Applications are being sought for grants to help the chemical sciences sector be more diverse and inclusive.

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Inclusion and Diversity Fund aims to offer financial support to “innovatve products, activities and research projects” in the sector focused on inclusion.

The fund is open for applications until April 22.

Projects focused on improving access to the industry based on gender, disability, socio-economic background, language, ethnicity and the LGBT+ community are among previous recipients.

Grants of up to £5,000 are on offer but the RSC says that funding greater than this amount may be considered for one project a year.

Your idea could make a difference in the chemical sciences. Receive £5,000 with our Inclusion & Diversity Fund.

— Royal Society of Chemistry (@RoySocChem) April 8, 2024

Applications are being sought from researchers, academics, chemical industry companies, museums, community groups, charities as well as arts groups and libraries.

The assessment criteria includes applications’ focus on improving inclusion and diversity, having a clearly defined target audience within the chemical sciences community and being able to show the impact of the project.

Previous successful applicants have included a £4,750 award to Vanta STEM to produce a podcast series to tackle under representation of minoritised communities, primarily from the black community in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

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