New funding announced by Road Safety Trust

The Road Safety Trust has announced a new £300k funding stream for charities, local authorities and community groups. The Small Grants Plus Programme replaces the Small Grants Programme, which was suspended in March 2020, and is open to applications from 15 September. The programme has been modified to encourage applications that respond to changing road use and emerging road safety issues as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eligible projects are pilots or trials, an expansion of successful trials across a new area, and/or the evaluation of road safety interventions. Each application should have a UK lead organisation which must be local public sector, charity, not-for-profit social enterprise or community interest company. Universities can also apply but they must have a partner from one of these organisations as a lead. An element of partnership working is expected in all projects. The modification means that the total value of the fund is £300k – with each project being awarded between £20k and £50k.

Sally Lines, chief executive of Road Safety Trust (pictured below), said: “We are pleased to be able to reintroduce our grant-giving this year and be responsive to current road safety issues with our Small Grants Plus Programme to help smaller local projects around the UK.

“We are focusing this round of funding on the changing road use and emerging safety issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Projects should have the potential for being brought to scale, with the ultimate goal of reducing deaths and injuries both locally, and across the UK.

“We had to suspend our main theme funding round earlier this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so the Small Grants Plus Programme is a welcome opportunity to work towards our vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on UK roads.”

The Road Safety Trust is the largest independent road safety grant giver in the UK and funds research and practical interventions committed to reducing the number of people killed or injured on UK roads. Since it was established in 2014, the Road Safety Trust has awarded grants worth £3.7m to 49 different projects.