Foundation For Integrated Transport

Charity Number: 1156363

Annual Expenditure: £0.8M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £803,741 (2023-24)
  • Total Assets: Approximately £6 million (to be spent over 10 years)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Quarterly board meetings (approximately 3 months between decision points)
  • Grant Range: £870 - £59,936 (Small grants: up to £2,000; Main grants: £5,000 - £30,000; Fellowships: £8,000; Senior Fellowships: £35,000)
  • Geographic Focus: UK-wide

Contact Details

Website: integratedtransport.org.uk

Email: admin@integratedtransport.co.uk

Phone: 07395 434856

Address: Suite 176 1 Silk House, Park Green, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 7QJ

Grants Manager: admin@integratedtransport.co.uk (for enquiries and applications)

Note: FIT has temporarily paused grant-making while trustees finalize a strategy review. Funding is anticipated to recommence in March 2026. Emergency applications may be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Overview

The Foundation for Integrated Transport (FIT) was established in 2014 by the late Dr Simon Norton, a world-class mathematician and renowned transport campaigner, to promote sustainable and transformational transport solutions. As one of the few grant-making trusts in the UK devoted entirely to promoting change on transport issues, FIT has assets of approximately £6 million to be distributed over 10 years through grants, fellowships, and social investments. The foundation's mission centers on two core priorities: advancing transport as a basic human right and tackling climate change and emissions from transport. With total expenditure of £803,741 in 2023-24, FIT supports campaigns, grassroots organizations, transport activists, and social enterprises working to reduce car dependency and create integrated, sustainable transport systems across the UK.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Main Grants: £5,000 - £30,000 (typically £9,000 - £30,000+)

UK-focused projects that promote transport as a basic right and tackle climate change. Applications reviewed by the Grants Manager and forwarded to trustees for final decisions at quarterly board meetings.

Small Grants: Up to £2,000 (typically £1,500 - £4,000)

Supporting running costs of local campaigns, grassroots groups, and volunteer-led sustainable transport initiatives.

Fellowships: £8,000

Developing skills and experience of transport activists and researchers contributing to integrated transport.

Senior Fellowships: £35,000

For experienced professionals conducting substantial research or campaign work.

Social Investment Fund

Supporting social enterprises working on sustainable mobility ventures.

Special Funds: Alastair Hanton Memorial Fund and In Memory of Simon Norton Fund

2025/26 Strategic Focus Areas

  • Planning alternatives to car dependency with better public transport
  • Encouraging local transport transformation for community prosperity
  • Learning from areas with devolved transport powers
  • Traffic reduction projects, particularly road-user charging

Priority Project Types

  • Road pricing and charging: Campaigns to charge car users for external costs (road pricing, parking levies)
  • Public transport improvement: High-quality, low-carbon, affordable public transport; bus service campaigns and public ownership
  • Active travel: Cycling and walking infrastructure and promotion
  • Traffic reduction: Initiatives achieving significant reductions in car use
  • Integrated transport: Comprehensive public transport networks and local/regional bus networks
  • Sustainable access: Transport solutions for disadvantaged groups and leisure destinations
  • Policy and research: Transport policy development, evidence-building, public attitudes research
  • Grassroots organizing: Citizen groups and new-generation campaigners with demonstrated achievement

What They Don't Fund

  • Capital purchases (buses, bikes, bike sheds)
  • Operational costs of transport schemes
  • Projects outside the UK
  • Projects not aligned with transport as a human right or climate change priorities
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Governance and Leadership

Founder

The Foundation was established by Dr Simon Norton (1952-2019), who stated: “An environment dominated by motor vehicles is a sign of failure.”

Board Structure

FIT operates under a trustee-led governance model with 14 trustees representing diverse transport and sustainability expertise. Trustees serve up to three terms of three years each. No trustees receive remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity. The board holds quarterly meetings online and an annual Strategic Review meeting in person.

Recent Trustee Appointments (2021)

Mark Frost - Director of Fern Consulting Services, providing support on strategic transport planning, regeneration and placemaking, environmental strategy, traffic and parking policy

Lisa Hopkinson - Environmental scientist with professional and personal interest in sustainable transport; freelance researcher and Associate of Transport for Quality of Life

Rebecca Lush - Life-long environmental campaigner specializing in transport activism

Mat Bonomi and Alex Norton - Also appointed as trustees in 2021

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Applications are submitted to the Grants Manager at admin@integratedtransport.co.uk. The Grants Manager reviews submissions and forwards suitable proposals to trustees for final decisions.

Current Status: Grant-making is temporarily paused while trustees finalize a strategy review. Applications anticipated to reopen in March 2026. Only exceptional, urgent cases may be considered in the interim with full supporting evidence.

Decision Timeline

Final grant decisions are made at quarterly board meetings, suggesting a decision cycle of approximately 3 months between decision points. Specific timelines from application submission to decision are not publicly disclosed.

Notification Methods

Not publicly specified. Contact the Grants Manager for details.

Success Rates

Success rates and application numbers are not publicly disclosed.

Reapplication Policy

Information about reapplication policies for unsuccessful applicants is not publicly available. Applicants should contact the Grants Manager for guidance.

Application Success Factors

What FIT Values in Applications

  • Transformational impact: Projects that “achieve and inspire large-scale change on the ground”
  • Grassroots leadership: “Practical leaders with demonstrated achievement records”
  • Alignment with core values: Clear connection to transport as a basic human right and/or climate change
  • Innovation in car reduction: New approaches to charging car users for external costs
  • Community prosperity: Projects that transform local transport for community benefit

Recent Successful Projects

Major Grants:

  • Campaign for Better Transport (2023): “Transformative grant” enabling organizational growth and increased local authority engagement
  • Reclaim Our Buses West of England (£59,936): Bus service campaign
  • National charity Possible: Building media campaign for traffic reduction
  • Solve the School Run: Campaign for better data on school run journeys
  • Football fan sustainable travel initiative
  • Flight-free year campaign
  • Transport Deserts research: Comprehensive bus network design for England

Small Grants:

  • Reading Bike Hub (£2,000): Community cycling hub
  • Edinburgh Bus Users Group (£2,000): Transit advocacy
  • Cycle Sisters: Switch Your Journey challenge for Muslim women
  • Women-led cycling group in Glasgow
  • Oxon4Buses: Championing bus users in Oxfordshire
  • Car share scheme in Upper Calder Valley, Yorkshire

Fellowships:

  • Giorgia Guerra (2024): Rail business case environmental benefits
  • Jonathan Bray (2024): Suburban transport decarbonization
  • Charlie Hicks (2023): Labour Party sustainable transport policy
  • Jeffrey Kenworthy (2022): Benchmarking urban transport sustainability
  • Roger Harrabin (2022): Media coverage of transport policies

Strategic Advice

FIT explicitly prioritizes:

  • “Grassroots citizen groups and new-generation campaigners”
  • Projects with “demonstrated achievement records”
  • Initiatives that address systemic change rather than operational delivery
  • Evidence-based approaches to policy influence

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Core alignment is essential: Projects must clearly demonstrate how they advance transport as a basic human right and/or tackle climate change from transport emissions
  • Think transformation, not operations: FIT funds campaigns, research, and advocacy—not capital purchases or operational costs of transport schemes
  • Grassroots credibility matters: The foundation values practical leaders with proven track records and community-led initiatives
  • Timing: With funding paused until March 2026, use this time to develop strong proposals that align with FIT's strategic focus on planning alternatives to car dependency and local transport transformation
  • Scale appropriately: Small grants (up to £2,000) for local groups; main grants (£5,000-£30,000) for substantial projects; fellowships for individual activists/researchers
  • Quarterly decisions: Plan for a 3-month decision cycle aligned with board meetings
  • Be bold on car reduction: Projects tackling road pricing, parking levies, and challenging car dominance are particularly valued

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