The Festival Funnel scheme has been designed to support Queen Mary staff and students to take part in festivals taking place across London, the UK and abroad. £500 grants are available to support the design and delivery of activities, stands, exhibits, shows, and talks taking place at festivals.
Additional top-up grants of £300 are available to cover subsistence (i.e. travel, accommodation, food) for those participating in festivals outside of London. This top-up is not available to those participating in festivals within London. While applications are welcome for festivals taking place outside of the UK, we cannot offer more than the £300 available in the top-up grant for travel and subsistence so the applicant would likely need to find additional funding to cover additional expenses.
Application to the Festival Funnel scheme is designed to be a light-touch process as we appreciate that applicants will also need to complete applications for their intended festival/event. In principle, all applicants whose proposals meet CPE criteria (see Project Eligibility below) that have been accepted by their intended festival will be approved for funding provided sufficient funds are available.
A festival is a celebratory, public event, usually centered on a theme (i.e. arts, culture, science, a specific community or location, film, literature, religion, food and drink, season, etc.). Applications are welcome for participation in any such event (whether titled as a ‘Festival’ or not) that meets such a definition and provides opportunities for academics or people at universities to participate via stands, stalls, activities, talks, seminars, events, presentations, etc. If you are unsure whether an event is eligible, please email publicengagement@qmul.ac.uk.
Below we include a non-exhaustive list of potential festivals with their associated dates and application deadlines. This list is not prescriptive and has been provided as an illustration of the types of events that might be relevant to the Queen Mary community. You are more than welcome to submit an application for funding for a project at a festival/event that falls outside this list provided it meets eligibility criteria (see above).
The Festival Funnel runs on a rolling deadline with applications accepted until 31st May 2025.
Transfer of funds will be done via internal recharge to an appropriate budget code. Funds will not be transferred until the applicant has provided the CPE with proof of acceptance at the intended festival.
Projects must complete their associated spend by the end of the financial year on 31 July 2025. While the festival can take place after this date, applicants should all spending must be completed by 31 July. This may require you to purchase any materials and services ahead of time, pre-book travel and accommodation, purchase food vouchers, etc.
Applicants must be current staff or students at Queen Mary, with an end date no sooner than 1 August 2025. We welcome applications from staff and students at all career stages—and this is not used as a criterion in the selection process.
Lead applicants must be the individuals who will be responsible for delivering the project and subsequent reporting. External applicants are not eligible for this fund.
The CPE run fortnightly public engagement surgeries where you can book a 30-minute slot with the team for some 1-2-1 support on around designing festival activities. The team will be able to help refine, shape, and strengthen proposals, as well as discuss practical considerations for project delivery.
If you’d like to attend an Advice Surgery, check the forthcoming dates and book online.
Route 1: You’ve already completed your application to your intended festival (response either received or pending)
Route 2: You haven’t yet completed an application to a festival but intend to