funding

The Science Media Centre’s funding model is designed to reflect its position as an independent press office that is not linked to any specific institution or institutional agenda.  As such the Centre seeks donations from a wide variety of organisations with an interest in the accurate reporting of science in the media. We have over 100 funders including scientific bodies, science-based companies, science publishers, universities, patient research charities, media organisations, research funders and government. See below for the list.

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 contributions from any one institution at 5% of prior year income. The SMC’s Trustees and Advisory Group have agreed on two exceptions to the 5% upper limit: the Wellcome Trust and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI’s contribution is over the 5% cap as this represents the consolidated amounts from several Research Councils which is now paid via the umbrella organisation set up in 2019.

A central principle of the SMC’s funding model is the clear separation between funding and editorial decisions on our content. All decisions about which media stories the Centre responds to, which new scientific findings we seek third party comments on, and which press briefings we run, are made entirely in line with our charitable objectives around improving the public understanding of science by making it easier for the news media to access the best scientific expertise. Our decisions on strategy and focus are made by the senior management team with regular oversight from our Board of Trustees and our Advisory Group. It is made clear to every organisation funding the Centre that they get no influence over our editorial decisions in return for a donation.

A copy of our annual report and accounts (2023-24) can be found here.

The total income for the Science Media Centre for 2023-24 was £784,201. The upper limit for donations for 2024-25 is £35,000.

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

t: +44 (0)20 7611 8300

Funders April 2023-March 2024

£2,000 and under

• Association of Medical Research Charities
• Bipolar UK
• British Antarctic Survey
• British Ecological Society
• British Soft Drinks Association 
• Institute of Physics & Engineering in Medicine 
• Kainos
• Keele University
• Lancaster University
• National Nuclear Laboratory
• New England Journal of Medicine
• Society for Radiological Protection
• The Times
• University of Exeter 
• University of Portsmouth 
• University of Reading 
• University of Surrey
• University of York 

£2,001 – £4,999

• Alan Turing Institute
• Alzheimer’s Research UK 
• BASF 
• Biochemical Society 
• Biogen
• British Pharmacological Society 
• British Society for Immunology
• Covestro UK Limited 
• Cystic Fibrosis Trust 
• Earlham Institute
• European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
• Food & Drink Federation
• FoodDrinkEurope 
• Health Data Research UK (HDRUK) 
• Institute of Cancer Research 
• Institute of Physics
• John Innes Centre 
• London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine 
• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
• Microbiology Society 
• Motor Neurone Disease Association 
• Nuclear Industry Association
• Quadram Institute Bioscience 
• Queen Mary University of London 
• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 
• Royal Society 
• Sainsbury Laboratory 
• Taylor & Francis 
• UK Biobank
• UK Dementia Research Institute
• University of East Anglia 
• University of Glasgow 
• University of Leeds
• University of Leicester 
• University of Manchester 
• University of Sheffield
• University of Nottingham 
• Wellcome Sanger Institute

£5,000 – £9,999

• Abbvie Ltd 
• Academy of Medical Sciences 
• Applied Microbiology International
• Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry 
• BioIndustry Association 
• BP International 
• Chemical Industries Association 
• Cochrane Collaboration 
• Durham University
• Genomics England 
• Gilead Sciences
• Institution of Engineering and Technology 
• King’s College London 
• LifeArc 
• National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 
• National Physical Laboratory
• Nestle UK Ltd 
• Nutrition Society 
• Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust 
• Queen’s University Belfast
• Rolls-Royce plc 
• Royal Academy of Engineering 
• Royal College of Psychiatrists 
• Shionogi
• UK Centre of Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) 
• University of Birmingham
• University of Cambridge 
• University of Edinburgh 
• University of Oxford 

£10,000 – £19,999

• Abbott 
• British Heart Foundation 
• Cancer Research UK
• Elsevier  
• Financial Times 
• Food Standards Agency 
• Government Office for Science 
• Imperial College London 
• Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD)
• Moderna
• National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) 
• Orsted (UK) Ltd
• Pfizer
• University College London

£20,000 – £35,000

• Gatsby Charitable Foundation 
• GlaxoSmithKline 
• Springer Nature Ltd 

Over £35,000

• UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) 
• Wellcome Trust 

Previous Funders

• AAAS and the magazine Science  
• Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)  
• Airwave Solutions  
• Alcohol Research UK  
• Allied Domecq  
• Alzheimer’s Society  
• ARM Holdings Plc  
• Association for Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine  
• Association for Science Education  
• Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd
• AstraZeneca
• Bayer Plc  
• BBC Worldwide  
• Beeson Gregory  
• Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)  
• BNP Paribas Foundation  
• Boeing  
• Boots UK Ltd  
• Bristows LLP – pro bono support  
• British Computer Society (BCS)  
• British Embassy in Washington  
• British Energy Plc  
• British Geological Survey (BGS)  
• British In Vitro Diagnostics Association  
• British Land Plc  
• British Neuroscience Association  
• British Psychological Society (BPS)  
• British Retail Consortium  
• British Transplantation Society Council  
• Cadbury Plc  
• Cardiff University  
• Celgene  
• Charlie Waller Memorial Trust  
• Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers  
• Chilled Food Association (CFA)  
• Chiron Vaccines  
• CNAP Artemisia Research Project  
• Co-operative Group (CWS) Limited  
• Coalition for Medical Progress (CMP)  
• Coca-Cola  
• Colgate – Palmolive  
• Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union (CIAA)  
• Conoco-Phillips  
• Copus  
• Corteva Agriscience  
• CropLife International  
• Curious Minds (Science Factory)
• Daily Express
• DeepMind Technologies Limited  
• Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)  
• Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)  
• Diageo Plc
• Diamond Light Source  
• Dixons Group Plc  
• DMG Media, including Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Metro and MailOnline  
• Du Pont (UK) Ltd  
• Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC)  
• EDF Energy  
• Eli Lilly & Company  
• Emergent Biosolutions Inc  
• EnergySolutions  
• Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)  
• Engineering UK  
• Envigo  
• Environment Agency  
• ESHRE  
• EUK Consulting  
• European Science Foundation (ESF)  
• ExxonMobil  
• Francis Crick Institute
• Full Fact – from a Google grant  
• GE Healthcare  
• Google
• Horizon Nuclear Power  
• Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA)  
• Human Tissue Authority (HTA)  
• Illumina  
• Independent Climate Change Email Review  
• Innovate UK  
• InSPIre the Mind blog  
• Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST)  
• Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Techology (IMarEST)  
• Institute of Mental Health  
• Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN)  
• Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)  
• Institution of Civil Engineers  
• Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers  
• Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)  
• International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)  
• Janssen-Cilag Limited
• JH Ritblat Charitable Trust  
• John Wiley & Sons  
• Johnson and Johnson Ltd  
• Kraft Foods Inc  
• L’Oreal UK  
• Lever Faberge  
• Life Technologies  
• Marks & Spencer (M&S)  
• Marshall Bio  
• Marshall UK  
• Maudsley Charity  
• McPin Foundation  
• Medical Research Council  
• Mental Health Foundation  
• Mental Health Research Network  
• Mental Health Research Network Cymru  
• Mental Health Research UK (MHRUK)  
• Merlin Biosciences  
• Met Office
• Mobile Manufacturers Forum  
• Mobile Operators Association (MOA)  
• Mobile UK  
• Monsanto UK Ltd  
• MQ: Transforming Mental Health  
• MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge  
• National Grid  
• National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)  
• New Scientist  
• Newcastle University
• News International Ltd  
• News UK Ltd
• Northern Foods  
• Novartis  
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)  
• Open University  
• Oxitec Ltd  
• Parkinson’s Disease Society  
• Philips UK  
• Physiological Society
• Pirbright Institute  
• Powderject  
• Procter & Gamble UK  
• QinetiQ  
• Quintessa  
• Rathbones  
• RDS  
• Re-Solv  
• Regenesys  
• Rethink  
• Roche Products Ltd
• Rotary Club of Milton Keynes Grand Union  
• Rothamsted Research  
• Royal Astronomical Society (RAS)  
• Royal College of Pathologists  
• Royal College of Physicians  
• Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP)  
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society  
• Royal Society of Biology
• Royal Society of Chemistry  
• Royal Society of Medicine  
• SAGE  
• Sanofi Aventis
• Sanofi Pasteur MSD  
• Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)  
• Science Council  
• Science Museum Group (SMG)
• Scottish Mental Health Research Network  
• Sellafield Sites
• Sequirus UK Limited
• Shell UK Limited  
• Siemens Plc  
• Simon Best  
• Smith & Nephew Plc  
• Society for Endocrinology  
• Society for General Microbiology (SGM)  
• Syngenta  
• Tate & Lyle Plc  
• Taylor and Francis  
• Tesco Limited  
• The Dow Chemical Company  
• The Drayson Foundation  
• The Marmot Review  
• The Naji Foundation  
• The Nuclear Institute  
• The Posen Foundation  
• The PR Works Ltd  
• Trinity Mirror Plc  
• UCB Pharma Ltd  
• UCL Institute of Health Equity  
• UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKPCI)  
• UK Energy Research Centre  
• Unilever UK  
• United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority  
• University of Bristol
• University of Strathclyde  
• University of Teesside  
• University of Warwick  
• Urenco  
• Vodafone Group  
• Weizmann UK  
• Wi-Fi Alliance  
• World Health Organisation (WHO)  
• Wyeth