The scheme provides grants of up to £3,500 to small museums, funding projects that tell the stories of science and scientists relevant to communities across the UK.
We want to fund projects that
highlight the topics, stories and people that are relevant to your local community
present science in new and interesting ways
encourage participation and involvement of the local community
provoke curiosity, interest and enthusiasm among those that take part
We are particularly interested in projects that
explore the experiences of historically underrepresented people
are led by organisations that don’t normally feature scientific content
involve partners that can enhance the project’s outcomes, impact or quality
reach audiences who do not normally engage with science
We love to hear about projects taking place at your museum and beyond; including but not limited to schools, community spaces, in nature, etc. We also encourage involving your local communities in any capacity – as participants, volunteers, or lived experience contributors and advisors.
We also strongly welcome applications from projects that align with the themes of the Natural History Museum’s Fixing Our Broken Planet programme. In April 2025, the Natural History Museum opened a new gallery which explores the biggest challenges facing the planet and science-backed, hopeful solutions which help us to create a more sustainable world. The gallery and associated programme delve into the themes of the food we eat, the energy we consume, the stuff we use, and the impact of all of this on our health. Through a Community of Practice, UK-wide organisations are supported to build best practice around communicating these themes through a skills and knowledge sharing programme.
Applications will close at 12pm on Wednesday 12 November 2025.
Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, UK Research and Innovation
Local leaders across the country can now bid for support of up to £20 million each in a new competition, as the government backs regional expertise to deliver cutting-edge research that could save lives and create jobs.
Research funding body UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is inviting a broad range of local and regional partnerships to bid for government funding to support research and innovation projects in their area through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund. The competition will back partnerships that can turn existing research breakthroughs into practical solutions that create jobs and improve people’s lives, supporting the government’s Plan for Change.
The fund is designed to help regions across the UK build on their existing strengths – whether that is developing technology that helps doctors diagnose diseases faster, creating cleaner transport solutions, or discovering innovations that spawn entirely new industries.
Local leaders, working alongside universities and businesses, are best placed to identify these regional opportunities and turn research breakthroughs into real-world solutions that benefit their communities.
Consortiums of various forms are encouraged to apply, to ensure regions across the length and breadth of the UK are supported to develop new innovations and drive regional growth.
The expression of interest deadline: 12th February 2026, 4pm
Education & Outreach Small Grants Scheme, Royal Astronomical Society
A range of public outreach activities are funded, such as development of public events, training workshops, broadcasting or podcasting, and development of educational material. Bids for funds for general equipment such as telescopes, laptop computers, scanners, digital projectors and the like have met with little success to date, even where the basis for the application to the E&O Fund was for promoting public understanding or other purposes relevant to the aims of the Society. The Society is willing to consider applications to get schemes going but will not provide a subsidy to ongoing educational projects.
The maximum E&O grant that can be applied for is £5,000 and at most one award per year will be made to any one person/ organisation. A budgetary breakdown of the whole project (not just the amount asked for) must be included.
