Projects should generate engagement activity that improves access to opportunities, reduces barriers to participation, or shares the benefits of growth more widely across East London communities. 

Projects should link to institutional strategies such as Strategy 2030 or relevant QM Enabling Plans. 

Projects should reflect East London priorities identified through London-wide and localised strategies and plans and address long term challenges that create barriers for inclusive growth in East London. 

We will be discussing these in more detail at the East London Civic Anchor Network meeting on Growth, Skills and Innovation: Building Prosperity in East London. We strongly encourage applicants to attend this meeting. 

Priority opportunity areas can include: 

• Those Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEETs) 
• Young people 
• Adult reskilling 
• Skills gaps in East London 
• Green skills 
• AI/digital skills 
• Training and development  
• Procurement 
• Inclusive innovation 
• Entrepreneurship 
• Social mobility 
• High Streets 

Applications must involve at least one external stakeholder. Partners may include: 

• Local authorities 
• NHS Trusts 
• Colleges and Post16 providers 
• SMEs 
• Charities and community organisations 
• Businesses or developers 
• Business Improvement Districts 

Projects can develop new partnerships or deepen existing ones. 

Seed funding can be used to scope ideas and build relationships that lead to external funding bids. Where possible, applicants should explore match funding, though this is not a requirement. 

Applicants must be current staff or PhD students at Queen Mary,  with a contract end date no sooner than 1 August 2026. We welcome applications from staff at all career stages -and this is not used as a criteria in the selection process.   

Lead applicants must be the individuals who will be responsible for delivering the project and subsequent reporting. External applicants can apply to the programme as co-applicants alongside Queen Mary staff or students on projects.   

To ensure all applications engage external groups with Queen Mary research, teaching, or services, all submissions must have at least one applicant from within the University who will be held responsible for assisting the delivery of the projects and reporting on outcomes. 

All activities must be able to spend the funds and complete their activity before the end of the current financial year: 31st July 2026. 

This programme will not fund activity which would happen without funding. If the project, or aspect of the project that funding is requested for, has already been advertised or has already taken place, we are unable to fund the project as it will be judged to be going ahead without engagement funding.  

All financial administration (e.g. raising requisitions, expense claims) will need to be completed by end of June 2026, to allow for payments to be processed by the end of July.    

 (a) Staffing Costs and Paying People  

Academic staff costs cannot be included in applications to this programme.  

Internal staff costs for special services related to the event such as out of hours charges or AV support necessary to deliver the project may be included.  

Student costs can be included into applications. We strongly encourage that student time is reimbursed appropriately. This includes both undergraduate and postgraduate student time.  

If you intend to include student costs, we strongly encourage you to contact your School Finance contact to find out the correct hourly rate and discuss on-costs. On-costs tend to be an additional 30 per cent on the rate of pay and should be listed in your breakdown of costing with the hourly rate. On-costs include pensions, employer’s NI, holiday pay and the apprenticeship levy.  Additionally, you should not employ students for hours in excess of their weekly limits (i.e. 20 hours per week for students on Tier 4 Visas and PhD students). Please follow guidance from HR to determine the appropriate hours.  

If you are working with external partner(s), we encourage that their time and participation is reimbursed appropriately. These costs can be included into applications.  

If you are involving patient or public representatives in PPIE activities, we strongly encourage you to recompense them for their time. The NIHR recommended rate is £27.50 per hour and you can find more information in their payment guidance.  

(b) Catering  

Catering costs can be included in applications to this funding programme when it is integral to supporting engagement. If catering is not seen as integral to facilitating engagement, it will not be funded. Applications requesting any funds for catering must demonstrate clearly how this will improve the quality of engagement, and why it is necessary and appropriate for the activity and the target audience.   

Applications that design catering into activity in a way that encourages and deepens engagement as part of the project will have a stronger chance. Examples of this include having facilitated coffee breaks to encourage discussion or food-tasting to bring a subject area to life.  

(c) Conferences 

It is an important part of the remit of the Inclusive Growth Grants programme that a non-academic audience is the main focus of the activity to be funded. Therefore, projects and activities associated with academic conferences (or similar activities) should clearly explain why this is an appropriate platform for the intended audience and show how this activity will do one or more of the following:  

• Attract a significant portion of its audience from non-academic backgrounds  
• Encourage two-way dialogue between academics and non-academic participants through the design of activities  
• Offer significant demonstrable value to the non-academic proportion of the audience in this format If the activity is associated with a fee-paying conference, the applicant should show clearly why the conference fees cannot cover this portion of activity.  

(d) Accessibility  

Consider whether your activity is accessible to the people you are engaging with and to people engaging with any legacy items. Accessibility can have associated costs, and the Small Grants can be used to cover these costs, including but not limited to:  

• hiring a suitable venue (easy to get to, accessible to disabled people - with seating, with gender neutral and accessible toilets etc.)  
• hiring British Sign Language interpreters  
• covering transcription and translation costs  
• covering travel expenses for participants   
• data top-up cards allowing access to the internet for participants in online activities   

Other measures to improve accessibility are free:  

• schedule breaks and stick to them  
• provide directions and instructions in advance  
• use inclusive language  

(e) Sustainability 

Grants can be used to purchase consumables and equipment for activities (i.e. printing costs, craft materials, etc.). Consider whether you might be able to source existing materials from your team or your department. Also consider whether you will be able to re-use materials and equipment purchased for other projects in the future and think about the environmental impact of your project. Consider limiting the use of plastics and single-use items if you can or choosing vegetarian options if catering.