• 2019 Gough Explorer Award for Medical Aid & Research

    Supporting Pioneers with Purpose - Stage 1 Application
  • Thank you for your interest in our 2019 Gough Explorer Award for Medical Aid & Research

    An Award of £4,000 and the exclusive right to become the GOUGH EXPLORER for one year.

    The Gough Explorer Award has been created to support an individual leading an expedition. The applicant should be clear that the main focus of which is to carry out either medical aid, and or associated research within communities in developing regions of the world.

    Before submitting an application, we urge you to consider the following.

    • What do you personally hope to gain from this expedition in terms of your personal development and career aspirations
    • What are your credentials to be a true SES Pioneer with Purpose
    • Why you and your project will appeal to and inspire a wider audience and how the expedition will help you to progress in your chosen area of scientific exploration

    Please read our introduction, guidelines and eligibility criteria on the following few pages before you complete this application form.

    The deadline for this stage of the application process is 12:00 (Noon) GMT on 26 November 2018.

    If you have any difficulties with applying for this award online please contact us at:

    nikki@ses-explore.org

  •  -
  •  -  -
    Pick a Date
  • *We will always treat your privacy with the utmost respect. To view our privacy policy, visit www.ses-explore.org.

  • EXPLORER AWARDS INTRODUCTION AND GUIDELINES

  • INTRODUCTION

    The Scientific Exploration Society (SES) is a UK-based charity (No 267410) founded in 1969 by Colonel John Blashford-Snell OBE and colleagues. As a non-profit making organisation, SES leads, funds and supports scientific discovery, research and conservation in remote parts of the world offering knowledge, education and community aid.

    The Society's focus today is on supporting young explorers through its Explorer Awards programme, building a community of like-minded individuals through the Society's membership, offering regular explorer talks and opportunities to go on expeditions and helping to tackle the bigger issues by supporting projects such as Emily Penn's eXXpedition and its quest to rid the world of plastic.

    The SES has an excellent Honorary Advisory Board, which includes Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Rosie Stancer, Pen Hadow, Bear Grylls and Levison Wood. Without its support and that of its Trustees and part time staff and volunteers, the SES would struggle to do all that it does.

    EXPLORER AWARDS

    SES Explorer Awards are intended to provide a financial contribution to the overall cost of the fieldwork phase of scientific exploration. Awards are available to support either the leader of the expedition or the expedition team as a whole. The proposed fieldwork will be assessed to verify that it is capable of making a significant contribution to the project concerned, and that it falls within the Society’s Objectives:

    “To promote, organise or support (whether financially or otherwise) expeditions for the exploration of the under-developed regions* of the earth for the purpose of advancing knowledge of, research into, or educational development in any of the fields of archaeology, botany, economics, ecology, geography, geodesy, geology, geophysics, glaciology, history, human physiology, meteorology, sociology, topography and zoology of the said regions and allied subjects relating thereto and, where incidental to such expeditions, to advance the education and relieve the poverty and sickness of the people of such regions.”

    *Including but not limited to those listed at:

    https://isi-web.org/index.php/resources/developing-countries

  • Who are we looking for?

  • An SES Explorer Award is intended to provide financial support to an individual who has instigated their own expedition which will leave a lasting legacy both in the field of research and also with the individual themselves. By exception, applicants for the Neville Shulman Explorer Award for Filmmaking and for the Elodie Sandford Explorer Award for Amateur Photography can be the film-maker or photographer integral to the expedition, not necessarily the expedition leader.

    This person will be a rising star in the world of exploration and able to display the expedition experience and leadership credentials to date which will enable them to demonstrate their ability to plan a successful scientific expedition. We aim to encourage the development of Pioneers with Purpose; the successful applicant will be able to demonstrate how they will use the knowledge and experience gained from leading their expedition to play a part in the important issues of today, and be an ambassador for the advancements that are essential to the environmental, conservation, medical and scientific challenges that we all face.

    He/she should share the pioneering commitment of John Blashford-Snell, by showing how the experiences gained in leading the expedition will clearly demonstrate the tangible (rather than purely observational) scientific value of their expedition and legacy that it will create, the way that can be communicated (ie scientific papers, media, film, talks etc.) – combined with an adventure which will capture the attention and inspire other people to go on and do great things.

    Applicants should note that:

    1. The Award for which you are applying is a monetary grant from the SES to support the expedition outlined in your proposal. In selecting the recipient of an SES Explorer Award, the Scientific Exploration Society champions the aims and objectives of the expedition to be led by the recipient, but accepts no responsibility or liability in relation to the execution of the expedition itself or any other aspect related to it. The SES does not have the capacity to provide your expedition with any professional services or back up whilst you are in the field. You are responsible entirely for conducting your expedition.

    2. Individuals participate at their own risk in any expedition in receipt of a financial grant from the Scientific Exploration Society (“SES”). SES cannot be held responsible for any mishap to such individuals. SES cannot take responsibility for the consequences of strikes, war, sickness, quarantine, government action or other ‘force majeure’ circumstances on any expedition which SES may support.

    Expeditions in receipt of a financial grant from SES involve exposure to accepted elements of risk, challenge and adventure greater than those normally encountered in everyday life. Expeditions in receipt of a financial grant from SES often take place in remote areas where medical or rescue facilities may not be immediately available. Individuals taking part in an expedition receiving a financial grant from SES accept they are prepared to accept such circumstances. Such individuals will not hold SES, its trustees, supporters and donors, employees, partners or agents liable for any loss, damage, personal injury, delay or expense suffered or incurred by them. Those on an expedition receiving a financial grant from SES acknowledge that they are responsible to make themselves aware through UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice warnings and any other sources available to them in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which they may be travelling and to make their decisions accordingly.

    Nothing in this disclaimer shall limit or exclude SES’s liability for death or personal injury caused by its negligence.

    3. Any such expeditions supported by SES through the SES Explorer Awards shall maintain in force during the period of SES’s support adequate insurance with reputable insurers to cover all elements of the expedition and members of the expedition. Confirmation of such to be given to the SES prior to the expedition departure

    4. We do wish to help recipients gain beneficial publicity related to their receipt of an Award, and therefore both the SES, and Award supporter will use press, web, social media and printed channels to celebrate and share your success. We also invite Award recipients to seek publicity themselves for their expedition and to help promote the aims and objectives of the Society to a wider audience.

  • Please use this check list to ascertain your eligibility for an Explorer Award: 

  • THE APPLICANT

    • must be aged 18 and over at time of application
    • should show how receipt of an SES Award will make a difference to both them individually and to the project
    • should have put together the team and local collaborators to execute their project
    • should show their leadership credentials to date, including demonstrating how past expedition organization/participation experience prepares them for the complexity of planning and leading a successful scientific expedition
    • applicants from all nationalities are welcome to apply, however applications must be submitted in English and video statements must be clearly spoken in English
    • can only apply for one award in each year
    • should not be leading or participating in a commercial or repeat university expedition/fieldwork trip
    • need not be the leader of the expedition, but should be actively involved in the expedition planning and research to use their photography to communicate the purpose of the expedition
    • may not apply for an Award in more than 2 years in succession
    • Past award winners cannot re-apply within 12 months of receipt of an award

    THE EXPEDITION

    • should follow in the Scientific Exploration Society’s tradition of exploration and endeavour, as identified in the introduction
    • must display a clear sense of innovative and achievable objectives
    • should contain a fieldwork plan which fits into a research plan which has clear objectives to leave a tangible legacy
    • should provide thoughts about and suggestions for solutions to problems, rather than simply recording their existence
    • should aim to provide a benefit to the host country or to local communities
    • should involve local collaborators
    • should commence no earlier than May 2018, as funding will not be given retrospectively
    • should have a clear communication plan both scientifically and to appeal to a wider audience
    • should be conducted in an ethical manner
    • must not be a commercial venture
    • must not travel to a country or region where the FCO advise against all travel

    IN ADDITION

    • The Trustees’ decisions are binding, confidential and final; The SES will not enter into correspondence concerning the decision of the Assessment panel;
    • The completed application form and all accompanying documents submitted will become the property of the SES, and will not be returned to the applicant. These documents will be treated as confidential, and only shared between the Trustees and other persons involved in the selection process on their behalf, and with the supporter of an award if applicable. They will be destroyed 24 months after the decision on the application has been made;
    • Award winners Names, Expedition and relevant details and Award amounts will be published in SES & Supporters online channels and printed material;
    • All applicants receive equal treatment in terms of social class, race, ethnic origin, sex, age, religion, sexual preference an disability;
  • If you are happy that you meet our Explorer Awards Application Criteria. Please fill in the application form on the next 2 pages...

  • Please answer 'yes' or 'no' to the following questions and include any additional information (max 100 words per question) that may help with your application.

  • *not a commercial venture, repeat university expedition or fieldwork trip

  • 0/100
  • 0/100
  • 0/100
  • 0/100
  • 0/100
  • 0/100
  • 0/100
  • 0/100
  • Thank you for completing the 2019 Sir Charles Blois Explorer Award Stage 1 online Application Form. If you do successfully meet our Explorer Awards criteria we will contact you by 12:00 GMT on 14 December 2018 and invite you apply for the next stage.

    You can find out more about Stage 2, 3 and our Selection Procedure on the following pages and on the final page, if you are still happy to go ahead, you will be able to submit your application.

    Many thanks from the Explorer Awards Team.

  • Additional information about the next stages of the application process

  • Stage 2

    An applicant will be required to submit:

    • A completed application form for the Award for which you are applying.
    • A videoed Personal Statement of no more than 90 seconds, guidance will be contained within the individual Award application form.
    • A short outline of the proposed film /photographic output from the expedition.

    Applications will be acknowledged promptly, and then be assessed to ensure full completion of the submission and eligibility for the Award.

    A decision will be made as soon as possible and all applicants advised if they have been short-listed for Stage 3 or not.

    Stage 3

    Selected applicants will be required to submit :

    An outline Financial Plan which should include:

    • The overall budget for the project;
    • The proposed use of any funding from the Scientific Exploration Society (SES)
    • Other committed or anticipated sources of funding, current status, and any conditions imposed in terms of exclusivity, reporting etc.

    The Risk Assessment describing;

    • The anticipated risks of the project.
    • The plan for minimising and insuring against such risks.
    • References - 2 references should be submitted, one personal and one professional. Referees should not be members of the research team, nor be directly involved in the planning of the research project. If the applicant is a student, one should be from a university academic. References will be validated as part of the selection procedure.
    • A copy of a Passport or Student Union Membership card, with the applicant’s identity verified by an accompanying letter from a referee, supervisor, employer, or if the applicant is at University, a letter from their university which confirms their identity.
    • Proof of home address that is not more than three months old, e.g. a certified utility bill or bank statement.
  • Selection Procedures

  • The President of the SES and/or persons nominated to act on his behalf will select applications which have been completed in full and carry out a feasibility review of the project, the likelihood of its success, and whether it fully meets the criteria at Stage 2 of the application procedure.

    Those selected will be required to provide the additional information under Stage 3 of the application procedure.

    Short listed projects may be reviewed by an expert in the relevant field of study to verify the scientific content of the project, additional information may be requested and, if required

    Short listed applicants may be called for personal interview with a trustee or specialist and a supporter; and / or

    The Trustees of The Scientific Exploration Society will make a final decision. Should the SES require any additional information from the applicant at any stage of the selection process, the applicant should provide it at the earliest opportunity

    Applicants will be informed of the Trustees’ decision by post or email, within the time frame set out on the specific Award information.

  • #discover #research #conserve

  • Should be Empty: