Small grants programme 2026

The ethos of the programme is that "a little can go a long way". Grants of up to £10,000 for projects of up to 12 months will be available to support activities that:

1. Initiate, build, or consolidate partnerships with organisations in relevant sectors.
2. Test ideas through pilot studies, proof-of-concept projects, activities, research, knowledge exchange or other small-scale projects aligned with one or more of the Foundation’s strategic pillars, including, but not limited to, heritage, maritime and public sectors.
3. Use insights from any World Risk Poll wave to date, including through secondary analysis, evidence generation, synthesis or exploration of a specific issue, to produce insights, learning or resources that are relevant and useful and demonstrate clear value for a specific audience or user group.

Applications must be submitted by Monday 14 December 2026 at 23:59 (GMT). Late applications cannot be accepted.

Before you apply

Applications and all supporting documentation should be written in clear, concise language and provide sufficient detail to enable assessment.

Applications should clearly demonstrate:

• The purpose of the proposed activity.
• How the project aligns with the Foundation’s charitable mission.
• The anticipated outcomes and potential impacts.
• Any collaboration, partnership or knowledge exchange opportunities.
• How the funding will be used and represent value for money.

Applicants should review the Foundation’s standard Terms and Conditions carefully before applying and ensure that their organisation is willing and able to enter into an agreement on those terms. No amendments to the Terms and Conditions will be considered.

Applicants seeking funding for projects relating to fishing safety are encouraged to first explore the International Fund for Fishing Safety. This is the route through which the Foundation funds most of its fishing safety work.

When completing the application form

Project details

• When describing the project, make sure that you clearly explain the problem or opportunity, the proposed solution, who it is for, where and when it will take place, and how it aligns with the Foundation’s charitable mission.
• When selecting strategic priority areas, intended recipients and activity categories, make sure that you choose only those that are directly relevant to the proposed work.

Impact

• When explaining why the work is needed and what it will achieve, make sure that you distinguish the activities you will deliver from the outcomes or changes you expect.
• When describing engagement, visibility and influence, make sure that you explain who you will work with, the contribution of any partners, who will benefit, and how relevant audiences will access or use the resulting learning, evidence or resources. 
• When explaining the difference the grant will make, make sure that you indicate how it could support future collaboration, further work or wider impact. 

Finance

• When setting out how the funding will be used, make sure that costs are clear, proportionate, and demonstrate value for money. 
• When explaining how the grant will be ringfenced, make sure that you describe how the income and expenditure will be separately identified and monitored within your financial arrangements.
• Where overheads or indirect costs are included in the budget, they must be clearly calculated, justified, and directly attributable to the proposed project. Applicants should provide a detailed breakdown showing how these costs have been derived. Flat-rate or percentage-based overhead charges without supporting calculations and justification will not be accepted.

Important information

• The Foundation is unable to provide detailed feedback on draft applications before submission and will not enter into correspondence regarding funding decisions following assessment. Applicants are therefore encouraged to ensure that their application fully addresses this guidance and contains all information necessary for assessment.
   

World Risk Poll Proposals 

As part of this application, applicants will be asked to explain how their proposed activity relates to the findings or themes of the Lloyd's Register Foundation World Risk Poll.

When responding, applicants should:

• Identify the relevant World Risk Poll finding, theme or risk area. We want to see clear use of World Risk Poll data. While proposals relating to any World Risk Poll topic are eligible, we are particularly interested in applications that align with the Foundation's strategic priorities.
• Applicants should identify the relevant finding, theme, or risk area and explain how the proposed work will use the Poll, for example through secondary analysis, synthesis, evidence generation or exploration of a specific issue. The application should make clear why the Poll is needed for the project, rather than being used only as background context. 
• Applicants should also describe the question or evidence gap being addressed, the intended audience or user group, and how the resulting insights, learning or resources could be relevant and useful to them. 
• Describe any expected benefits, learning or outcomes resulting from the work.
• Demonstrate a clear research or evidence output. Projects should generate new knowledge, evidence, insights, learning resources or practical outputs through the use of World Risk Poll data. An academic publication is not required.
• The scope and methods should be proportionate to a grant of up to £10,000 and a project of up to 12 months, and should not depend on significant primary data collection or a large or complex intervention

Responses should be proportionate to the scale of the grant and demonstrate a clear link between the proposed activity and the identified risk or challenge.

We will only consider applications that demonstrate a clear connection to the charitable mission of Lloyd’s Register Foundation and show the potential to generate learning, collaboration, or wider benefits beyond the immediate activity being funded.  

• Activities that support the Foundation’s charitable mission.
• Pilot projects, feasibility studies, and proof-of-concept activities.
• Partnership development and collaboration opportunities.
• Heritage, maritime, engineering, and education-related activities.
• Projects with the potential to lead to further work, wider impact, or knowledge exchange.
• Please note grants are not normally awarded consecutively and can be no more than 12 months long.

We will not consider applications for:

• Activities outside the Foundation’s charitable mission.
• Applications from individuals or activities that only directly benefit the applicant.
• Conservation of historic vessels.
• Projects focused solely on naval history.
• Capital works.
• School, college or university fees.
• Retrospective funding.
• Archaeological fieldwork, including vessel hire and subsea surveys.
• Lobbying or campaigning activities.
• Business-class or first-class travel.
• Core or general-purpose equipment. Specialist equipment may be considered on a case-by-case basis where it is necessary for the proposed project and appropriately justified.
• Funding for a component of an already-funded project, such as publication costs, additional travel or sub-project activities.
• Applications that are not written in English.

We will not consider applications of World Risk Poll related proposals which have:  

• No clear or substantive use of World Risk Poll data. 
• No clear research or evidence output generated through use of the Poll. 
• Large or complex interventions.
• Work requiring significant primary data collection.
• Business-as-usual NGO programming or work that could be delivered without the World Risk Poll.
• Duplication of existing evidence.