr Kate Sang	Heriot-Watt University
Identifying barriers for students with poor working memory and strategies to overcome them within chemistry	This project aims to open doors in chemistry for students with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, ADHD and ASD, and to ensure adequate support measures are in place. It will aim to identify the parts of chemistry degree pathways that create barriers to those with poor working memory and develop effective strategies to overcome them.	£2060	Niamh Curran	Queen’s University Belfast
Exploring the Hidden Disabilities of Mental Health in the Undergraduate Laboratory	This project aims to explore the main causes of anxiety in students undertaking practical laboratory work, and to investigate the overlap of laboratory anxiety and mental health conditions.	£4929.11	Prof Debbie Willison	Individual
What will a chemistry lab look like in the future? Raising awareness and consulting to create the accessible, inclusive lab of the future	This project will explore barriers that synthetic chemistry lab environments pose to researchers with neurodivergence/ disability/ chronic illness (NDC), then design and showcase the inclusive lab of the future in a series of events using virtual reality.	£5000	Dr Anna Slater	Individual
Developing an integrated handbook for teaching chemistry to students with disability together with students without disability	This project will develop an integrated handbook for teaching chemistry to disabled and non-disabled students in high school in Uganda, partnering with national and governmental stakeholders.	£4850	Dr Francis Omujal	Individual
Enable Science: Disabled Network	The Enable Science – Disabled Network will establish a community and platform for disabled scientists, facilitating networking and discussion sessions and establishing a website.	£5,000	Chantelle Minchin	Individual
Using wearable tablets for remote collaboration to create a more inclusive lab experience for disabled students	We wish to trial a wearable tablet system to benefit students who require support to complete practical modules. The tablets offer a 1st person perspective of the experiment live, and students can communicate with the demonstrator in real time to create a more collaborative experience.	£4500	Dr James Harvey	Individual
Divergent: Exploring the barriers in place for neurodiverse early career researchers	This project seeks to explore and tackle the barriers facing neurodivergent early career researchers, asking how neurodivergent ECRs can best be supported in their career paths. The project will identify best practice recommendations and an accessible infographic.	£1150	Dr Scott Gorman	University of Birmingham
Health vs Chemistry: gathering evidence to design an inclusive career returnship programme.	This project aims to understand the intersection of chemist skills, health disability and the needs of those who reenter the workplace after a career break. With a midcareer focus, the project will analyse the challenges and opportunities within the chemical landscape, aiming to design the outline for a supported returnship programme tailored specifically to the chemical sciences.	£5000	Dr Hazel Hunter	Individual

Projects funded with Round 1 and 2 of the Inclusion & Diversity Fund in 2020

Projects funded through the special call in support of the Black chemistry community.

Rounds 1 and 2

Title	Project summary	Amount awarded	Contact	Institution
Challenges and obstacles of minorities in industry and active inclusion	Event for professionals of minority origin in science industry to develop a networking support system and share how to overcome challenges through active inclusion.	£2,000	Ryan Sipho Twantwa	Individual
CLRScience: Breaking the language barrier	Development of an app to help teachers reach pupils of all ability and literacy backgrounds to ensure chemistry is more accessible.	£5,000	Christopher Reynolds	Individual
Independent learning in the chemistry laboratory for students who are blind or low vision	Modifying, adapting or re-writing laboratory protocols for the inclusion of existing assistive technologies, to enable students who are blind or low vision to undertake laboratory experiments independently.	£5,000	Siegbert Schmid	The University of Syndney, Australia
Reifying Reactions – developing a novel tactile interactive synthetic chemistry visualisation tool	3D printing of buildable chemical model components and reaction symbols, with shaping, colour and Braille cues that can be used to teach and learn synthetic organic reaction mechanisms.	£4,200	Elizabeth Ostler	University of Brighton
Including blind and visually impaired students in the chemical sciences: Establishing good practices	Development of good practice and training to increase inclusion of visually impaired students in higher education and research in the chemical sciences.	£3,600	Stefano Biagini	Individual
Barriers that hinder women's careers in pharmaceutical medicine	An investigation into factors that enforce barriers that hinder women from progressing their careers in the pharmaceutical industry. Findings will be presented in a report.	£5,000	Marcia Philbin	Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine
Culture and the girl child in chemical sciences	A series of seminars and workshops to enable girls to engage with chemical sciences in Nigeria.	£3,000	Ruby Lotanna	Individual
"Celebrating diversity in science" lecture series to increase interest and confidence in post-graduate study success	A visiting speaker series celebrating diversity in science. The two-part presentations will include the speaker's latest research followed by a Q&A session related to their career journey.	£2,000	Samuel Perry	University of Southampton
Celebrating and enhancing diversity in STEM seminar series through graduate student leadership and networking	An inclusive seminar series and networking panels to identify critical decision-making criteria in improving inclusivity in seminars.	£2,800	Udayan Singh	University of Virginia, Engineering Systems and Environment Graduate Student Council
The emotional roller coaster of building a career in science	A seminar series exploring experiences of early-career chemists and mental health tools accessible to young researchers to develop resilience and wellbeing.	£3,800	Claudia Bonfio	Young Group committee of the Italian Chemical Society
Virtual conference: non-discriminatory inclusive meeting on natural dyes - a pilot study	An inclusive online conference using VirBELA virtual world.	£1,600	Jennifer Oliver	Individual
#Outtheboxthinking. Improving understanding and attitudes towards chemistry whilst increasing accessibility to university style teaching, focusing on students identified as having barriers to inclusion	Engaging under-represented key stage 4 students in cutting edge chemistry experiments and an academic-style conference to encourge the next generation of potential scientists.	£3,350	Grace Walden	King's College London
Student generated teaching resources as a tool to enhance inclusivity and diversity	Development of inclusive teaching resources, created by students from under-represented minorities, low-income background and with no previous working experience.	£5,000	Giorgio Chianello	Individual
The effect of Covid-19-triggered social isolation on marginalised chemistry students	An investigation into the psychological and pedagogical impact of online teaching and social isolation on marginalised chemistry students.	£3,168	Gerard McGlacken	Individual
A novel flexible format for departmental seminars improving inclusion at Durham University	An inclusive departmental seminar series to minimise disruption for the work-life balance of guest speakers.	£3,800	Basile Curchod	Department of Chemistry, Durham University
Unlocking chemistry concepts using sign language	A project to create British Sign Language signs for chemistry and BSL-translated videos of chemistry experiments, building on the Scottish Sensory Centre’s online BSL Glossary.	£5,000	Audrey Cameron	Individual
Addressing mental health: A proactive approach for researchers	A series of workshops and networking events to consider mental health in under-represented groups in research.	£4,830	Susan Kathleen Fetics	Women in Research Ireland
Realising potential, a programme of work experience for underrepresented learners whose talents in chemistry may not be recognised by the exam system	Work experience placements based at the Department of Chemistry for students from local schools that have high numbers of disadvantaged and minority ethnic students, and low uptake in science post-GSCE.	£1,300	Michael Hughes	University of Manchester
The dawn of chemistry in the city of Alvorada	A series of activities and a chemistry fair to encourage students from a disadvantaged community in Brazil to engage with and study chemistry.	£3,400	Irene Teresinha Santos Garcia	Individual
The perception of chemistry career opportunities among undergraduate students of chemistry department in some selected universities in Nigeria	A research project in Nigeria to explore undergratuate students' understanding of chemistry careers.	£1,332	Aminu Dauda	Individual
Internship and hands on training in lab practices to women from economically backward class pursuing chemistry subject in Masters Degree	Project to enable girls from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to be ready for a career in chemistry industry after graduation.	£4,020	Pinto Ganguly	Individual
Enhancement and promotional activities for chemical sciences career and the reduction of gender gap in enrolment for chemistry courses for students, laboratory technicians and teachers in high schools of Western Kenya	A series of workshops and mentorship seminars for high school students, especially girls, to raise awareness and adoption of chemistry as a viable career.	£4,976	Francis Orata Omoto	Individual
Promoting inclusion, supporting diversity and equity in chemistry	A project to improve the effective practice of inclusion, diversity and equity among the chemistry community in Nigeria.	£5,000	Bilkisu Adedoyin	Individual
Women’s career pathway in chemical sciences; a multistage investigation in Kerala, India	A project to assess factors influencing women at various stages of their career pathway in chemistry in India.	£4,540	Mohammed Jasil Pulpadan	Individual
Strategies to eliminate challenges early career Ghanaian women in the chemical sciences face: Grantsmanship and sustaining research	A workshop to support early-career women in the chemical sciences in Ghana in applying for grants and building research careers as lead investigators.	£5,000	Pennante Bruce-Vanderpuije	Council for Scientific and Industrial Research- Water Research Institute, Ghana
Gender disparities in the undergraduate chemistry degree course enrollment in Uganda	A project to investigate gender disparities in chemistry undergraduate enrollment and completion rates in government and private universities in Uganda.	£4,300	Francis Omujal	Individual
Guided Lego play to promote inclusive STEM career aspirations	A project to create Lego loan kits for schools local to Strathclyde University to guide discussions on gender and ethnicity expectations and STEM careers.	£500	Caitlin Early	Individual
Surveying the lived experiences of BAME chemistry students and staff	A project to listen to the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals at York's Department of Chemistry, and address the under-representation seen across the discipline.	£5,000	Caroline Dessent	Department of Chemistry, University of York
Development of strategies for closing the gender gap in the enrolment of students studying chemistry in secondary schools in Ebonyi State, Nigeria	A project to investigate the gender gap in chemistry at the secondary school enrollment and university admission levels in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.	£4,940	Nwabueze Elom	Individual
Promoting inclusion and good science in stated-owned universities in Nigeria’s Delta Region	Workshops to support inclusive leadership, expand networks and provide mentorship for both academics and students in the chemical sciences in state-owned universities in Nigeria’s Delta Region.	£3,000	Cyril Ehi-Eromosele	Individual
Embedding cultural competence in an Australian undergraduate chemistry curriculum	Development of laboratory experiments to embed Indigenous science and knolwedge into a chemistry curriculum in Australia.	£5,000	Siegbert Schmid	Chemistry Education and Communication Research Theme, School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Australia
Enhancing diversity & inclusion at Bath chemistry	A series of events and activities to increase diversity in guest lecturers, and to provide financial support for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic participants to attend Bath's electrochemistry schools.	£5,000	Carmen Domene	University of Bath
TIGER in STEMM webinar series in chemistry	A series of webinars to provide a platform for early-career and under-represented speakers from the chemical sciences to promote their research.	£2,000	Caroline Muellenbroich	TIGERinSTEMM
Identifying barriers in STEM – A seminar series	A series of online seminars from a diverse range of speakers in STEM, offering experiences of being a minority as well as examples to combat discrimination and increase diversity.	£500	Claire Doswell	University of Birmingham
Warwick Chemistry Diversity Book Club	A Diversity Book Club focusing on race, gender, sexual orientation and unconscious bias, to be discussed alongside RSC reports on these same topics.	£1,500	Zoë Ayres	University of Warwick Chemistry Department – Postdoctoral Society of Chemistry and Warwick ChemSoC
Incorporating 'student-generated videos' as a teaching pedagogy in the curriculum for deaf students	Development of videos of GCSE-level lab techniques and chemical concepts, generated by deaf students and incorporating deaf as well as minority ethnic representation.	£2,900	Derek Rodger	Heathlands School for the Deaf
The colour of chemistry	A series of activites to encourage students from under-represented groups to celebrate their diversity, professional identity and achievements as chemists.	£5,000	Pooja Goddard	Loughborough University

Projects funded through the special call in support of the Black chemistry community

Title	Project summary	Amount awarded	Contact	Institution
Improving confidence and promoting mentorship among chemistry professionals in selected institutions in the Niger Delta	Development of a platform to support early-career chemistry professionals in the Niger Delta and to inform policy around ending discrimination and racism.	£4,991	Eucharia Nwaichi	Individual
#BlackChemistsWeek 2020	A week-long online event to create a network of Black chemists and to amplify their voices.	£1,500	Samantha Mensah	Individual
SparkLab Cymru - private group and individual tutoring	Free of charge individual and group science tutoring for Black pupils, online and in-person in Cardiff.	£2,250	Rhian Booth	SparkLab Cymru
Bridging the educational gap: Education interventions as a means to improving access and diversity in higher education	Engagement of Black disadvantaged students in South Africa to describe chemistry concepts and characteristics in their own mother tongue.	£1,000	Adeniyi Ogunlaja	Individual
Understanding and addressing the challenges faced by Black chemistry community in career progression (BlackChemComm)	Creation of a forum to enable knowledge-sharing mechanisms and tools for addressing the career progression challenges within the UK’s Black chemistry community.	£5,000	Edwin Ntainjua Ndifor	Individual
Barriers that hinder women's careers in pharmaceutical medicine - a Black perspective	Building on an existing ID Fund-supported project, this addition investigates the specific experiences of Black women chemists in the field of medicine development and allied areas.	£5,000	Marcia Philbin	Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine
Ethnicity (and gender) of authors of chemistry and medicinal chemistry publications	Generate benchmarking data and interrogate trends on the ethnicity and gender of authors for chemistry and medicinal chemistry articles over the last 18-20 years.	£5,000	Simon Macdonald	RGDscience Ltd
Celebrating Black chemists of Essex	A 1-day online STEM event to celebrate Black chemists of Essex (past and present), as part of Black History Month 2020.	£3,000	Hephzi Tagoe	GhScientific
Enablers and barriers to access and participation of Black chemists in higher education and workplace environments	Surveys and interviews to explore the factors that influence Black students and professionals' access and participation in chemistry or related fields within higher education settings.	£4,986	Lata Gautam	Anglia Ruskin University
Toolkit for Success	Conduct race-specific research into the significant loss of Black individuals within chemistry in the UK, and develop a toolkit to foster inclusive environments and prepare for postgraduate employment.	£1,700	Naomi Howard	Individual
Black in STEM	A series of meetings, seminars and symposia to connect African and of African descent (Black) researchers to share ideas, form networks and enable peer support and collaborations.	£887	Sandile Mtetwa	Africans in STEM (University of Cambridge)
Resources to highlight Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) contributions to science	Development of teaching resources to highlight and promote the contributions of the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community to science and chemistry.	£4,900	Tippu Sheriff	Queen Mary University of London
Why do BAME pupils choose, or not choose, to study chemistry through secondary school?	A research project to understand the reasons for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic pupils choosing chemistry, and barriers to participation, in state secondary school in Scotland.	£2,280	James Orr	Individual
Celebrating Black chemists and embedding their work into the curriculum	A series of workshops and an online international conference to celebrate and bring to the forefront the contribution of Black chemists.	£4,000	Sandra Appiah	Middlesex University
Spreading and promoting diversity and inclusion in chemical sciences: Increasing the presence and participation of Black African communities	Seminar series to highlight, spread and promote diversity in the chemical sciences to under-represented and socially disadvantaged groups in Zimbabwe.	£4,900	Crispen Munashe Mazodze	Individual

All rounds

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

All rounds

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

All rounds

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. The aim of the meeting is to showcase research and policy work from diverse fields and to encourage networking and collaborations between different departments, Universities, companies and disciplines.	£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 • Provide a space for women, non-binary and genderfluid folks, and members of other under-represented groups working in research and academia to meet and come together (community-building) • Acknowledge the issues that affect women* in research and academia, and discuss potential solutions for these issues • Provide opportunities to hear the perspectives of individuals who are often unheard in academic spaces (e.g., women, non-binary individuals, disabled individuals, members of ethnic minority groups, among others)	£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

All rounds

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

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Application deadlines

Deadlines	Round 1	Round 2
Application submissions open:	4 March to 22 April 2024	12 August to 30 September 2024
Funding decisions returned by:	3 June 2024	11 November 2024

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Projects that have received funding in the past

2020

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2023

Round 1

Round 1

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Socioeconomic Inclusion Special Call of the Inclusion & Diversity Fund

Round 1 and 2

Projects funded through the special call in support of improving accessibility and disability inclusion in the chemical sciences

Projects funded through the disability and accessibility special call

Rounds 1 and 2

Projects funded through the special call in support of the Black chemistry community

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Find out more information about becoming an RSC member and its benefits

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