Outreach Grant 2025

1 Jan - 31 Dec 2025

The SEB aims to empower our members to contribute to the public understanding of science, and to promote engagement with all forms of experimental biology. The Outreach Grant provides funding to support outreach and public engagement events and activities that will reach a variety of public audiences.

Overview Overview

The purpose of this grant is to increase understanding and engagement of experimental biology amongst a wide range of audiences, by stimulating interest and discussion around the importance of experimental biology and its implications for society.

SEB members can apply for grants of up to the value of £1000, and non-members can apply for grants of up to the value of £200 to cover the costs associated with holding or participating in an outreach event or activity. This may include but is not limited to:

  • The creation or development of in person and digital engagement and outreach events/activities
  • Promotion and marketing materials
  • Room hire costs
  • Purchasing or hiring of necessary equipment and resources (projectors, lab equipment, microscopes, reference books etc)
  • Speaker/Presenter costs
  • Travel costs

The event/activity may be either in person or digital. It should aim to reach audiences that do not have frequent opportunities to engage with (bio)science and increase the accessibility of the biosciences to those who don’t work in the field. The target audience may be people of any age.

Application Deadlines Application Deadlines

There are two application deadlines per year: the 1st of June and the 1st of October. 
  
Please allow a period of minimum two months between the application deadline and the event taking place.

We aim to inform you of the outcome of your application within two months of the application deadline.

Eligibility criteria Eligibility criteria
  • Outreach and Public Engagement Grants are available to both SEB members and non-members who are part of the science community and wish to contribute to the public understanding of experimental biology
  • SEB Members can apply for a maximum of £1000
  • SEB non-members can apply for a maximum of £200
  • The scientific topic of the event or activity must be within SEB’s scientific remit (animal, plant, or cell biology) and aim to increase understanding of and engagement with experimental biology
  • Preference given to proposals that result in a resource or tool that can be hosted on the SEB website for use by other members, or that can be used to reach under-served groups and communities
  • Applicants may only apply for 1 Outreach and Engagement grant per year
  • If applicants receive less than 5 points on three or more of the judging criteria the project will be automatically rejected
  • If an application is rejected, applicants may reapply in the next funding round provided there is significant improvement to their application and the concerns of the judges have been addressed. If rejected a second time, applicants may not submit proposals for the same initiative/activity
  • Funding is not provided retrospectively
Terms and conditions Terms and conditions
  • Awards must be claimed within 3 months of being notified of the successful outcome of your application
  • Successful applicants must acknowledge the SEB at the event and in all promotional materials (for example by displaying the SEB logo). SEB marketing materials may be requested for this purpose
  • Successful applicants must submit a report within three months of the event for the purpose of writing an article for the SEB magazine and/or website. The report should also include an evaluation of the impact and success of the event and discuss how expected outcomes have been met
Judging criteria Judging criteria

Applications will be given a score out of ten, with 1 being not at all and 10 being extremely well for each of the following assessment criteria:

1. Proposal: How clear and well-presented is the idea and does it have a good chance of success? The applicant must:

  • Show clear objectives for the activity event
  • Provide all relevant information and details, and demonstrate the proposal has been thought through

2. Science: How relevant is the topic to experimental biology and is it a novel and impactful area? Applicant must:

  •   Demonstrate relevance of topic to experimental biology
  • Demonstrate the impact of the science/topic for wider society
  • Demonstrate that the public currently have little awareness of the topic and/or that increasing public understanding of the topic is of importance
  • Promote experimental biology and/ or its researchers

3. Engagement and Impact: How impactful the event, activity will be with the intended target audience? Are there plans to extend the reach beyond the event/ activity? Applicant must demonstrate:

  • How the event/activity is planning to inspire, excite and inform the audience
  • The relevance of event/ activity to target audience (including demonstrating awareness of public interest and concerns around the topic) and show consideration for aspects such as age, ability or background
  • That the audience will learn something new from the event/ activity and the event/ activity will be memorable
  • How the event/activity will continue to have impact after it has taken place (for example, by producing resources that can be shared online with the public, sharing resources that can be used by other scientists for outreach work, or that the event/ activity is part of a wider ongoing project)
     

4. Novelty: How innovative or creative is the activity or event and the approach to its delivery? The applicant must:

  • Demonstrate that they have done due diligence in assessing if other similar resources are freely available and that their event/activity fills a gap
  • That the event/activity is novel in terms of content and/ or delivery providing a unique experience for the audience

5. Expected Outcomes

  • What number of participants do you expect to engage with the activity/event and future resources
  • Will a new audience engage with bioscience and who will this be? Will their engagement have a positive knock-on effect such as sharing the information in their community or encouraging a new generation of researchers/scientists
  • What new knowledge will be acquired by the target audience and how will it support the field of experimental biology (for example increased public support, reversing misinformation, or reducing public distrust around science/scientists.

6. Budget: How clearly has the event/ activity been costed and is it a realistic budget providing good value for money? Applicants must provide:

  • A detailed justification of expenses
  • A clear breakdown of how the money will be spent
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