The British Ecological Society
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Only members can apply, because BES membership is a key requirement for all its grants, so anyone without active membership should join before preparing an application.
- Most grants go to individuals and institutional grants are few and low value, so an organisation fits best with the outreach and engagement grants, which are open to individuals, teams and organisations, while the small research grants exclude organisations.
- Keep requests modest: the synthesis grants are £30,000, but the small research and pedagogical research grants go up to £5,000 and the outreach grants up to £2,000.
- The Society runs two grant rounds a year through Flexigrant, gives a decision within about 12 weeks of the deadline, and allows only one application per round across all grant schemes.
- Outreach proposals must meet one of its top-level aims, use novel ways to reach a non-academic audience, and show direct interaction with that audience.
Overview
The British Ecological Society is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 281213).
The British Ecological Society is a scientific society for all those interested in ecology, and its vision is to advance ecology and make it count. As a registered charity, it exists to advance public education in ecology as a branch of natural science, to advance and support research in that field, and to disseminate the results of useful research. Its grants portfolio, which promotes collaboration between disciplines, sectors and career stages, provided funding and support to 138 students and researchers from 38 countries, and the Society invested over half a million pounds through that portfolio and external project funding. Most of its grants go to individuals, while grants to institutions are relatively few and low value.
What they fund
Priority Areas
The Society's member-only grants support ecological science and scientists, including new synthesis work, long-term ecological studies and research that advances ecological science. It also funds evidence-based ecological education, placements that build interdisciplinary skills, and outreach and engagement with public audiences about ecological science and careers. Its grants portfolio promotes collaboration between disciplines, sectors and career stages and supports areas of ecology where it is difficult to find funding. A proportion is ring-fenced for ecologists in low and lower-middle income countries, with at least 51% of funding awarded to ecologists in the Global South. The grants mainly support individuals; institutional grants are relatively few in number and low value.
Themes
- Ecological research
- Ecology education
- Public engagement
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Ecologist training
Geographic Focus
Across the world.
What they don't fund
- Applicants without active BES membership
- The same applicant to carry out two projects simultaneously
- More than one grant application per round across all grant schemes
- Small research grants only:
- organisations
- projects longer than 12 months
- work that will form part of an undergraduate degree, masters degree or fellowship
- a component of a larger, already-funded study, unless the BES contribution makes up the majority of the project funding or forms a recognisable and distinct component which would otherwise not take place
- applications to take part in an expedition
- more than one grant to any one applicant in any one year, or more than three grants in any five year period
- applicants who fail to submit a satisfactory report at the end of a grant
- PhD students with access to research funding using this grant as a ‘top-up’
- single items of equipment costing more than £2,000
- overheads
- supplementing the salary of the applicant
- tuition fees
- conference fees or publication costs
- the salary of the principal researcher, bench fees or the direct costs for hiring departmental vehicles
- scholarship requests
- Outreach and engagement grants only:
- staff salaries
- training courses not associated with developing skills in communicating the science of ecology for a public-facing audience
- projects aimed solely at delivering curriculum to school children
- projects delivered to a small number (1-2) of schools in a school setting where other members of the public can’t engage
- projects longer than 12 months
- projects not aimed at a non-academic audience or that do not clearly demonstrate direct interaction with them
- more than one grant to any applicant in any year, or more than three grants in any five years
- applicants who fail to submit a satisfactory report at the end of a grant
- repeat, annual events without new novel ideas and development on the previous application
How to apply
Applicants log in to Flexigrant when a grant round opens and navigate to ‘my applications’ to complete the application.
Deadlines: The Society has two grant rounds per year.
Who can apply:
- BES membership is a key requirement to be eligible for all our grants.
- Outreach and engagement grants: Awards are open to individuals, teams and organisations across all experience levels to organise ecological public engagement events.
What to send:
- Small research grants
- Each application requires two reference statements, one personal statement and one supporting letter.
- The personal statement should be from a supervisor/employer, etc.
- The supporting letter should be from a supporting host Institution/organisation of the proposed research.
- If the applicant is an undergraduate or master’s student, the support statement should verify that the proposed project is not part of their degree or thesis.
- Your references will be contacted through Flexigrant using the reference emails that you provide.
Application success factors
What the charity says:
- Outreach proposals must meet at least one of the BES’s top-level aims.
- The project should use novel ways to communicate ecological science to public audiences.
- The project may stimulate dialogue, behavioural change or action, or encourage ecological career prospects.
- Interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged.
- Projects that produce engagement materials or outcomes others can use or benefit from subsequently are encouraged.
- The Society encourages training that develops others’ skills in communicating ecological science to public audiences.
- A project must target a non-academic audience and demonstrate direct interaction with them.
- Where BES funding part-funds a project, other funding must already be secured and the BES contribution should add a distinctive activity that would not happen otherwise and enhance engagement and impact.
- Successful applicants must report the outcome and impact of their project.
Where they fund
Where it says it funds
- International
Similar funders
Funders supporting work similar to The British Ecological Society.
Five years of accounts
| Financial year | Income | Expenditure | Grants paid | Accounts document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| year to 31 December 2021 | £5,353,000 | £4,298,000 | — | Accounts for year to 31 December 2021 |
| year to 31 December 2022 | £5,390,000 | £4,521,000 | — | Accounts for year to 31 December 2022 |
| year to 31 December 2023 | £5,084,000 | £5,058,000 | — | Accounts for year to 31 December 2023 |
| year to 31 December 2024 | £5,677,000 | £5,417,000 | £35,000 | Accounts for year to 31 December 2024 |
| year to 31 December 2025 | £6,265,000 | £5,850,000 | £576,000 | Accounts for year to 31 December 2025 |
Income vs grants paid
IncomeGrants paid
Total value each financial year
Grants paid stayed within income across the 2 years shown.
- Grants paid, year to 31 December 2024: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).
- Grants paid, year to 31 December 2025: grants paid out in the year.
— No grants figure for those years.
Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
- britishecologicalsociety.org
- britishecologicalsociety.org/content/what-grants-can-i-apply-for · read on 30 October 2026
- britishecologicalsociety.org/content/outreach-and-engagement-grants · read on 30 October 2026
- britishecologicalsociety.org/content/grant-faqs · read on 30 October 2026
- britishecologicalsociety.org/content/small-research-grants · read on 30 October 2026
- britishecologicalsociety.org/content/privacy-policy · read on 30 October 2026
- Annual report (year to 31 December 2025)
This profile draws on the funder’s own website as well as its filed accounts.
Sources last checked on 30 October 2026.
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At a glance
Applying to The British Ecological Society?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- 020 3994 8282source
- 42 Wharf Road, London, N1 7GS, UK.source
- britishecologicalsociety.org
Applying to The British Ecological Society?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- 020 3994 8282source
- 42 Wharf Road, London, N1 7GS, UK.source
- britishecologicalsociety.org