A new, rapid-turnaround microgrant scheme is now available for requests of up to £250 to support members’ education, research, and professional practice

The microgrants are available to all BABAO members in immediate need of financial support to access resources that enable them to continue to advance their learning, careers or professional practice. We encourage applications from members of groups who are particularly under-represented among the BABAO membership: members from Black, Asian and other minority backgrounds, LGBTQI+ members, members with disabilities, first generation scholars, and those with caring responsibilities, among others.

Examples of suitable expenses might be bench fees, travel expenses, workshop registration fees, lab/field equipment and academic proof-reading services, but we are open to all requests that benefit you as a Biological Anthropologist or Osteoarchaeologist. However, this does not include costs for specialist analytical services and laboratory consumables, which are covered by our Research Grant schemes.

The purchase of textbooks is very unlikely to be funded. If you are considering applying for funding to acquire texts/books, make sure to indicate why these cannot be purchased by your institution’s library (if applicable), or accessed via inter-library loan and why they are essential to your research.

We only ask that the money is spent on activities and resources that benefit you and belong to you, not your university or employer.

How to apply

All you need to do to apply is:

• Tell us who you are (including your BABAO membership number if you are currently a member, or indicate that you wish to include one year of BABAO membership in your grant if you are not currently a member)
• State how much money you are requesting, what you need it for and why you need it.
• The application process is not meant to be arduous, so the expectation is that the application will be around 200 words. 

The microgrant scheme is open ended (no fixed deadlines), and will be reviewed and awarded on a monthly basis, with an ongoing review of its scale and duration by the BABAO Trustees every month. 

This is a trial funding scheme supported by financial savings arising from the cancellation of the 2020 conference. We welcome questions about eligibility and members’ feedback on any aspect of the microgrant scheme.