In 2018, the British Science Association (BSA) received a Sustaining Excellence grant from Wellcome, awarded to organisations who had previously received funding for public engagement activities. Today, the BSA publishes an overview of the work done with this funding.

Read the full report

The purpose of the Sustaining Excellence grant programme was to “increase the impact of public engagement projects and develop new ways of working”. At the time, the BSA’s programmes were moving further towards increasing engagement and participation in audiences underrepresented in science. The funding proposal therefore included plans to:

• Increase the impact of our public engagement;
• Develop more inclusive ways of working; and
• Support our then-mission to transform the diversity and inclusivity of science.

The BSA’s current vision, for science to be more relevant, representative and connected to society, builds on the training and knowledge accumulated during the grant period, 2018-2021.

Over the past three years the BSA has established new programmes, undergone extensive equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) training and refined its purpose. This new publication describes how the Sustaining Excellence funding facilitated our progress and considers our next steps.

Sustaining Excellence: Developing our practice with grant funding and beyond