funding

The Science Media Centre’s funding model is designed to reflect its position as an independent press office that is not linked to specific institutional interests.  As such the Centre seeks donations from a wide variety of organisations with an interest in the accurate reporting of science in the mass media, including scientific institutions, science-based companies, charities, media organisations and government.  See below for the list of funders.

The Centre is independent from its funders who do not gain influence over the SMC’s work in return for their financial support. To protect the Centre from any undue influence the SMC caps donations from any one institution at 5% of annual income. The SMC’s Trustees and Advisory Committee have agreed on a small number of exceptions to the 5% upper limit on donations. These exceptions are large trusts like the Wellcome Trust and Drayson Foundation.

The aggregate of public money from government and government funded bodies can also exceed 5%. This allows the SMC to accept funds from different science based departments in central government, from research councils and from arm’s length organisations, while the 5% upper limit continues to apply to each individual body.

In addition to core funding the Centre also accepts support from some funders for specific projects. For instance, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills has covered the costs of two Introduction to the News Media events per year in addition to their contribution to the Centre’s core costs and the Science and Technology Facilities Council which funded the position of events officer at the Centre in 2012-13.

A copy of our annual report and accounts can be found on this page. 

The total income for the Science Media Centre for 2012-13 was £591,884.  The 5% upper limit for donations for 2013-14 is £30,000.

If you would like to support the SMC please contact us on:

t: 020 7611 8300

e: smc@sciencemediacentre.org

Breakdown of SMC funding 2012-13

Current Funders

(To date: August 2013)

• AbbVie
• Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board 
• Airwave Solutions
• Alzheimer’s Research UK
• Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
• Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)
• AstraZeneca
• BASF
• Bayer Plc
• Biochemical Society
• Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
• BP International Ltd
• Bristol University
• British Heart Foundation
• British In Vitro Diagnostics Association
• British Pharmacological Society
• British Psychological Society (BPS)
• British Retail Consortium
• Cancer Research UK
• Cardiff University
• Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
• Chemical Industries Association (CIA)
• Chilled Food Association (CFA)
• Coca-Cola
• Colgate-Palmolive 
• CropLife International
• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
• Diamond Light Source
• DMG Media, including Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Metro and MailOnline
• Elsevier BV
• Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
• EUK Consulting
• European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
• Food and Drink Federation
• Food Standards Agency (FSA)
• The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
• GE Healthcare
• GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
• Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority
• Human Tissue Authority (HTA)
• Imperial College London
• Institute of Mental Health
• Institute of Physics (IOP)
• Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine
• Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
• Institution of Civil Engineers
• Institution of Engineering and Technology (The IET)
• Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
• John Wiley & Sons Inc
• King’s College London
• L’Oreal UK
• Life Technologies
• Medical Research Council (MRC)
• Mental Health Foundation
• Mental Health Research Network
• Mental Health Research Network Cymru
• Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) Limited
• The Met Office
• Mobile Manufacturers Forum
• Mobile Operators Association (MOA)
• MQ: Transforming Mental Health
• National Grid
• National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
• National Institute for Health Research
• National Nuclear Laboratory
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
• Nature
• Newcastle University
• Novartis
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)
• Nuclear Industry Association
• Oxitec
• Proctor & Gamble
• PR Works
• Research Councils UK (RCUK)
• Rolls-Royce
• Royal Academy of Engineering
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• The Royal Society
• Sanofi
• Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
• Scottish Mental Health Research Network
• Smith & Nephew
• Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM)
• Society for General Microbiology (SGM)
• Society for Radiological Protection
• Society of Biology
• Maudsley Charity
• Springer science+business media
• Syngenta
• Technology Strategy Board
• UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKPCI)
• UK Energy Research Centre
• University College London
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• University of East Anglia
• University of Oxford
• Wellcome Trust

Previous Funders

• AAAS and the magazine Science
• Alcohol Research UK
• Allied Domecq
• ARM Holdings Plc
• Association for Science Education
• BASF Plc
• Baxter
• BBC Worldwide
• Beeson Gregory
• Boeing
• Boots UK Ltd
• British Computer Society (BCS)
• British Energy Plc
• British Geological Survey (BGS)
• British Embassy in Washington
• British Land Plc
• British Neuroscience Association
• British Transplantation Society Council
• Cadbury Plc
• Charlie Waller Memorial Trust
• Chiron Vaccines
• CNAP Artemisia Research Project
• Coalition for Medical Progress (CMP)
• Colgate-Palmolive
• Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union (CIAA)
• Conoco (UK) Ltd
• Conoco-Phillips
• Co-operative Group (CWS) Limited
• Copus
• Daily Express
• Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
• Dixons Group Plc
• The Dow Chemical Company
• The Drayson Foundation
• Du Pont (UK) Ltd
• Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC)
• EDF Energy
• Eli Lilly & Company
• Emergent Biosolutions Inc
• EnergySolutions
• Engineering UK
• Environment Agency
• European Science Foundation (ESF)
• ExxonMobil
• EUK Consulting
• The Government Office for Science (GO-S)
• International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)
• Independent Climate Change Email Review
• Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST)
• Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Techology (IMarEST)
• JH Ritblat Charitable Trust
• Kraft Foods Inc
• Lever Faberge
• The Marmot Review
• Merlin Biosciences
• Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association
• Monsanto UK Ltd
• National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
• New Scientist
• News International Ltd
• Northern Foods
• Parkinson’s Disease Society
• Pfizer Limited
• Philips UK
• The Physiological Society
• The Posen Foundation
• Powderject
• QinetiQ
• Queen Mary, University of London
• Rathbones
• RDS
• Regenesys
• Rethink
• Rothamsted Research
• Royal Astronomical Society (RAS)
• Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP)
• Royal College of Pathologists
• Royal College of Physicians
• Royal Society of Medicine
• SAGE
• Sanofi Pasteur MSD
• Science Council
• Shell UK Limited
• Siemens Plc
• Simon Best
• Smith & Nephew Plc
• Tate & Lyle Plc
• Tesco Limited
• Trinity Mirror Plc
• UCB
• UCL Institute of Health Equity
• Unilever UK
• University of Portsmouth
• University of Teesside
• Vodafone Group
• Weizmann UK
• Wi-Fi Alliance
• World Health Organisation (WHO)
• Wyeth