Training & Travel Grants

Objectives

These grants help PhD students and postgraduate research assistants to meet the costs of specialist field training courses and to network and publicise their research by presenting their work at workshops and conferences.

Deadline

All funding has been allocated for the first round. A second round of funding will be available from July 5th, 9:30 BST. 

There is no deadline for these grants, they are awarded on a first come first serve basis. When the funding runs out for the first round, you will not be able to apply for a training and travel grant.

In general in any year, if the meeting you wish to attend is between January and the end of June, you must apply to the first round in that year, which opens in early January. If the meeting is after June, you should apply to the second round, which opens in early July. (Please note that awards may take up to two weeks to be processed, therefore events taking place in the first two weeks of July are eligible for application within the first round). 

Our grants are changing: We are launching a new grants programme in 2024 that will be distinctive, further careers and support the entire ecological community. This does not affect our Training & Travel grants which will remain the same.

• Read our news story on our new grant programme from 13 July 2022.

To Apply

All funding has been allocated for the first round. You can still register online in preparation for the second round which opens July 5th, 9:30 BST.

REGISTER ONLINE

When applications open, register/log in to our online grants system, complete your contact details, and navigate to ‘Your Applications’.

As part of the application process, you will need to check with the grants officer if your training or conference is eligible for funding. You will also need a statement of support from one referee which shows their support for you to attend the training/conference. You can contact the grants officer and prepare your statement in advance of the opening of the grant.

Your statement of support should be a short statement (300 words max) supporting your attendance at the meeting/course outlined in your application and how this will be of benefit to your studies. Please ensure that within this statement the referee specifies how they know they applicant. This should be written on your institutions’ headed paper and include a signature from the referee.

If you are attending a conference, you will need to upload an invitation letter to your Flexigrant application as part of the application process.

Virtual Events and Courses

Applicants can now use these grants to attend a virtual conference/course, to cover registration fees up to £250. In these circumstances, the applicant must provide proof of registration on acceptance, and meet the standard eligibility and criteria as outlined below. If you are unsure that your event meets the BES criteria, please contact: grants@britishecologicalsociety.org

Eligibility and Conditions

All applicants are required to:

• be a BES member.
• Use an institutional email address in order to apply. Any exceptions must be discussed in advance of submission with the BES Head Office for approval.
• be a PhD student, postgraduate research assistant (within 3 years of completing relevant degree) or equivalent (Postdoc researchers are therefore not eligible to apply).
• work or study at a university or research institution (including field centres, NGOs, museums, etc.) that provide research facilities.
• work in scientific areas within our remit (the science of ecology) and of relevance to the training course or meeting they are applying to attend.
• give a presentation if attending a meeting.
• No retrospective claims for funding will be considered.
• Applications for travel to informal training or masters/degrees/fellowships etc. will not be considered.
• Applications to attend mandatory training in order to complete their degree will not be considered, examples include health and safety courses.
• Applications for specialist training/identification courses that have an ecological focus that will help improve your current research will be considered.
• No applicant may receive more than two Training & Travel Grants in any five year period. There must be at least three years between grants.

There is no application deadline; instead, there are two opening dates within a 12 month period (January and July). Once funding for one round has been allocated, the round will close until the next opening date. If the meeting you wish to attend is between January and the end of June, you must apply to the first round. If the meeting is after June, you should apply to the second round. (Please note that awards may take up to 2 weeks to be processed, therefore events taking place in the first three weeks of July are eligible for the first round). 

Our website will be updated when the funding for each round has been allocated. Our Training and Travel grants are awarded on a first come first serve basis; submitting an application does not guarantee funding.

If you want to attend an event/training that falls within our remit, please email: grants@britishecologicalsociety.org

A maximum of two places per training course may be funded on a first come first serve basis. No more than two applicants from the same institution may attend the same meeting/conference.

Applications to attend training courses will only be considered for formal short-term courses with a strong ecological focus.

The applicant is responsible for booking to attend the course/event/workshop and as the grants are paid in retrospect, must pay the relevant institution/organiser the required fee at the time of booking as well as all monies additional to the award amount i.e. single supplements.

Successful applicants are bound by the booking conditions of the organisation running the event, course or workshop and non-attendance on a booked course or event will result in the applicant being personally liable for the cancellation fee.

It is a condition of all of our grant schemes that applicants submit a report within three months of the end date of your award. Reports will be submitted via our online grants system.

Our Events

We offer significant student registration discount on the costs of our own events, including our symposia and majority of our Special Interest Group (SIG) events. Therefore, Travel Grants are not available for these meetings. Grants may be considered for SIG events if the meeting is taking place outside the country in which the applicant resides.

We have a limited number of grants available to attend our Annual Meeting and Symposia if you are a student, postgraduate research assistant, and a citizen of/working in a ‘low-income economy’ or ‘lower-middle-income economy’ country according to the World Bank categorization.

Annual Meeting

Deadline: Applications for these grants will open on the same day as abstract submissions are announced. For more information, click here

We are pleased to be able to support a limited number of students/postgraduate research assistant who are a citizen of/ and working/studying in a ‘low-income economy’ or ‘lower-middle-income economy’ country according to the World Bank categorization to attend our Annual Meeting each December. These will be awarded on a first come first serve basis.

This counts as a standard Training & Travel Grant, therefore the following applies: no applicant may receive more than two Training & Travel Grants in any five-year period. There must be at least three years between grants.

To apply for a grant, you will need to register/log in to our online grants system, complete your contact details, and navigate to ‘Your Applications’.

REGISTER ONLINE

Value

Unless the applicant is self-funded, it is expected that their organisation will provide at least £150 of support towards the costs of the event.

• a maximum of £250 is available to cover the cost of registration fees for virtual conferences/courses.
• a maximum of £300 is available for events and courses being held in the applicants’ country of residence.
• a maximum of £500 is available for events being held outside the applicants’ country of residence.
• grants of up to £1,000 are available to attend our Annual Meeting if the applicant is a citizen of and working in a country that is classified as ‘low-income economy’ or ‘lower-middle-income economy’ according to the World Bank.
• the grant will be paid after the event has taken place, on receipt of a brief report, certificate of attendance and any appropriate receipts.
• all costs must be clearly justified within the budget section. Costs that are not justified will not be considered. Please ensure all costs are clearly calculated in GBP (British Sterling).

For any grant related enquires, please contact: grants@britishecologicalsociety.org