Conference Grants - Scheme 1

Objectives: To provide partial support for mathematical conferences held in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. 

Please note that only one grant, per Scheme, per person, per LMS financial year (1 August - 31 July) is allowed.

Eligibility:

• Grant applicants should be a mathematician based in the UK, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands at the time of application and when the conference is planned. Please note that should a grant holder leave the UK before the planned conference then the grant will be withdrawn. There is the possibility of the grant being transferred to a co-organiser who is still based in the UK, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, with the agreement of the Research Grants Committee Chair.
• Please note that PhD students are not eligible to apply for a Research Conference grant but can apply to the Postgraduate Conference Grant Scheme to support conferences organised by PhD students for PhD students.
• Non LMS members will need to ask an LMS member to counter-sign their application.
• The conference must be held in the UK, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

Criteria:

• The Society expects that the meetings which it supports will be open to all, and will only support a closed meeting if an exceptional case is made.
• The Society will support only mathematical meetings or the mathematical component of wider meetings, and here the word mathematical excludes mathematics education.
• Applicants must comply with the Society's policy on Women in Mathematics  - please note that the Society considers a lack of invited women speakers to be a very real problem, and a failure to include women speakers are grounds for refusal for funding.
• Additionally, please note the following advice on diversity at conferences/workshops/seminars.

Value of award:  The maximum award is £5,500 towards actual travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses for:

• Principal speakers 
• UK-based Research students
• Participants from Scheme 5 countries. Applicants unsure if the proposed country is eligible under a Scheme 5 grant should contact the Grants team.
• In addition, the Society allows the use of the grant award to cover Caring Costs for those attendees who have dependents.
• Hybrid conferences - the grant can be used to contribute towards the costs of running conferences, including contributing towards caring costs for those attending remotely. Further guidance about running hybrid events and how these can be supported by an LMS grant is available here.

The life of an LMS Grant is two financial years (1 August - 31 July). All awarded grants need to be claimed no later than the 31 July in the second year of the grant, i.e., if a grant is awarded in the 2022/23 financial year, the grant will need to be claimed by the 31 July 2025. Any grants that have not been claimed within the two-year period will be withdrawn.

Deadlines and decision timetable:

Applications should be submitted well in advance of the date of the conference.

• Please note that applications will not be considered between mid-June and mid-October.
• Grants will not be made retrospectively.
• The Society is reluctant to award grants to conferences which clash with other significant mathematical meetings in the UK such as the British Mathematical Colloquium or the British Applied Mathematics Colloquium. 

Queries regarding applications can be addressed to the Grants Administrator or the Chair of the Research Grants Committee (RGC) who will be pleased to discuss proposals informally with potential applicants and give advice on the submission of an application.

Membership & Grants Administrator: Lucy Covington    Email: grants@lms.ac.uk

Chair of the Research Grants Committee (RGC): Professor Andrew S. Dancer

Application Form:

To submit an application, you must be logged into your user account or registered as a user.

• Conferences - Online Grant Application Form 
• Guidance Notes
• Guidance on Supporting Hybrid Meetings

Other sources of funding:

Information about other funding offered by other organisations can be found here. 

LMS Caring Costs Policy 

The LMS wishes to enable carers and parents to take part in the activities that it supports. Applicants for grants across Schemes 1-9, for Early Career Research activities or who will run Society Meetings can request funding to help mathematicians with caring or parenting responsibilities to participate in their activities. In addition, individuals requiring support for caring to attend conferences, workshops, research schools and meetings or to make research visits - not necessarily organised by LMS - can apply for a Caring Supplementary Grant to contribute to such costs.   

The Policy is available here.