One-off Meeting

Purpose: Sponsorship of genetic themed meetings not organised directly by the Genetics Society.

*please note that we are currently reviewing our guidelines for grant applications and therefore the details below are subject to change in the near future*

The Genetics Society receives several requests from members each year to sponsor meetings in the field of genetics.  These meetings are usually one-off meetings with an ad hoc organising committee and may be partly sponsored by another Society.  The guidelines below indicate a review process for applications and the conditions that must be met for the award of Genetics Society sponsorship.

Please note: these grants are to be used towards the organisation of a meeting and not towards the attendance of a meeting, but should include a Carer’s Award to allow those with responsibilities to attend.  Meetings should be based in, or have strong links with, the UK.

Review of applications

Members may apply at any time of the year and we encourage members to submit at least three months in advance of their event to allow the application to be reviewed. Applications will be sent to the Scientific Meetings Secretary for review at the end of each month.

Apply for a Genetics Society Grant

Once you have logged in to the mySociety membership portal, please select “Me and the GS” followed by “Grants” from the options at the top of the page, and then choose the one-off meeting sponsorship award.

If you have any queries regarding the application process or are experiencing any difficulty with your submission, please contact theteam@genetics.org.uk

The application will be circulated to the full committee for review. The review will
cover suitability of the meeting for Genetics Society sponsorship and level of support requested.

The committee will be asked to respond within two weeks and the Society aims to respond to requests within four – six weeks.

Conditions of sponsorship

Several levels of sponsorship are possible.  We can sponsor a specific Genetics Society lecture for a few hundred pounds or a Genetics Society session for up to about £1,000.  As major sponsor of an entire meeting we can potentially sponsor several thousand pounds but the costs need to be well justified.  The major sponsorship levels for the last 12 months have been between £1,000 and £2,000.  Applications should include a figure to cover the anticipated uptake of the Carer’s Award.  The committee judges all applications and even if approved, may not agree to fund the full amount applied for.

Diversity guidelines

A brief statement, indicating how you have addressed the diversity guidelines or explain why you could not conform to the guidelines will be required.  Appropriate representation of women as invited speakers is required, and will be monitored by the Society.

Organizers must:
• Ensure a good balance between established and new investigators on the Speaker list
• Ensure that there is an attempt for broad geographical representation where possible

Publicity

The sponsorship of the Genetics Society must be mentioned in all pre-meeting publicity (e.g. posters, flyers, website and social media) and in the meeting programme. If the Genetics Society is the major sponsor the meeting should be advertised as a “Genetics Society-sponsored meeting”.

Use of the Gen Soc logo in publicity materials.

Details of the programme of the meeting and registration forms should be sent as far in advance as possible to theteam@genetics.org.uk, for inclusion in the Society’s newsletter and on the website.

The meeting organisers agree to make details of how to apply for Genetics Society membership available to non-members attending the sponsored meeting. Meetings that receive maximum sponsorship will be expected to offer a discounted registration fee to Genetics Society members, to encourage non-members to join the Society at the same time. New members may then attend at the discounted rate, once confirmation of their application for membership of the Genetics Society has been received from the Society’s Office.

Meeting Report

A short report on a meeting that receives sponsorship of £1000 or more, for possible publication in the newsletter and on the website, should be sent to theteam@genetics.org.uk within one month of the conference taking place.

Use of Sponsorship

Genetics Society sponsorship may be used at the organiser’s discretion, but budget travel and accommodation options should normally be insisted upon. Any unused grant should be returned to the Genetics Society. The Society will not be responsible for any losses incurred by the meeting organisers.

An invoice for the grant awarded should be submitted to theteam@genetics.org.uk. The grant may be claimed in advance of the meeting and no longer than one month after the meeting.