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What can I request funding for?

Each application will be assessed on its own merits. 

Every carer's responsibilities are different, so we are committed to assessing each application individually. However, by way of guidance, the kinds of expenses that we will consider funding include: 

• extra home help or nursing care for a dependant whilst you will not be present
• additional medical/respite care for a dependant whilst you will not be present
• travel expenses to allow a relative to accompany you in order to care for your dependants whilst you attend a meeting or event
• extended hours with a care worker/childminder/play scheme to allow you to return home later than normal.

"My husband is also a chemist – we were really excited about the Grants for Carers scheme because we work in similar fields, so we often want to attend the same meetings, but we also have a young daughter.

That can make it quite complicated because we either have to limit going to things that could be important for our research, how many events we go to, or sometimes we have to choose one or the other of us to go."

Dr Kim Jelfs, Computational Chemist - Imperial College London

Restrictions on funding

Grants for Carers will not cover:

• Applicant’s travel
• Applicant’s registration fees
• Applicant’s or dependents’ subsistence
• Applicant’s accommodation

Eligibility

You are eligible if:

• you are a chemist
• you are based in the UK or Ireland or, if you are based outside these countries, you must hold valid RSC membership for a minimum of three consecutive years, irrespective of any changes to your membership category within that time
• you will incur additional caring expenses while attending a chemistry-related meeting, conference, workshop or professional development event
• you will use these funds to cover the cost of care that you usually provide
• you must have an active role in the event or activity with the only exception being structured training or professional development programmes, where attending is considered an active role

Please note, we are unable to fund retrospective applications, please make sure that you allow at least six weeks between the submission of your application form and the event date. 

"It becomes very expensive to bring my children to the conference venue, but it is very difficult to leave them behind. It’s not only so you can bring them to the conference – you can use this grant to pay someone to take care of your kids back in your home country or home town. So you can use it anyway during the conference for your kids."

Dr Robina Begum, Assistant Professor - University of the Punjab, Lahore

How to apply

We will ask you to upload a full breakdown of the associated costs and proof of participation from the event organiser in the application form (link below).

Please submit separate applications for each event that you wish to attend, up to a maximum value of £1,200 per year.

As part of the application process, we may ask you for additional information to ensure that your application is eligible and appropriate for the remit of this grant. Please be prepared for further questions regarding your caring responsibilities, but be assured that any information you share will stay confidential.

We aim to respond to you within six weeks of your application. Please keep this in mind as we cannot fund retrospective applications.

Please note that if you receive a grant, you will need to complete a feedback form and submit receipts after your attendance. Future applications for funding may be impacted if receipts and the feedback form are not submitted for past awards.

Apply now

The application form below may take 15 minutes to complete. You can save a partially completed application form and return to it later. Once you have submitted your application you will not have any further opportunities to amend it.

Continuing an application?

Go straight to the form to continue your Grants for Carers application.

Addressing inequality

These grants have been introduced following the ¾ÅÖÝӰԺ’s Breaking the barriers report which found that 78% of chemists working in UK academia felt that managing parenting and/or caring responsibilities had an impact on women’s retention and progression. However, applications to this fund are not limited to female scientists – anyone with caring responsibilities is welcome to apply.