The Small Grant Scheme has closed for 2023 – It will reopen in January 2024

The IMA Small Grant Scheme is open to IMA members only. All membership grades (barring eStudent) are eligible to apply.

To apply – log in to myIMA. and select ‘Grants’ from the drop down menu titled ‘Me and the IMA’. You can now complete and submit the application form. Please note all applications must now be made online, the paper forms have been discontinued. 


The purpose of the Institute’s Small Grant Scheme is to facilitate research activity in all areas of applicable mathematics.

The Scheme is designed to be flexible, to have a simple application procedure, and to offer a rapid response to applications. It is open to IMA members of all grades barring eStudent

Applications can be made for grants up to a value of £600. Larger awards may exceptionally be granted for organizing a conference with a mathematical theme when the limit is £1200.

The Small Grant Scheme is competitive, and awards will be made only if they can be expected to have a significant impact on, or contribute towards, the specified research activity. Grants are unlikely to be made to support activities for which substantial alternative funding sources currently exist. Applications may be made at any time but we would not normally expect to fund more than one application per year per applicant.

The scheme generally runs from January – early December, however it may close early if the budget is spent.

Aims and Scope

The awards can be used to support all forms of research activity within the remit of the IMA, but the Institute particularly welcomes applications that are used to

(i)       provide partial support for workshops and small conferences and symposia;
(ii)      assist with travel costs for overseas visitors;
(iii)     facilitate the advancement and promotion of collaborative research programmes;
(iv)     promote the education and training of students and young mathematicians and scientists;
(v)      initiate or aid joint research programmes between mathematicians and industry;
(vi)     enable an activity that is not open to funding from other sources

Conferences Attendance

Grants are not normally given for conference attendance only. If you are applying for funding to present at a conference then please provide a rough budget and indicate other sources of funding being sought or received. In particular, you should state why the costs cannot be met from your university/employer or other source of funding, such as their Departmental travel budget or (in the case of an EPSRC-sponsored PhD student) the portion of the DTG grant that is intended for use for the incidental costs incurred in the training of doctoral students.

Enough information should be provided about the conference and the proposed presentation for the Research Group to evaluate the merit of the proposed activity.

Conference Organisation

If you wish to organise a conference on a theme that involves applied mathematics you may apply for a grant of up to £1,200. You should also indicate other sources of finance that you have obtained or sought elsewhere. Your conference need not be organised with the IMA but if you would like the IMA to administer your conference, please email conferences@ima.org.uk.

Candidates should be mindful of the IMA statement on Women in Mathematics. We require that candidates undertake a proper consideration of gender balance when preparing applications for conference funding.

Procedure

  1. Applications must be made using the Small Grants Scheme online application form.
  2. Applicants must be a member of the Institute. All grades of membership other than eStudent are acceptable for grant applications.
  3. A decision on the award of a grant will be usually given within two months of submission of an application.
  4. A brief report on the outcomes of the research project, and how the money was used, must be lodged within two months of completion of the activity. The report form can be downloaded below.

Background advice and information

1. The IMA Research Group takes the following aspects into account when reviewing grant requests:

i. Overall merit of the proposed activity (scientific quality, training, wider benefits).
ii. The usefulness and effectiveness of the IMA Small Grant in the success of the proposal.
iii. Benefit of activity to the Institute’s vision for mathematics in the UK.
iv: Other aspects which weight the proposal up or down, such as the promotion of young mathematicians, availability of alternative funding, etc.
2. Please be aware that while some additional information might benefit your case, large quantities of documentation such as mathematical or scientific papers, personal CVs are not needed. Applications should contain all of the information required for referees to make a decision using only the completed form, or at most, two additional pages.

3. Lack of budgetary information and/or a comprehensive explanation of the purpose of the grant could lead to a delay in processing your application, as further information may be requested.

4. You should not apply for funding retrospectively for events that have already taken place.

5. Support for visiting lecturers from overseas would be more likely if they are giving talks during their stay here that IMA members can attend free or at a discount.

6. Grant applications that aim to achieve the following are particularly welcomed:

* Projects that encourage the generation of impact or knowledge transfer.
* Interdisciplinary projects which aim to forge links with other branches of science.
* Projects that aim to capture engagement with wider community.

7. Voting is based on professional judgement rather than a strict formula. For this reason, no reasons will be given for approving or turning down awards and no correspondence will be conducted once a decision is reached.

8. Grants will be made up to a value of £600, although larger awards may exceptionally be granted. The annual budget for the scheme is currently set at £12k.

 

Run a Conference with the IMA

More information on running a conference with the IMA.

Related Documents

Small Grant Activity Report Form

Small Grant Activity Report Form

Logo images for grant recipients (zip)