Not all non-UK organisations are listed.
If you are based at a non-UK institution please select the Royal Society as your host organisation. This is for the purpose of eligibility checking only, a Royal Society representative will check your application meets the requirements once it is submitted.
Should you be successful in your grant application a representative of your organisation will need to countersign the official letter of acceptance agreeing to act as guarantor for funds awarded. It is a good idea to inform your research services and/or department administrator that you have applied for this grant at application stage as they will not receive any notification from the FlexiGrant application portal. Heads of department should be aware of the grant as they are one of the required referees.
If you are based at a UK organisation which is not listed in FlexiGrant, or your department is not listed within the organisation please contact grants@royalsociety.org to check your organisation is eligible and ask that it be added to the portal.
You must be affiliated to an organisation for the duration of the research. This is to ensure there is a recognised institution who will act to administer any funds awarded to you and guarantee to oversee they are used for the stated research purpose. This affiliation could be as a research associate or member of a body providing you gain their approval in advance to act as guarantor for any funds awarded.
You may not apply if you will have graduated or completed your PhD at your host organisation before the end of your proposed grant-funded research - unless the university agree in writing to continue to act as your guarantor and point of contact for administration of the award beyond completion of your PhD. (For example if the grant may allow an applicant to pursue a foundational or bridging project that would advance their career to the next stage beyond PhD). This agreement should be submitted as a supporting document in the grant application. A non-university contact email address must also be provided by the primary applicant in this scenario.
Your host organisation is the organisation where you are employed or studying, regardless of your research destination.
You should only list the Royal Society as your host organisation for administrative purposes if your own organisation is outside the UK and is not listed in the FlexiGrant portal.
For applicants based in non-UK organisations - yes, at least some research must be carried out using identified sources or likely subject material in the Royal Society collections. It may also include event attendance in the UK and use of other related collections in the UK.
For applicants based at UK organisations – no, you can apply for a travel grant of up to one month duration to visit any international location for event attendance or archival research. UK-based applicants are also eligible to apply to use the Royal Society collections and related collections in the UK but it is not a requirement.
The requirement for international applicants to include the Royal Society collections in their research is so that the Society can play an active part in building networks of history of science researchers within the UK and beyond and make sure that the grant funds those researchers who may not otherwise be able to access Royal Society collections. We want the grant to stimulate diverse uses of the Society’s historically significant collections as well as broadening access to them.
This is not a required field. Leave the department field blank and just enter the name of your host organisation, this should allow you to progress your application.
Please also submit a request for the department to be added by contacting grants@royalsociety.org.
In special circumstances, or to allow for completion of references and submission approval for an otherwise complete application, an extension of one week may be granted.
All references and host organisation approval must be completed by the extended deadline.
To request an extension contact the scheme manager via library@royalsociety.org.
The scheme manager will contact you before the deadline to confirm your extension and discuss any need for a longer extension. Further extensions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances as the assessment process cannot be delayed.
It is not possible to carry out research earlier than the advertised period as grant funds cannot be paid out in time to facilitate this.
If you wish to apply for research later than the currently listed research period please apply in a future round.
The grant typically accepts applications twice a year as follows:
Round 1: apply from around January-March for research to take place from July the same year to June the following year,
Round 2: apply from around June-October for research to take place January-December the following year.