Pat Hill-Cottingham Memorial Fund (Natural Sciences Research Committee)

GUIDELINES AND CONDITIONS FOR APPLICANTS

Application Forms

Application forms are obtainable from the Society’s website or from the Society’s office with the completed form returned to the Office Manager by the advertised date. It is to be completed with supplementary sheets, if required, in clear legible form in black ink, and preferably typed.

The Application form shall request the following information:

  • A description of the proposed research, and in the case of research already in hand, a description of progress to date.
  • An assessment of the importance of the research, in relation to previous or other work.
  • Sufficient details of the individual or organisation applying to satisfy the Committee that the research will be efficiently and economically conducted, and that the work will be published.
  • Details of previous research completed.
  • A clear and realistic estimate of the total cost of the research, together with full details of those elements to be supported from the Fund.
  • An indication of other funds available or sought from other sources.
  • A timetable for the research proposed.
  • The name and address of at least one referee.
Application Guidelines
  1. Funds are limited, and it is unlikely that the Society will be able to meet the full costs of a research project.
  2. Eligible costs shall include appropriate equipment, scientific recording, travel costs, sampling and some analysis. Costs such as DNA analysis, pollen analysis, fossil analysis, for example, will be considered.
  3. Ineligible costs shall include living expenses, wages or salaries, publishing costs.
  4. Research by undergraduate or postgraduate students will not be eligible.
  5. It is expected that any application for capital expenditure on equipment will clearly demonstrate which organisation is to be responsible for the care, maintenance and insurance of the equipment, for training users and for ensuring its availability for use among a stated consortium of organisations.
Conditions on grants

The general conditions* to be imposed shall be;

  • The Society’s grant should be acknowledged on all occasions when the research is published or presented to the public.  The form of the acknowledgement shall be “Supported by the Natural Sciences Research (Pat Hill-Cottingham Memorial Fund) of the Somerset Archaeology & Natural History Society”.
  • The Society shall be offered the opportunity to publish the results of the research in SANHS Proceedings whenever appropriate and may ask that a presentation of the research be made to the Society.
  • A statement of accounts and a brief report must be submitted to the Administrator by 31st December of the year of the grant and of subsequent years, if further grants awarded, until the research is complete. The report, which should not exceed 300 words and must be submitted in digital form, will be printed in the Society’s Newsletter. Consideration will be given to printing an accompanying illustration.
  • The grant must be on the project as defined on the application form, if changing circumstances make this impossible, prior written permission from the Fund Administrators, (SANHS Natural History Committee), must be obtained for any proposed variation. Failure to obtain such permission will disqualify the applicant from claiming the grant.
  • Claims for grants must be submitted with copies of receipts, invoices and other supporting papers.
  • Payments of grants will normally be made within 30 days of the submission of completed reports and accounts.
  • Grant offers not claimed within 12 months may be withdrawn unless a request is made for an extension of a further 12 months. An offer of grant will be completely withdrawn if not claimed within 24 months.
  • Written reports on the uses of grants may be published in the Society’s Newsletter and will be placed in the Society’s Library.

* Under exceptional circumstances and at the Natural History Committee’s discretion, a grant, or part of a grant, may be awarded to initiate a project rather than at the conclusion of the project, for which a grant has been applied for.

Fill in the application form which can be dowloaded from this page.