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)

Previous Funders

AAAS and the magazine Science
Alcohol Research UK
Allied Domecq
ARM Holdings Plc
Association for Science Education
BASF Plc
Baxter
Beeson Gregory
BBC Worldwide
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
EDF Energy
Eli Lilly & Company
Emergent Biosolutions Inc
EnergySolutions
Engineering UK
Environment Agency
European Science Foundation (ESF)
ExxonMobil
GE Healthcare
The Government Office for Science (GO-S)
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)
Independent Climate Change Email Review
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 Posen Foundation
Powderject
QinetiQ
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
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