Ingenious public engagement grants scheme

About Ingenious

The Ingenious public engagement grants scheme prioritises projects that reach diverse and underrepresented audiences including communities in the most deprived neighbourhoods in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and that engage with engineers and people of different genders, ages and ethnic backgrounds. All projects and project teams should be based in the UK. 

Funding from £3,000 to £30,000 is available

Programme aims

The Ingenious programme aims to:

• build capacity in engineering public engagement 
• inspire creative public engagement with engineering projects
• motivate engineers to share their stories, passion and expertise with wider audiences and develop their communication and engagement skills
• raise awareness of the diversity, nature and impact of engineering among people of all ages and backgrounds
• provide opportunities for engineers to engage with members of the public from groups currently underrepresented in engineering

We welcome proposals from anyone interested in engineering public engagement, including but not limited to: engineers, universities, colleges and schools, youth charities, science and engineering communicators and engagement professionals as well as those working in the arts and cultural sectors. 

The Academy’s overarching goal for 2025 is to harness the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. We welcome projects that help us to achieve this. 

Impact

Ingenious has funded over 330 projects across the UK, providing opportunities for over 10,000 engineers to take part in public engagement activities and to gain skills in communication and engagement, reaching over 4 million members of the public. 

Since 2010 we have tracked the long-term impact of Ingenious projects on the engineers who have taken part. Over 90% reported benefitting from participating in an Ingenious project, 67% had improved their communication skills and 37% gained new perspectives on their work. Other benefits include developing project management, budgeting and leadership skills.