There are so many community organisations doing fantastic things in and around Exeter. From seed banks to collectives of learning-disabled people, we are constantly inspired by the creative ways these organisations work to make a difference for people and the planet – and the British Science Festival’s (BSF’s) Community Grants Scheme was an invaluable opportunity for us to collaborate with some of these groups. 

As a Festival Partner, and in a new role for 2023, we had the privilege of helping to facilitate these grants. We worked with the BSF team to establish the application process and the criteria for assessing the grants, promoting the grants and guiding the applicants on their proposals, as well as assessing the applications (alongside a broad panel from the BSF, the University of Exeter and the University’s Community Panel) and supporting the grantees on delivering, evaluating and blogging about their projects. This was a new experience for us, being on the “other side of the table” in the grant application process; as a small charity, we're more accustomed to applying for grants and delivering projects ourselves – like the Climate Exhibition 2023, which was the longest-running event at the British Science Festival that year. 

The main aim of the grants was to help underrepresented groups better connect with science in a way that’s relevant to them, which aligns with much of our own work. We were glad to draw on our experience of making science accessible and running events, as well as using our connections to scientists who could support the community groups’ activities – it’s so pleasing to find new ways that we can be useful as an organisation!  

Overall, working on this grants scheme was a hugely rewarding opportunity for us, not only by stepping into the shoes of a grant assessor, and making new connections with local community groups – but also by being part of a genuinely equitable grant-making process. It was wonderful to be able to offer guidance to potential applicants on how to meet the grant criteria, and so make their proposals as fundable as they can be; this is such a progressive approach to grant-making, and it’s only one of two examples that we’ve encountered so far. 

A lasting benefit of this experience for us is a deeper understanding of community action in the city where we are establishing ourselves. We aim to create a bold new amalgamation of educational charity, community organisation, cultural hub and tourist attraction, with the aim of reaching people from a wide range of ages and backgrounds. Our ultimate aim is to empower people to make a difference in the world, and we strongly believe that we need to work together to do this, building a collaborative ecosystem of the public, researchers, industry and organisations working for a better future. By helping to facilitate the community grants scheme, we had a taster of the work and needs of just a small sample of the brilliant organisations operating in our local area. This has reinforced our desire to better connect everyone, as part of the ecosystem that we’re trying to create in the city and region. 

We’re really grateful to the BSF team for this opportunity – and special thanks to Emery and James from the BSF, and Lindsey from the University of Exeter, who have been brilliant to work with throughout the whole experience! 

A word from the British Science Festival Team:

We are currently looking for a Community Grants Partner for the British Science Festival 2024, which will be held in East London on 11 – 15 September, in collaboration with the University of East London.