The Centre for Public Engagement Small Grants are a monthly funding scheme (excluding December, June-August) that provides grants of up to £1,000 to enable Queen Mary staff and students the opportunity to deliver small-scale projects that engage the public with University research, teaching, or core business.
The scheme has three categories of award (public engagement, community engagement and Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)) available which are designed to help support a variety of different engagement projects throughout Queen Mary.
Learn more about who sits on the review panels.
All applications to the Public Engagement category must meet the following criteria:
Further to the above criteria, the scheme prioritises activity which:
All applications to the PPI category must meet the following criteria:
All applications to the Community Engagement category must meet the following criteria:
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 able to apply to the scheme as named co-applicants if collaborating with Queen Mary staff or students on a project.
However to assure that applications engage external publics with Queen Mary research, teaching, or services, all submissions must have at least one applicant based at the University who will be held responsible for assisting in the delivery of projects and reporting on outcomes.
Projects must complete their activities and associated spend by the end of the financial year on 31 July 2025.
Download application guidance below:
Small Grants Guidance and Conditions [PDF 185KB]
Apply to the Small Grant funding scheme here
The CPE run fortnightly public engagement surgeries where you can book a 20-minute slot with the team for some 1-2-1 support on Small Grant projects. 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.
The funding to support these activities has come from the Queen Mary’s Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) allocation, which has been awarded by Research England to specifically support and develop knowledge exchange activities between the University and the wider world. For more information on how HEIF is allocated and the activities it supports, please refer to the UKRI website.