RSE announces £100K research funding boost

The Royal Society of Edinburgh, in partnership with Williamson Trust, has announced an expansion of its Healthy Planet, Healthy People (HPHP) initiative, unveiling a new £100,000 funding incentive to support community-led research across Scotland.

The newly launched Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Change Award will provide two standout projects with major funding to grow and scale their work. One project will receive up to £75,000, and a second will be awarded up to £25,000.

This annual award is open to previous, current and future HPHP-Catalyst award holders and marks a new phase in the RSE’s and Williamson Trust’s commitment to supporting grassroots research focused on sustainability, health, and community resilience.

Over the past two years, the HPHP programme has supported 28 projects across Scotland, distributing over £130,000 in seed funding. These projects span urban, rural, and island communities, exploring innovative approaches to local environmental and health challenges.

Examples include:

• A Centre for Human Ecology initiative gathering regenerative land use case studies in Renfrewshire;
• A project in Orkney exploring sustainable food waste reduction and composting systems in island communities;
• A feasibility study in Edinburgh on establishing a cooperative food-buying network to reduce food waste and improve access to quality food in the north of the city.

Professor David Salt FRSE, chair of the Williamson Trust, said: “Announcing this new tranche of funding for community-led projects is an important moment for the Trust and the RSE. It is a statement of ambition that we are expanding the Healthy Planet, Healthy People programme. This has been made achievable by the incredible array of projects previously supported through our seed funding. We look forward to seeing this new follow-on funding, for larger and longer projects, build on the earlier seed projects, scaling to make real change for the better in people’s lives.”

Professor Anne Anderson FRSE, RSE Vice-President Research, said: “The Healthy Planet, Healthy People awards have already done so much good to a variety of Scotland’s communities, from projects in Glasgow and Edinburgh, all the way out to the Hebrides, Orkney islands, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway, and we are so excited that we are seeing these projects expand off the back of these successes.”