Volunteering for a Grant Review Panel
The Palaeontological Association is seeking volunteers from our Membership to assist in reviewing grant applications. We welcome individuals with a broad range of expertise to help ensure a fair and thorough evaluation process. If you are interested in contributing, please complete the online webform below.
Grants
Also read our Grant Ethics and General Conditions (at bottom of page) before submitting an applciation.
Carer’s Bursary
Bursaries are made to support attendance at Association meetings by researchers with caring responsibilities.
Deadline: TBA
Note these are currently provisional dates and may change nearer the events.
Career Development Grant
The Career Development Grant is to assist talented early-career researchers who have recently completed their PhD, or are close to the end of their fixed-term contracts (within 3 months of the grant deadline below), to strengthen their CVs to help them achieve a career in palaeontology (research or curation).
Deadline: 7th October 23.59 GMT each year.
Engagement Grants
Awards are made to encourage educational outreach, public engagement, and related initiatives in palaeontological themes. Normally, the budget for an individual grant would be less than £5,000 GBP (or equivalent currency in the applicant’s country at the time the funds are disbursed). However, under exceptional circumstances, a budget of up to £8,000 GBP for an individual application will be considered.
Deadline: 1st September 23:59 GMT.
In rare cases where rapid access to funds is critical, applications submitted outside the normal deadlines may be considered.
Grant-in-aid
The Association is happy to receive applications for grants from the organisers of scientific meetings, workshops and short courses that lie conformably with its charitable purpose, which is to promote research in palaeontology and its allied sciences.
Deadline: 1st March and 1st September each year at 23:59 GMT
Jones-Fenleigh Fund - SVPCA
The Jones-Fenleigh Fund was founded in 1989, with money donated by the Jones-Fenleigh family in memory of Edward Jones-Fenleigh, the man who introduced the first museum-quality dinosaur models, made by his company Invicta Plastics of Leicester, UK.
Its purpose is to provide bursaries to individuals with no access to funding for conferences so that they can attend the Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy (SVPCA).
Deadline: 17th August at 23:59 GMT.
Postgraduate Travel Fund
Financial assistance is offered to postgraduate students who are members of the Association to attend international meetings that are not directly supported by the Association through the Grants-in-Aid scheme. A list of directly-sponsored meetings is given below. The funding is only intended for conferences that are explicitly scientific in nature. Enquiries can be made to the Meetings Coordinator (meetings@palass.org).
No deadline. Application accepted throughout the year.
Research Grants
Awards are made to assist palaeontological research up to a maximum value of £10,000 GBP per award. Normally, grants must support a single research project, or a ‘proof of concept’ proposal with an aim of supporting future applications to national research funding bodies. Field-based projects are also eligible, but the scientific objectives and outcomes of the research must be made clear.
Deadline: 1st March at 23:59 GMT
Small Grants Scheme
The Association offers multiple awards each year, in honour of three donors, to fund palaeontological research, travel and fieldwork; these are integrated together under the Small Grants Scheme. These grants are open to any member of the Association, although preference is given to students, early career researchers, and advocational members.
Sylvester-Bradley Awards: Multiple awards up to £3000 GBP each, for palaeontological research.
Whittington Award: An award up to £3000 GBP for a project which is normally based on museum collections.
Stan Wood Award: A maximum of two awards of up to £3000 GBP for projects in vertebrate palaeontology, and ideally involving fieldwork and fossil collecting.
Deadline: 30 September 23:59 GMT
Undergraduate Research Bursaries
The Palaeontological Association Undergraduate Research Bursaries are aimed at giving undergraduate students the opportunity to acquire research skills and experience that will significantly transform their academic career.
Deadline: 1st February at 23:59 GMT
Grant ethics and general conditions
Ethics
For full details, please see the document Palaeontological Association Publication Policies and Ethics guidance.
Regarding the use of animal experiments in research funded by the Palaeontological Association, we note that the use of live or euthanized animals is an essential part of research in many scientific disciplines, including palaeontology. Research Grant awardees must commit to the highest possible ethical standards related to the use of animals. We require awardees to confirm they will:
- design robust experiments (see https://arriveguidelines.org/arrive-guidelines) that reflect the principles of the 3Rs (replace reduce refine): see https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/the-3rsal
- comply with national legislation in the country where the research is to be undertaken and all institutional regulations and guidelines.
You may find the following sources useful:
- Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour / Animal Behavior Society; see Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research (Animal Behaviour, 2020, 159, I-XI).
- Declaration of Helsinki.
- EU legislation (Directive 2010/63/EU; Regulation (EU) 2019/1010).
Expenditure categories not supported by the Palaeontological Association
Applicants should note that the Association does not provide funding for the following. These items must not be included in any budget submitted for consideration:
1. Institutional overheads or core operating costs
The Association will fund only the directly incurred costs of conducting the proposed research (e.g., consumables, travel directly related to the project).
We do not fund any form of indirect or institutional cost, including but not limited to:
- Overheads, estate or building costs.
- Administrative or support services.
- Directly allocated staff time.
- Any proportion of Full Economic Cost (fEC).
For the avoidance of doubt we also do not fund any salary costs for individuals, whether these are presented as directly incurred costs, directly attributed costs, or staff time contributions.
(See paragraphs 3.31–3.37 of the Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004–2014, HM Treasury, July 2004, for further information on how overheads are treated in charity-funded research.)
2. Capital items
No funding is available for:
- Equipment with a purchase cost exceeding £1,000 GBP, except where evidence is provided that the cost of hiring the equipment would be greater than the cost of purchase.
- Sites, buildings, or any other capital expenditure.
3. Replacement of withdrawn or insufficient public funding
The Association cannot cover any shortfall caused by reduced, withdrawn, or inadequate public finance.
4. Student tuition fees or summer research bursaries
These costs are not eligible, except for those specifically covered under the Undergraduate Research Bursaries scheme.
Other conditions for Palaeontological Association grants
Each applicant may submit only one application per grant type in any given year.