Information for Partnership Grant holders: reporting and support
Schools funded through the Partnership Grants scheme, including Tomorrow's climate scientists, are required to provide regular updates to the Royal Society throughout their grant. Full details of the short reporting requirements, as well as information about support, additional funding opportunities and ways to share your project further, can be found below.
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Contacts
Reporting
Additional funding
Sharing project knowledge
Contacts
The Schools Engagement team are on hand to help with any questions or queries you may have at any point during your grant via education@royalsociety.org. It is important to keep us up to date with any of the following key areas:
- Contact changes - Lead teacher, STEM partner and Head Teacher/Principal contact changes should be updated ASAP to ensure that key grant communications can reach the right people.
- Changes to STEM partner engagement – if the in-person engagement between the STEM partner and students looks like it may be impacted by situations beyond your control, resulting in less interaction than indicated during the application process, please let us know ASAP. We can work with you to ensure this essential element is met in some form to ensure the grant and project can continue.
- Significant changes to the project timeline or format of the project - changes like these are possible, and often quick to process, but will need to be approved by the Society first to ensure they are in line with our grant eligibility and criteria.
Please also contact us throughout your project to let us know about any highlights and successes as they happen.
Reporting
Partnership Grant holders (including extension grant holders and those considered part of the Tomorrow's climate scientists programme) are required to submit a short update about their grant once a term, from the time they receive their funding to the time their project is completed. Once completed, more comprehensive end of project reporting will be required. The table below provides summary details of the current reporting requirements and timing. Full details can be found in this reporting guidance (PDF).
| Reporting | Content | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Termly grant update |
- A short, 5-10 minute, online survey (link provided). |
Every term, from grant payment to project completion (requests will come in October, February and May). |
| End of project reporting |
- Lead teacher online survey (link provided). |
Once the main project has been completed. |
Reporting requests are kept to a minimum throughout the year but allow us to see how your project is progressing. The information collected, especially the poster, enables us to share the investigative work your school are undertaking more widely. The reporting also allows us the chance to highlight relevant grants or opportunities when and where appropriate.
Reporting is a mandatory part of the Partnership Grant agreement, and if missed, may lead to a request for grant funding to be repaid. The termly grant updates are completed by the lead teacher, who can invite their STEM partner to contribute if desired, whereas the end of project reporting involves input from both. Please liaise between yourselves to ensure key reporting is completed by the deadlines requested.
Additional funding
Unspent funds
Throughout the course of your project you may, for various reasons, end up with grant money left unspent.
Before you reach the end of your project it is important to consider how these unused funds could be spent effectively to enhance your project.
You will be required to confirm your final spend, and any unspent funds at the end of your project.
- To pay for teacher cover for the teachers involved to embed the learnings from the project in the school
- To replace consumables so that the project can re-run.
- To purchase equipment to develop and extend the original project.
- To run a session or showcase your project work at a conference.
- To produce teaching resources or guidance documents about the project which could be shared with other schools to run a similar project.
- To pay for a school trip which relates to the work the students carried out through their project.
- To produce a video, blog or podcast about your project (and share with the Society).
Film Grants
Once your project is underway you can apply for a one-off grant of £1,000 to support the production of a short film to showcase your Partnership Grant work and the impact it has had. The film can be used to record progress over the duration of the project activity and share your achievements more widely. The grant should be used to purchase equipment needed to produce the films to a high sound and image quality. Please email the Schools Engagement team for more information and an application form.
Extension Grants
As you come to the end of your main project you can apply for an additional grant of £1,500 to extend your project, either to reach more students and/or schools or to continue investigating the project further, adding to the students’ experiences and skills. Please note: schools must still work with a STEM partner during the extension project and all reporting for the original project must be complete before a school can be awarded extension funding. Please email the Schools Engagement team for more information.
Sharing project knowledge
Social media
If you are sharing your project work via social media, please use #PartnershipGrants and tag the Royal Society (Twitter: @RoyalSociety, Facebook/Instagram: @theroyalsociety) so we can more easily spot your content and share.
STEM community
The STEM Community platform is run by STEM Learning Ltd and enables teachers to connect with their peers across the UK, sharing knowledge, resources and finding out about events and opportunities from organisations such as the Society.
Supporting practical research in the classroom through Partnership Grants: please join the general STEM Community group for the Partnership Grants scheme, aimed at teachers who are interested or already involved in the scheme. Become part of the discussions and share your project knowledge and experience with others.
If you have received a grant and are involved with an active project you can also request to be part of a closed group, called Partnership Grant holders. Here you can network with other teachers across the UK running Partnership Grant projects, as well as receive regular updates on opportunities and support from the Schools Engagement team.
Blog
We regularly look for stories to feature on our blog and via the STEM Community, sharing good practice from schools across the UK and inspiring others to apply for a grant. If you would like to write a story about your project in general or a specific aspect, for example; working across multiple schools, a special guest visit or event with parents related to your project, please email the Schools Engagement team for more information. Please include a short description of your story idea if you already have one.
Student conference
The student conference is a unique opportunity for secondary schools to present their work to peers, Fellows of the Royal Society and other invited guests in-person at the Royal Society in London. It is also a chance to develop students’ communications skills and experience of scientific conferences. Details of this opportunity will be shared with schools in advance. Please email the Schools Engagement team if you would like to express interest in attending.
Young Researcher Zone at the Summer Science Exhibition
The Young researchers zone is an opportunity for secondary schools to engage the general public with the STEM research being conducted across the UK via the Partnership Grants scheme including Tomorrow's climate scientists. The projects showcased in the Zone at the Summer Science Exhibition are featured alongside other exhibits from a range of institutions, sharing the cutting edge research being undertaken by their STEM professionals. Details of this opportunity will be shared with schools in advance. Please email the Schools Engagement team if you would like to express interest in attending.
Notebooks
You can request to be sent up to 10 copies of our lab notebooks for your students to use as they carry out their research projects. As well as space to record their work, the books also feature inspiring images of famous scientists’ lab books from the Royal Society archives. Photos of your students work in these books can be shared via social media, the STEM Community group or submitted as part of the project reporting. Please email the Schools Engagement team if you would like to request these.
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