BSI Congress Carers' Grant

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply:

• Applicants need to be a fully paid up member of the BSI when applying for the grant
• All applicants must to be in good standing with their annual membership subscriptions when receiving the grant
• Applicants must register for Congress before the grant is issued

How to apply

Please click on the link at the bottom of this page to apply online by Monday 15 September 2025. Any questions, please contact membership@immunology.org.

Terms and conditions

• The grant must be used towards the costs associated with additional care for the applicant themselves or the people that the applicant cares for, i.e. not care that would be in place irrespective of the meeting
• The grant is not limited to childcare and can include a) additional care costs for any dependent of the applicant, e.g. elderly relative, b) assistance with travel, e.g. if dependent needs to accompany the applicant to Congress
• It should be noted that the grant is not intended to cover the full costs of care and applicants are encouraged to obtain additional funding from elsewhere
• BSI members are eligible to apply for a Congress Carers’ Grant even if they have received a Regional and Affinity Group Carers’ Grant within 12 months
• Applications must be submitted by no later than Monday 15 September 2025, though earlier application is strongly advised. If successful, applicants will be informed as soon as possible, and they will then need to register for Congress before being issued with a grant
• Applications will be processed in date order from when they are received, with a limited number of grants available and with only one application per member allowed
• The grant award will be a maximum of £300 per applicant
• Incomplete or late applications will not be considered

Payment

• Proof of registration to be received before the grant is paid
• The BSI will pay all successful grants directly to your bank account

Please note that failure to comply with the terms and conditions may result in the Society asking for monies awarded to be refunded and/or future applications denied.

Diversity data collection

As one of the commitments in our Diversity and Inclusion Framework, the BSI is collecting diversity data on our membership, with a particular focus on how we are faring on diversity in key activities such as this grant. As part of this work, we are asking all BSI Congress Carer Grant applicants to fill out the “Equality and Diversity” section of their membership record on the online BSI membership database. This is not compulsory part of the grant application process, but it will help us improve our activities if you can complete this information. 

The BSI is collecting this data from our grant applicants to help us better understand diversity across our community and who is currently participating in/benefitting from the Society, and our products, services, and opportunities – and who is under-represented. A summary of the data collected, will be reported collectively in the BSI’s annual Diversity and Inclusion report, part of our promise to you, our membership, on being open and honest about our progress on diversity.  

All information provided via the membership portal will be treated as strictly confidential in accordance the BSI’s Privacy & Security Policy in line with The Data Protection Act 2018. The information gathered will be stored separately to other personal details and will be held in a way that means it is not identifiable to any individual at any stage. The data will be used for statistical purposes only with access to this restricted to staff involved in processing and monitoring the data. It will not be seen by anyone involved in any selection processes. No information will be published or used in any way that allows individuals to be identified.

You do not have to provide this data as part of your application, but it will help us improve our activities if you can complete as much as possible. If you have any questions, please email us at inclusion@immunology.org. 

How to fill out the “Equality and Diversity” section of your membership profile
1.    Go to the BSI homepage (www.immunology.org) and click the “Login” button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. 
2.    Enter your email and password and click “Log in” – you should all have an online account to give you access to the membership section. If you think you don’t have an account, please contact membership@immunology.org. 
3.    Click on the option “Equality and Diversity” in the right-hand menu bar and complete the questions.