Summary

The RSE society is able to provide financial support for events and initiatives which support our mission statement and charitable objectives (see our constitution section).

In summary the objectives of the RSE society are: 

• To advance education particularly but not exclusively amongst research software engineers; and/or 
• To promote and advance research particularly but not exclusively in all aspects of research that relies on software engineering and to publish the useful results;

If your event matches our objectives then you are welcome to apply to our events fund!

Budget and Scope of Support

The society offers financial support of generally up to £1000 per event or initiative. Formal requests for funding can be made via the Request for Funding Google form.  If you would like an informal chat to discuss if your application falls under our remit, please email us at [email protected].

If your event requires a greater level of support (either financially or administratively) then please email us at [email protected] explaining why it would be in the interests of furthering the Society’s aims and we will let you know if it can be considered.

Some non-exclusive example of events and initiatives we have sponsored include:

• Sponsoring the Festival of the Hidden REF
• Sponsoring DiveRSE – an international seminar series focusing on supporting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) within the research software community

Expectations

In exchange for supporting your event or initiative the society has a set of guidelines of essential and desirable expectations. Depending on the specifics of your event or proposed initiative some of these may or may not apply. Any expectations will be clarified upon acceptance of your request.

Essential

• To display the RSE Society logo on any webpage promoting the event and the registration webpage.
• Appropriate social media will be used to advertise the sponsorship and the event. If you don’t have social media accounts (X, LinkedIn etc) the Society can help with publicising your event from their accounts.
• A brief mention of thanks to the Society at the start of each session (if a series of events, episodes etc) if appropriate.
• To follow our code of conduct and ensure that participants are signposted to this in advance of the event.
• For physical events, the Society logo on any printed materials (i.e. agendas, name tags, pull-up banner).
• The Society logo to be used as a ‘sponsor’ logo and for it to be clear on any and all materials (online and physical) that the Society is a sponsor of this event.
• For online events, the Society logo on the first welcome slide or in the slide template.
• Engagement with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Accessibility team. 
• A blog post for the event to be submitted to the Society blog
• The Society to be notified of the number of people who attended, for events (both remote and in-person).

Desirable 

Note: For event requesting over £500 this is essential

• An opportunity for the Society to provide a 5-10 min presentation to event audience to promote the society and its aims

Reviewing and Funding Request Decisions

Applications for support will follow a peer review process from the Events and Initiative team. Formal applications for under £1000 will be put to a vote of the Events and Initiative team which meets fortnightly.

Applications for over £1000 will be taken to a full Trustee meeting which occurs on a monthly basis.  The board will vote to approve or reject the event. Strength of fit with our criteria will be used to define a minimum threshold for funding and also to allocate funds if there are more valid requests than can be fully met.

Applicants are welcome to informally discuss their request with a trustee. However all  applications should be made via the Request for Funding Google form. Where submissions are unsuccessful a short summary review will be provided however scores and ranking will not be released.

Deadlines

As submissions are reviewed and proposed at our fortnightly (or monthly depending on the amount requested) meetings, applicants are encouraged to submit at least two months prior to their event to ensure that applications can be processed. Trustee meetings do not have a fixed date within the month so the actual time to a decision may vary.

Conflicts of Interest

During your submission you must include any known conflicts of interest with existing trustees. For example: 

• The trustee is known to them personally (beyond what could be considered a normal working relationship)
• The trustee has competitive interests relating to the proposed event or initiative. E.g. they are a co-organiser/beneficiary or they are organising a competing event.
• The trustee works in the same part of an organisation as the applicant

Trustees will also be asked to declare any such conflicts. In such cases the trustees will be excluded from reviewing and will abstain from voting.

Criteria for Assessment

Applications for support will be assessed using the following criteria:

1. Alignment of the proposed event or initiative with our charity’s Mission statement and Objectives How well does the event or initiative align with the society? 
2. Impact of the funding What will be the impact of the event or initiative? What will be the specific impact of the society supporting this event or initiative? Are there any specific or measurable outputs which could be included in the society’s annual report?
3. Value for money What is the money supporting and does this present good value for money? Is there any matched funding from elsewhere including sponsors?
4. Target audience / Beneficiaries Which audiences will benefit from this event or initiative? Will the event reach new sectors or audiences? How will diversity and inclusivity be considered in marketing the event?

Apply Now! We’re waiting to hear from you!

Event Funding Application Form