Small Grants Scheme
The SPA invites applications for its small grants scheme, designed to help fund seminars and workshops dealing with research and/or learning & teaching in a way that is of benefit to the social policy community and SPA members. The focus should be on activities that will benefit a group or network rather than individuals.
Each award offers a maximum of £500. The deadlines for applications are 1st March, 1st June, 1st September and 1st December.
Applicants will be expected to:
- Be SPA members;
- Publicise their seminar/workshop as widely as possible, including through SPA channels;
- Write a short report after the event to SPA members via Policy World;
- Use this as an opportunity to recruit new SPA members (including marketing via other channels, distribution of SPA leaflets, use of SPA logo, etc.);
- Make the seminar/workshop as inclusive as possible (attendance need not be limited to SPA members);
- Raise the profile of the SPA to external agencies (government, independent sector, research centres, etc) in the UK and other countries as appropriate;
- Provide a provisional budget which must include a full breakdown of costs, indicating the items on which the award will be spent, and specify whether additional funding from other sources is being sought or has already been secured.
Applications, which should take the form of a letter, should contain an outline description of the aims, rationale and nature of the proposed event itself. Applicants should also clearly demonstrate how it meets each of the above criteria. As much detail as possible about your plans to ensure that the award will benefit SPA members should be included at this stage.
The SPA reserves the right to pay the award in more than one instalment if this is appropriate. It also reserves the right to reject applications from those who have failed to fulfil small grant award conditions in the past.
Please send your application to Nicola Yeates, Department of Social Policy, Walton Hall, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA [N.Yeates[at]open.ac.uk].