Our 2011 public engagement grants

A collection of resources for elite athletes with learning disabilities and a project to communicate psychology to the public through expressive dance are among the schemes to receive a public engagement grant from the British Psychological Society this year.

Each year the Society makes grants to help its members promote the relevance of evidence-based psychology to wider audiences, either through direct work or by organising special communications activities. For 2011 the Society increased the sum available for grants to £40,000.

This year grants have been given to five Society members:

• Professor Jan Burns, Canterbury Christ Church University
  Web and physical resources for elite athletes with learning disabilities
• Ian Conyers, Independent Living Solutions Ltd
  Demonstrating psychology experiments and tests at British Science Festival
• Dr Diana Harcourt, University of the West of England
  A permanent interactive exhibit within an award winning science centre (At-Bristol) to promote understanding of the psychology of appearance and stereotypes.
• Professor David Lavallee, University of Stirling
  A website for the greatest (sport) psychological show on earth
• Dr Carl Senior, Aston University and Lucy Irving, Middlesex University
  Communicating psychology to the public with expressive dance

Professor Graham Powell, chair of the Society’s Publications and Communication Board says: “We are delighted with the range and quality of this year’s recipients. Making the public aware of the breadth of psychology as a science, and of the practical help it can give, is an important part of the Society’s work.”