The Society for Experimental Biology

The Society for Experimental Biology is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 273795).

The Society for Experimental Biology is a learned society, established at Birkbeck College in London to "promote the art and science of experimental biology in all its branches". One of its key aims is to increase the influence of experimental biology within the scientific community and to show the wider public its importance. It runs grants for outreach and engagement, diversity, educational research and travel, the last supported by a £37,500 award from The Company of Biologists to 64 students and early career researchers. Its annual report shows £66,564 paid in grants, of which £36,064 went to individuals.

Priority Areas

The Society for Experimental Biology supports experimental biologists and seeks to increase public understanding and engagement with experimental biology. Its funding supports outreach and public-engagement events for varied public audiences, educational research and teaching resources in experimental biology, and projects promoting diversity and inclusivity in biosciences. It also helps members attend conferences, workshops, research trips and laboratory visits, and supports meetings organised to share their work. Some opportunities are open to non-members from the science community as well as members. Outreach activities are intended to reach audiences with few opportunities to engage with bioscience; the Society gives preference to proposals that create a resource or tool for use by other members or reach under-served groups and communities.

Themes

• Experimental biology outreach
• Educational research
• Bioscience inclusion
• Researcher travel
• Scientific meetings

For the Outreach Grant, applicants put forward a proposal for an event or activity. The proposal is assessed against the stated criteria, including the clarity and prospects of the idea.

Deadlines:

• Sponsorship for a Small Conference applications have deadlines twice yearly, on 1 March and 1 November.
• Outreach Grant applications have deadlines twice yearly, on 1 June and 1 October.

Application windows:

• Outreach Grant: Applications have deadlines on 1 June and 1 October.

Who can apply:

• Outreach Grant
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Applicants may only apply for 1 Outreach and Engagement grant per year.

What to send:

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

Applying again: Outreach Grant: 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.

What the charity says:

• The Society prefers proposals that produce a resource or tool it can host for members, or that reach under-served groups and communities.
• The proposal should set clear objectives for the activity or event.
• The proposal should be relevant to experimental biology.
• The proposal should show the science's impact for wider society.
• The activity should inspire, excite and inform its intended audience.
• Applicants should show that the activity is novel and fills a gap not met by similar freely available resources.
• The budget should be clearly costed, realistic and good value for money.