91TV

Eligibility and judging criteria

Eligibility

Eligibility checks are undertaken after Stage 1 in the application process has been submitted, so please ensure you read the eligibility criteria carefully.

91TV’s Partnership Grants scheme funds schools and colleges up to £3,000 to support the development of students’ practical STEM skills and careers experience. This is achieved by developing and delivering a long-term investigative STEM project in the classroom.

To be eligible for the Partnership Grant scheme, each project must involve at least two partners:

1) a member of staff from a UK school or college, referred to as the school partner, and 2) a STEM professional from academia or industry, referred to as the STEM partner.

Any member of staff from the school or college can act at the school partner but please note, if the application is successful, it will be this individual who will be the main point of contact for the Royal Society during the running of the project and will be responsible for submitting the required updates and reports.

All schools and colleges supporting ages 5-18 are welcome to apply. However, please note priority is given to applications from schools that are new to the scheme and those with the greatest need.

Applications must be completed online through Flexi-Grant®.

Project eligibility

• The school or college (inclusive of sixth form or further education) must be UK-based (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).
• The students involved in the project must be between 5 and 18 years old. Reception years are eligible if the project is run in conjunction with other age groups.
• You must apply with a specific research project rather than a series of independent activities or experiments for a STEM club. Use this project planning guidance document to help you prepare your research project.
• The project must be a new initiative for the school and something that the school wouldn't be able to do without the grant funding. 
• The title of the project must be a STEM-related question that the students are attempting to answer by completing their hands-on, practical research; it must be specific to the school and cannot be part of a third-party scheme or competition.
• If your project includes a 'design and build' aspect (for example, building a car, robots, weather station, etc), make sure there is still a clear investigative element.
• The project needs to last a minimum of one full term (for example, from Christmas to Easter). The maximum duration is six terms (across two years). Any work beyond this can be considered part of the project’s legacy.
• For Partnership Grants, the students are the researchers. Therefore, you should aim to limit investigations where the students are also the subjects. Projects investigating wellbeing and/or mental health are ineligible due to the sensitive nature of these topics. If your project includes components that rely on conducting experiments involving humans or animals, you will need to show you have thought about the ethics of the project and how any ethical considerations will be dealt with.

Partner eligibility

• The lead applicant is the school partner who must start the application form.
• The lead STEM partner must be someone actively working in a STEM related role in academia or industry and cannot be retired. The lead STEM partner must be above graduate level in a university or research institute, or with appropriate industrial experience. The lead STEM partner should have relevant skills and experience to support the research subject.
• The lead STEM partner cannot be an individual whose main role is the provision of outreach or education e.g. a public engagement officer, education coordinator or fellow teacher. However, outreach providers working in industry or academia, with a research background, may be considered depending on the project being undertaken.

Find out more information about the role and eligibility of .

Funding

• Funding is paid directly to the school or college (or lead school or college if multiple are involved in the same grant) and must be paid into a school or college bank account.
• Funding should predominantly be used to buy equipment.
• If a single piece of equipment makes up the majority of the budget, you must clearly justify why the piece is crucial for the success of the project.
• Funding of up to £300* can be used to support the STEM partner's travel (*or up to £500 with additional evidence of the necessary travel costs included in the application).
• Funding of up to £300 per term can be used to support teacher cover if the success of the project will be compromised without this support.
• Funding of up to £300 can be used to support a school/community event to showcase the project work. This can include venue hire and/or refreshments. 
• Up to 10% of the budget can be listed as contingency to account for increases in costs.
• Funding cannot be used on the following:
  • to purchase items directly from the STEM partner and the STEM partner should not make a commercial gain from the project. This is due to conflict of interest
  • to take part in third-party schemes, competitions or pre-prepared workshops
  • consultancy or advisor fees for scientists, engineers or freelance science communicators
  • the purchase of pre-prepared kits (e.g. Lego kits, eco cars or rocket-boats), unless they are to be used in a wider investigation, i.e. they are part of a project which clearly demonstrates a sound use of scientific methodology
  • normal running costs of a science/technology department. Any equipment purchased must be essential to the investigation. 
  • teachers based in educational establishments outside the UK
  • projects that take place outside the UK or travel overseas

Judging criteria

All submitted Stage 2 applications are reviewed by at least two members of the Partnership Grants Allocating Panel.

The following criteria are used by the judges during the review process. Please note that the STEM partner’s involvement and the investigative element of the project are double weighted during the judging process due to their importance.

Eligibility FAQs

The questions below are commonly asked by prospective applicants and the answers provide useful hints and tips for your application. Please also review the guidance pages regarding the application, partnership and guidance to support SEND as you write your application. Don’t forget that draft applications can be sent to the Schools Engagement team for review before you submit.