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2022-03-31-accounts

The British Association for the Advancement of Science

Trading as The British Science Association (BSA)

Trustees’ Annual Report 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022

Charity registration number: 212479 Scotland charity registration number: SC039236

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Summary

2021/22 was the first year of our new three-year business plan, which also saw the British Science Association (BSA) launch our ambitious new vision, mission and strategic goals for the next ten years, leading up to the organisation’s bicentenary in 2031.

During the period of this report, the BSA has experienced several changes within Council and its Senior Management Team. We are delighted to welcome Hilary Newiss as our new Chair and Hannah Russell as our new Chief Executive Officer.

The BSA is extremely grateful to Gisela Abbam (Chair), Katherine Mathieson (CEO) and other outgoing Trustees and members of staff for their outstanding service. The BSA extends its thanks and warmest wishes for their future careers.

Our purpose

We want a future where science is more relevant, representative, and connected to society

Science is more than a body of research, people working in a lab or even the wider industry that surrounds that. It’s also a way of asking questions, making decisions, and understanding the world. Science is a tool that everyone in the UK could and should be able to use. In fact, for us to grow as a society, it’s essential that they do.

The BSA helps to make all aspects of science more relevant, more representative, and more connected to everyday life.

Our mission

Let’s break down barriers…

The science sector has many structural and system-wide barriers that it’s time to remove. In particular, we’re working with business leaders, policy makers, scientists, community leaders, teachers, and many others to say goodbye to the old stereotypes of who a scientist ‘should be’. With their help, we’re bringing more voices into the conversation, to help more people see science (in all its forms) as a relevant part of their lives.

Our vision …So good ideas can thrive

The UK is bursting with potential. We’re unlocking it. And we won’t stop until people and communities who’ve typically been overlooked by science can confidently play their part.

We’re striving for a future where everyone is represented and has their voice heard on the issues that matter to them. So, science goes beyond being a lesson at school and becomes a way of thinking and making decisions – about looking after your health, protecting the planet and choosing and using new technology.

In that future, everyone has the potential to contribute, whether it’s through the ideas they engage with, the jobs they do or the lifestyles they lead.

In that future, scientists understand and include different perspectives, help more communities, and make even more breakthroughs.

In that future, society shapes science. And society is all the stronger for it.

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Section One: Objectives and Achievements

Our ten-year objectives are:

A) For more people, especially those from currently underrepresented groups, to feel that science is relevant to their lives

B) For more people, especially those from currently underrepresented groups, to play a bigger role, have a more powerful voice, and build stronger relationships in/with the STEM sector

What follows is an overview of the key achievements for our main projects and programmes under each of these three strategic objectives, for the period April 2021 to March 2022.

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Strategic objective A

For more people, especially those from currently underrepresented groups, to feel that science is relevant to their lives

British Science Festival

Annual five-day celebration of the people, stories and ideas at the heart of science, hosted by a different city each September.

Following the Festival’s postponement in September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we held a successful British Science Festival, from 7 – 11 September 2021, hosted by Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford. With over 100 (131) free events, including the world premiere of an evening outdoors immersive experience (BODY by Walk the Plank), it was the most ambitious science festival held in-person since the advent of the pandemic. A small number of events (less than 10%) had to be cancelled due to speaker unavailability, but otherwise there was very little COVID-related disruption during the Festival.

The Festival involved 166 speakers and facilitators. 62% of Festival speakers identified as a ‘Woman’; 32% as a ‘Man’ and the remainder preferred to self-describe or not to say.

We achieved 9,249 engagements with events and digital content. In addition to the pandemic’s impact on audience appetite for large-scale in-person events, many venues were at 50% capacity to allow for social distancing, which affected our total footfall (our prepandemic target was 10,000 – 15,000).

60% of Festival attendees were local (Chelmsford postcode) and Festival audiences were more diverse than the local and regional population. 93% of respondents rated Festival events as excellent or good; 91% were more likely to look out for and attend science events and activities in the future; 84% were more aware of current scientific research and 72% felt more interested in science after attending a Festival event.

We also achieved some excellent national and local media coverage, in the lead up to and during the Festival, and saw great engagement on social media – over 10 million opportunities to see or hear about the Festival, 1.4 million impressions via organic social media content and an additional 1.1 million impressions via paid content.

British Science Week

An annual grassroots celebration of science with events and activities taking place in schools, local community groups and national cultural institutions across the UK. As well as free resources (schools’ activity packs, marketing resources) and opportunities for the public to engage in the Week, we provide ‘micro grants’ to schools and community groups to enable them to participate. British Science Week 2022 took place between 11 and 20 March .

The Kick Start grants programme for schools was over subscribed again this year; we received 1,049 applications for 222 grants. Kick Start-funded activities reached an estimated 68,580 students with almost a third of these from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

We reached an estimated 4,700 people through British Science Week Community grantfunded activities (91 grants, from 222 applications), with 82% reporting an increase in their interest in science as a result of participating.

This year we added a new Activity Pack, a Community Pack, in addition to the Early Years, Primary and Secondary packs. In total, the packs were downloaded 101,121 times between their publication in January 2022 and the end of March 2022. In addition, 103,970 students

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took part in our poster competition (a huge increase in participation compared with the two pandemic-affected previous years).

We created 14 new profiles for our Smashing Stereotypes campaign, which aims to showcase diverse role models who work in STEM careers. We commissioned new photography and also created some video profiles for the first time. The webpage received 52,000 page views.

Case study:

Pearce Jarrett studied economics at university, but later found his true passion in machine learning and expanding the possibilities of technology through attending online courses and working YouTube videos on Artificial Intelligence and data science. He is the founder of Gwaan, an AI-powered personal training app.

“ Typically in the media, there is a focus on young, Black men mentioned in news stories in relation to knife crime. By naming my company Gwaan – patois for “Go on!”, I wanted people to subconsciously connect my Afro-Caribbean culture, and being a young, Black man myself to something that empowers people to pursue their goals, and to foster a better-connected community through fitness .” Pearce Jarrett

Pearce was featured on BBC News during British Science Week, speaking to children in a South London primary school about his #SmashingStereotypes story.

The expansion of our Smashing Stereotypes campaign was enabled by new sponsors, MSD and Thales, and renewed sponsorship from 3M, who have supported the campaign since its launch in British Science Week 2020. British Science Week is supported by UKRI.

CREST Awards

The BSA’s flagship education programme, which inspires young people to think and behave like scientists and engineers. CREST recognises young people’s achievement in STEM project work and is available at a range of levels to suit students aged 5 to 19.

We have seen participation in CREST Awards recover well this Financial Year (over double the number of Awards versus the previous year), despite some continued disruption to schools due to the pandemic. The total number of CREST Award submissions between April 2021 and March 2022 was 46,672.

We ran several events for teachers, educators and professionals working in STEM education and outreach, including:

We released a resource, Investigative practical science in the curriculum: making it happen , to support and promote the running of CREST in the secondary curriculum.

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Case study:

James Allen, Head of Biology at Helston Community College, helped pilot the curriculum guide by using CREST Awards in practical lessons with his A-level biology students.

“ It was really good, it helped them with their investigation and critical thinking skills, which is not only important for them to be good scientists but that is tested in the exams, so it stood them in really good stead for their examinations .

“ The top tips section [of the guide] is really useful for secondary teachers, giving step-bystep advice – it’s far simpler than you think. Try to get them to do some preliminary work. Students don’t normally get the opportunity to do that, and it will help them refine and develop their method and become more independent as they move through their project .”

The secondary curriculum guide was supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. CREST Awards are supported by UKRI. The Welsh Government funds free CREST Awards for students in Wales. We are continuing our progress with international partnerships; we have renewed our agreement with our partner in Vietnam and are working with Pearson China on a future three-year partnership.

CREST for Underrepresented Audiences

Supporting schools in challenging circumstances, and those working with students from backgrounds who are underrepresented in science.

With support from UKRI, we awarded 106 ‘URA grants’ to schools to support their students to participate in CREST, compared with our target of 91 for the year.

Our Underrepresented Audiences teacher network now has over 1,000 members; around a third are primary, one third secondary and the final third SEND schools.

We have trained and matched eight experienced CREST teacher buddies with 26 teachers new to CREST in schools in challenging circumstances.

Strategic Objective B

For more people, especially those from currently underrepresented groups, to play a bigger role, have a more powerful voice, and build stronger relationships in/with the STEM sector

Community Engagement Programmes

We published a Community Engagement showcase report in July 2021, looking at the impact of our Community Engagement programmes over the last six years, showcasing our work through the inspiring stories of participants and stakeholders.

Community Leaders

A UKRI-funded programme that harnesses the passion and ideas of individuals who work with underserved audiences and enhance their skills to enable them to become leaders in science engagement in their communities.

We recruited a new (our fourth) cohort of Community Leaders in the summer. Drawn from across the UK, our Leaders have a range of experiences working with underrepresented audiences in science including running community gardens, supporting young people with visual impairments, empowering women and children from minoritised communities, and supporting multi-faith organisations. Across the year, Leaders attended a number of training

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and networking sessions, and prepared projects to take place during British Science Week in March 2022.

Community Buddies

This UKRI-funded programme is designed to address a need identified by Community Leaders who felt they had little access to researchers; looking for science role models that live locally who they can build into their engagement activities.

This year we have been supporting 11 pairs of Community Leaders and researcher buddies. Building on the pilot year (2020-2021) we have continued to explore approaches to create strong community and researcher relationships using community organising practices of ‘ ’ People before Programme , a relational approach where the goal is to build a relationship before developing a project. The training was hosted by the BSA community engagement team with input from Citizen’s UK and Imperial College London.

As an extension to the programme this year, we offered grants to some of last year’s cohort of buddy pairs to enable them to co-create a project which responds to a local need and benefits the local community. The project ideas have been developed as a result of the ongoing relationship developed between the pairs and we were able to fund seven projects.

Case study:

Community leader Mohammed Rahman, Wardleworth Community Centre/Rochdale Science Initiative working in partnership with researcher Claire Garside, University of Leeds will design a series of workshops to inspire Muslim youths and elders from the community to feel proud of their own STEM heritage. Participants will research Muslim scientists aided by Claire’s research into Al Khawarizmi, a 9th century mathematician to whom the origins of algebra and algorithm is ascribed to.

Highlands and Islands COP 26 Grant Programme

As a legacy of the UK hosting COP26 in Glasgow in November, we launched a new UKRIfunded community grant scheme to support communities based in the Highlands and Islands to run a project or activity with a researcher which benefits and explores climate change issues that matter to their communities.

We received 33 applications from diverse Highland and Island community organisations wishing to address grass roots climate change; 24 were totally new to engaging with research and nine already working with a researcher. Applications received for projects cover a range of topics addressing local resilience and adaptation to the effects of climate change including: food waste reduction, composting and waste management, sustainable transport and fuel poverty, impact of land use, carbon impact indicators, behaviour change and feasibility studies and conservation/biodiversity projects including coastal erosion, habitat and species preservation.

While we were only able to fund ten projects, in keeping with the development ethos of the grant, our stakeholder group (which we formed to disseminate the grant opportunity) will help signpost unsuccessful applicants to further advice, opportunities and support. The successful community groups are being matched with researchers.

Community-led research pilot programme Exploring an approach to more equitable, community-driven research.

Supported by UKRI, we have designed a new UKRI-funded community engagement pilot programme to explore more equitable, community-driven research – where community groups decide the research questions they would like to explore, working with early career researchers.

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The first stage has been to design the criteria for the geographical location, a lead University research partner and community partners. We will be reviewing a shortlist of locations and selecting a University partner to move forward with later in the spring.

For Thought

A thought leadership programme which gives leaders from business, policy, science and civil society a platform to address current and future scientific and social challenges.

Our first For Thought report entitled ‘Build Better: What can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to construct a resilient, innovative and prosperous future for all? ’ was developed using the discussions at our virtual roundtables and online panel events held last Financial Year (January – March 2021) and launched at the For Thought Summit on 16 June.

The virtual Summit brought together over 120 C-suite leaders in business, policy, science & research and civil society, and the report launched three recommendations:

  1. Put future generations at the heart of our institutional and systems decision-making

  2. Share benefits of research and innovation across different communities

  3. Create a long-term leadership coalition to deliver the UK’s Net Zero ambition.

We held a virtual For Thought event for stakeholders during the British Science Festival in September 2021 on ‘Creating environmental prosperity, but for who?’ and, in partnership with Lloyd’s Register Foundation, undertook a further strand of work on the public understanding of risk. This included publishing a set of ‘new relationship with risk’ principles, introduced at an online event in December 2021.

Future Forum

Empowering young people to share their views on cutting-edge innovations that will affect their futures.

This year, we ran a Future Forum on the topic of AI in society in partnership with the Alan Turing Institute. The Institute was interested in involving young people in decision-making on science and research priorities; the recommendations from our Future Forum participants will inform their future strategy, alongside the views of other stakeholders.

We delivered a national survey exploring young people’s understanding and views on AI technologies, and four online workshops with a demographically representative group of 14to-19-year-olds. Prior to the workshops, we ran an equity training session for researchers from the Alan Turing Institute who would be participating in the youth voice sessions.

We found that young people were engaged with the topic of AI technologies; were particularly interested in where it intersected with their own environments (social media, gaming, entertainment, shopping); and that they were interested in the broader, more outward-looking challenges and opportunities that AI can help address, such as health (in particular mental heath was considered a priority topic) and climate change.

The Ideas Fund

A grants programme run by the BSA and funded by Wellcome, which enables communities to work with researchers to develop and try out ideas that address problems related to mental wellbeing.

Our first application deadline for The Ideas Fund was in May 2021; we were pleased to receive a total of 146 proposals from across our target areas of Hull, Oldham, North West Northern Ireland, and the Highlands & Islands of Scotland. These were fairly evenly split between early stage ideas (up to £25,000: 75 applications received) and proposals for more developed projects (around £90,000: 71 applications received), and across a huge variety of themes.

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Of these, we funded 42 applications, with a total value of £1.6m. We took a participatory approach to the grant decisions, with a panel comprising experts in public engagement and mental wellbeing, alongside members of the local community from each of our four areas. Projects were assessed on the clarity of their plans around relationship building between communities and researchers; the skills and motivations of communities to engage with mental wellbeing research; and the skills and motivation of researchers to engage communities and make their health research more people-centred.

The Fund has a particular interest in identifying ideas that are community-led and those from groups that have traditionally received less of this type of funding, such as rural or minority ethnic communities, or other communities who have been overlooked in the past. Our portfolio of projects broadly meets this ambition, with a huge range of project ideas and themes being funded, and a variety of different roles for researchers being explored. We have received our first monitoring reports from the initial cohort of projects, and have published information about the applicants and stories from the funded projects on The Ideas Fund website.

We also worked with eight unsuccessful applicants from the first round in supporting them through an ‘incubator’ process, to further develop their ideas before inviting them to resubmit their application. As well as enabling us to complement the existing portfolio by bringing a selection of additional projects forward, this also gave us the opportunity to learn whether a more supported application journey ultimately leads to stronger proposals. Seven of these proposals were funded, and learning from the process will directly inform our approach to future funding rounds.

Case study:

One successful project will be delivered by The Proud Trust in Oldham, who have been awarded £24k for a project which introduces young people from the LGBT+ community to the impact of food choices and food consumption on mental wellbeing.

Researchers will host a number of sessions with the young people, sharing evidence as to how food can impact the brain. This will then lead on to the creation of recipes that take account of this learning, and the opportunity for learning how to cook as a fun skill to gain. It is envisaged that the project will increase researchers’ confidence in engaging with young people from this community, whilst also serving to improve the wellbeing of the young people themselves.

We are working with the Social Change Agency and The Liminal Space as ‘learning partners’ for the programme, and have developed a detailed monitoring and evaluation framework. We have commissioned an enquiry into wider examples of best practice in terms of community-led engagement with research, and whether there are opportunities for greater sharing of learning and/or collaboration in this regard.

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Strategic Objective C

To build the capacity of the BSA and the science/research engagement sector around issues relating to equality, diversity & inclusion (EDI).

Stakeholder influencing and policy

The BSA submitted written evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee Inquiry on Diversity in STEM. The Inquiry launch and the submissions of evidence heavily referenced the APPG on Diversity & Inclusion in STEM. The BSA were invited to give Oral Evidence to the Committee on 23 February.

We welcomed some of the policies announced in the Government Levelling Up White Paper, which mirrored recommendations we have made in For Thought (investment in regional R&D) and APPG (a Future Skills Unit within the Department for Education) publications.

The APPG for Diversity & Inclusion in STEM

The BSA provides the Secretariat for this APPG. It is chaired by Chi Onwurah MP and has Members and Officers from across the political spectrum and both Houses. In July 2021, the Group published a report in response to its inquiry on Equity in the STEM workforce.

The report’s key findings were:

The recommendations were:

  1. The UK Government and STEM organisations, across the private, public and voluntary sectors should commit to leading a ‘STEM Diversity Decade of Action’ to tackle the historic and systemic underrepresentation of minoritised groups at all levels in the sector.

  2. a. The Prime Minister and UK Government should set a bold vision for a diverse and equitable STEM sector at the heart of their ambitions for the UK to become a ‘global science superpower'.

  3. b. STEM leaders from organisations from across the private, public and voluntary sectors should work together to form and co-fund an Employers’ Coalition for STEM Diversity to address the structural inequity in the STEM workforce and drive long-term change.

  4. The UK Government must deliver a statutory workforce data strategy and drive forward changes in policy and legislation to support employers to improve equity for minoritised communities in many sectors of the UK workforce, including STEM.

  5. The UK Government and STEM organisations must quickly look to address and reverse worsening inequity within the STEM workforce as a result of the pandemic.

The report was well received by key players in the STEM sector. All relevant Ministers and Departments were written to by the APPG Chair, Chi Onwurah MP. We went on to organise four roundtables January 2022, with 35 leaders from across the STEM sector and policy, to explore the possibility of scoping the feasibility of a STEM Employers’ Coalition.

We received over 40 responses to our ‘call for ideas’ for future topics for the Group to address.

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Sciencewise

As part of the Sciencewise consortium (alongside Involve and NCCPE, funded by UKRI) the BSA researched and wrote a social intelligence report on public attitudes and values around five emerging technology areas: Augmented & Virtual Reality; AI automation in the workplace; Data linkage and reuse; Human enhancement; New gene therapies.

The report ‘ Anticipatory Public Engagement: Identifying opportunities for early-stage public dialogue on emerging technology’ was published on the BSA website and we convened a roundtable on ‘Public perspectives on emerging technologies’ with senior policy leaders in March 2022.

Science Learning+

We were awarded a contract to evaluate the Wellcome Trust’s long-running Science Learning+ scheme (funding for informal science learning) as part of a consortium with NCCPE and NatCen; our role is to disseminate and discuss the findings of Science Learning+ with stakeholders in education policy, youth, and community organisations.

We organised four workshops and discussions on the current landscape and future needs of informal science learning (ISL). Themes included:

Mapping science engagement and inequity

We used some of the Sustaining Excellence grant to commission an economics agency to create an index for science engagement provision across the UK. The index and maps show which areas of the UK have most and least opportunities to encounter science – through local industry, education, research, and engagement.

We launched the index during British Science Week, at an event featuring a keynote speech from science minister, George Freeman MP, and a panel discussion with the CEO of UKRI, the Chief Executive of the British Academy, and one of the BSA’s Community Leaders. The event was attended by over 40 senior leaders from the science engagement sector, business and policy.

Building the capacity of the Science Engagement sector

Inclusive Science Engagement Network

Working with people in science engagement roles and taking an action-learning and case study approach to demonstrating change on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI).

We distributed six grants to members of the Inclusive Science Engagement Network (ISEN) for:

This year’s ISEN Group meetings covered topics including EDI language and terminology; and Disability Inclusive Recruitment (delivered in partnership with Evenbreak).

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Media Fellows

Following the announcement that the BSA would no longer be running the Media Fellows scheme (in order to focus on activities more in line with our new strategic objectives), we received five expressions of interest from organisations who were interested in running the scheme in the future. We have handed over the running of Media Fellowships to the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), who will take on the scheme for a one-year trial period, with a view to continue running it if is a successful programme for them.

UK Science Festivals Network

This year we have run bi-monthly virtual meetings for the UK Science Festivals Network (UKSFN), addressing topics including how to best manage the Health & Safety of Festival events during the pandemic and the Protect Duty public consultation.

The fifth UKSFN conference took place in January 2022 and welcomed over 100 science festival organisers and other public engagement practitioners from across the UK (and beyond) who convened online to share ideas, explore opportunities for the future, get inspired and to celebrate some of the sector’s remarkable achievements over the last 12 months.

Attendees discussed the subject of digital engagement during and after the pandemic, gained practical insight into co-production and learnt about new approaches to working more closely with local communities.

With funding from UKRI, the UK Science Festivals Network awarded ten science festivals funding (up to £8k per project) to develop innovative approaches to engage young people aged 11-to-17-years-old, from low socioeconomic backgrounds and ‘inactive’ science identities, with research and researchers.

We have also been working with Culture Counts on an evaluation pilot project, funded by UKRI. The project involves eight UKSFN members and aims to encourage more data-driven decision making in the science festivals sector; create an aggregated account of value and impact; and build a stronger data culture across science festivals in the UK.

People and culture

After an initial three-month trial of our new ‘Agile Working Policy’ received broadly positive support, we extended the trial until the end of December 2021 to test it out in a more ‘normal’ working environment as office/in-person working becomes more common. The policy has now been introduced on a permanent basis.

Also on the theme of increasing flexibility, we consulted on – and will roll out from the start of the new annual leave year (April 2022) – a new policy that will enable staff to buy or sell up to three days’ of annual leave each year.

We saw turnover increase, as the external jobs market picks up following a period of depressed turnover during the pandemic.

Diversity data

In summer 2021, we published our first ever report into staff and trustee diversity (since the organisation began monitoring EDI staff data in 2017 and trustee data in 2019).

The data, from our annual survey undertaken in autumn 2020, showed that in 2020 the ‘typical’ member of BSA staff was a White, cisgender woman, aged under 40, who does not identify as having a disability or long-term health condition.

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The report showed that, over the past four years, the BSA staff body has become slightly more diverse with a small increase in the proportion of colleagues from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds. While at Council-level, we saw an increase in the number of Black and Asian trustees, as a result of focusing on and investing in diverse recruitment earlier in 2020.

The survey undertaken in autumn 2021 will be published in 2022 within the BSA’s Impact Report for 2021/22.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We have continued to ensure that a focus on equality, diversity and inclusion sits right at the heart of our work – from our externally-facing programmes to our internal activities. We continue to monitor rates of staff understanding of EDI and inclusivity (as reported by staff in our annual staff survey, see graphs below).

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"I feel confident in my understanding of diversity and inclusion to
ensure all the programmes I work on are accessible to a wide range of
audiences"
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Strongly disagree/Disagree Neutral Agree/Strongly agree
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"I feel I have the right skills and training on diversity and inclusion to support the BSA's mission"

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2018 2019 2020 2021
Strongly disagree/Disagree Neutral Agree/Strongly agree
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% staff who said Agree or Strongly
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"I feel comfortable being myself at work"
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"Diversity and inclusion is taken seriously in the organisation"

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Strongly disagree/Disagree Neutral Agree/Strongly agree
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Our EDI Advisory Group (funded through our Sustaining Excellence programme) held their last meeting in November 2021, and we are exploring future structures for EDI governance.

Heritage & Identity Review

The BSA is seeking to catalyse change both internally within our organisation and within the wider science engagement sector, to make science and science engagement more equitable, diverse and inclusive. In the context of ongoing institutional improvement – specifically in relation to our organisational focus on equality, diversity and inclusion – we embarked on a project to explore how we might understand and contextualise the BSA’s history.

The Terms of Reference for our Heritage & Identity Review are to:

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We formed a Staff Working Group, and an Oversight Group, with representatives from our EDI Advisory Board, our Council, and external stakeholders (including the BSA’s History of Science Section ).

The aim of the review process is to develop a series of recommendations and Guiding Principles that we will use to inform our practice, programmes and communications in the future.

Section Two: Our future plans

During the second year of our current three-year business plan, we will be prioritising work on impact measures, so that we can measure progress against our 10-year strategy, and also continuing to develop our programmes (through our new programme development tool) to ensure that they meet our strategic objectives.

Our Sustaining Excellence grant comes to an end in June 2022, and we will be reviewing the progress that the organisation has made on its EDI journey, including re-running the EDI audit we undertook in 2018.

Section Three: Financial Review

The Statement of Financial Activities shows net income for the year of £149,176 (2021: net income of £158,282) excluding net gains on investment assets of £12,189 (2021: £158,678 gain).

Key funders of activities during the year include UKRI, Anglia Ruskin University and the Wellcome Trust. The BSA does not engage in fundraising from the public.

Total income of £5.29 million was higher than last year (2021: £3.12 million).

Total expenditure of £5.15 million was higher than last year (2021: £2.96 million).

The expenditure on individual programmes shown on the SOFA is dependent on the activities within the programmes and the funding received.

Funders/ sponsors:

3M ACS Anglia Ruskin University Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists Association of British Science Writers Astra Zeneca Bayer Boeing UK Limited British Society for Immunology Collective Act Drax De Montfort University

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Ernst & Young (EY) Food & Farming Discovery Trust Gatsby Charitable Foundation Harper Collins UK Publishers Ltd High Speed Two Limited Hopscotch Consulting Institution for Engineering & Technology (IET) Institute of Physics Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) James Weir Foundation Leeds Museums and Galleries Lloyds Register Foundation Make Happen Mewburn Ellis LLP MSD National Farmers Union (NFU) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Natural History Museum (NHM) Nutrition Society Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations PETROC Perkinelmer LAS (UK) Ltd Primary Science Teaching Trust Physiological Society Royal Air Force Museum Roche RELX /Elsevier Royal Academy of Engineering Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Royal Society of Chemistry Salters Institute Sciencewise Science Made Simple Silence Therapeutics Society for Applied Microbiology STEM Learning Thales The Country Trust The Reading Agency The Royal Society The Worshipful Company of Horners Trainline University College London (UCL) UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) University of Cambridge University of East Anglia University of Southampton

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University of the West of England University of York URENCO VSC Warwick Institute of Engagement Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics Wellcome Trust Welsh Government WWF UK Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation

Risk Management

The purpose of the BSA’s Risk Register is to enable the British Science Association’s trustees to identify the main risks the charity faces and record how to deal with them. The information in this framework is reviewed by the Senior Management Team on a monthly basis and twice-yearly by the Audit & Risks Committee. The register is then available for review at Council meetings. A full overhaul of the risk register was undertaken in winter 2019.

This framework is divided into five areas based on Charity Commission guidance (CC26[1] ):

  1. Strategic risks

  2. Operational risks

  3. Financial risks

  4. Governance risks

  5. Compliance and legislative risks

Key areas of risk include:

  1. Impact - risk of not achieving our desired impact. This is mitigated through breaking our strategic objectives into programme activities which are effectively evaluated. Progress is tracked quarterly against business plan and balanced scorecard measures.

  2. Income – the risk of a shortfall against fundraising targets and a drop in investment value rose with the outbreak of coronavirus and consequent economic damage. Management accounts are reviewed monthly & forecast income/spend altered accordingly.

Reserves policy

At their meeting in March 2020, Council approved a prudent and realistic risk-based reserves policy, proposed by the Finance Committee. Reserves are based on the following key principles:

  1. Working capital provision - £500k to 800k

  2. Loss or delay in funding - £800k

  3. Wind down costs - £300k - £500k

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-risk-management-cc26/charities-and-risk-managementcc26#annex-1-risk-register-template-with-examples-of-use

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Proposed reserves range to aim for: between £1.6m and £2.1m

The Trustees recognise that the current reserves are £2.1m and will continue to aim to work towards holding unrestricted reserves within the above range in the coming years.

The BSA’s trustees are satisfied that there are no concerns about the BSA’s existence as a going concern.

Section Four: Structure, Governance and Management

The trustees confirm they have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Charter, statutes and rules

The British Association for the Advancement of Science was founded in 1831 and is incorporated by Royal Charter. The Charter is dated 21 April 1928 and there have been Supplemental Charters dated 15 August 1960, 10 February 1997. The Association’s Statutes were revised and approved by the Privy Council in May 2006. In April 2020, the Privy Council approved an updated version of the BSA’s Charter and Statutes.

Council has approved Rules which are reviewed regularly by Council and may be altered by a majority vote in Council.

Registered and operating names

The British Science Association is the operating name for (and a registered trademark of) the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The registered name of the charity remains as the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Council

The governing body of the British Science Association is Council. Members of Council comprise the following people who are entitled to vote at Council meetings:

In addition, the President, President-elect and immediate Past President, if not Trustees, are entitled to attend Council but not to vote.

Council normally meets four times a year, once per quarter. Its function is to agree a vision and strategy for the charity and to direct all the affairs and business of the organisation. Council may delegate its powers to the staff or its Committees.

Members of Council normally serve for a period of three years with the option of being reappointed for a further three years as long as any continuous period in office does not

18

normally exceed six years. In exceptional circumstances, by two thirds majority vote in Council of all members present, a further year’s extension is permitted.

Trustee induction and training

Following their election or appointment, a standard induction pack is sent to all new Trustees before they attend their first Council meeting. The induction pack comprises relevant Association and Charity Commission documents and information including the Charity Governance Code. External training opportunities for new and existing Trustees are offered in addition to away days and ad hoc meetings. Council members are invited to meet staff to learn more about the Association’s work before the beginning of each meeting, and also invited to many of the Association’s events.

Finance Committee (incorporating the Investment Committee)

The Finance Committee comprises four members of the Council plus the Treasurer. Meetings are usually held four times a year and attended by the Finance Director and Chief Executive. Finance Committee advises Council on financial strategy and, in its role as the Investment Committee, oversees the work of our investment managers.

Audit & Risks Committee

The Audit & Risks Committee appointments comprises two members of Council (including the Treasurer), an independent chair and one further independent member. It meets twice a year and meetings are attended by the Finance Director and Chief Executive.

Council has appointed a professional auditor of the Association, who is qualified for appointment as auditor of a company in accordance with the provisions of the Charities Act. The auditor attends meetings of the Committee as and when required.

Council Members

Gisela Abbam, completed her term as Chair on 31 January 2022. She was succeeded by Hilary Newiss on 28 March 2022. Stephen Nuttall, Vice Chair, assumed the position of Acting Chair during the intervening period.

Deputy Chair, Matt Locke, and Vice President, Louise Archer, completed their terms in June 2021. Catherine Brown stood down in March 2022, Kafui Tay in May 2022, and Raj Jethwa in June 2022.

We are grateful to our outgoing Chair and Council members for their service. Further appointments are anticipated in the forthcoming year.

Council member attendance 2021/22

Name Role Elected
/appointed
Retiring
/resigned
22
June
2021		 5 October
2021		 8
December
2021		 21
March
2022
Gisela Abbam Chair 2019
2022
Y		 Y Y N/A
Matt Locke Deputy Chair 2015
2021
Y		 N/A N/A N/A
Kalli Bowyer Treasurer 2018
2024
Y		 Y N Y
Stephen Nuttall VP Engagement (and
Vice Chair)		 2017
2024
Y		 Y Y Y

19

Catherine Brown VP Policy,
Partnerships & Impact		 2019
2022
Y		 Y N Y
Louise Archer VP Education 2015
2021
Y		 N/A N/A N/A
Heather King VP Education 2021
2024
N/A		 Y Y Y
Sarah Main Trustee (elected) 2017
2023
Y		 Y Y Y
Kafui Tay Trustee (appointed) 2020
2022
Y		 Y Y N
Joe de Sousa Trustee (appointed) 2020
2023
Y		 Y Y Y
Kate Mingay Trustee (appointed) 2020
2023
Y		 Y Y Y
Raj Jethwa Trustee (appointed) 2020
2022
Y		 Y N N
Rubina Ahmed Trustee (appointed) 2020
2023
Y		 N Y Y

Council membership of sub-Committees

Honorary Nominations
Finance Audit & Risk Fellowship Committee
Name Committee Committee
Committee
GiselaAbbam* Y Y
Hilary Newiss**
Stephen Nuttall Y
Kalli Bowyer Y Y
CatherineBrown*** Y
Sarah Main Y
Rubina Ahmed Y Y
Joe de Sousa Y Y Y
Raj Jethwa Y Y
KateMingay Y
Heather King Y
Kafui Tay Y Y

20

Section Five: Reference and Administrative details

Senior Staff

Katherine Mathieson Chief Executive (Resigned 8[th] April 2022) Hannah Russell Chief Executive (Appointed 11[th] October 2022) Gill Riches Director of Programmes (Acting COO from 8[th] April 2022 to 11[th] October 2022) Amy MacLaren Director of External Relations (Acting CEO from 8[th] April 2022 to 11[th] October 2022) Graeme Copestake Director of Finance (outsourced) Advisors Bankers NatWest Bank plc, 208 Piccadilly, London, W1A 2DG Solicitors Veale Wasbrough Vizards LLP, 45 Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1SZ Accounting Crossley Group, Star House, Star Hill, Rochester, ME1 1UX Independent auditors Sayer Vincent, Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TL Investment advisors James Hambro Partners LLP, 45 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5JG

Principal and registered office

Wellcome Wolfson Building 165 Queen’s Gate London SW7 5HD

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the BSA’s Council

Signature:

Name: Hilary Newiss Position: Chair Date: [ ]

21

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Statement of financial activities

For the year ended 31 March 2022

For the year ended 31 March 2022
Note
Income from:
2
3
3
3
3
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
7
18
Reconciliation of funds:
17
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Transfers between funds
Net income / (expenditure) before other
recognised gains and losses
Other gains / (losses)
Net movement in funds
Raising funds
Net expenditure for the period/year
Other (recruitment spend from reserves)
Total expenditure
Net (expenditure) / income before net
gains on investments
Charitable activities
Engagement programmes
Education programmes
Regions, branches and sections
Net gains on investments
Policy, Partnerships & Impact
Grants Programme
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Engagement programmes
Education programmes
Policy, Partnerships & Impact
Grants Programme		 Unrestricted
£		 Restricted
£		 2022
Total
£
176,021
1,315,293
1,164,510
237,064
2,371,862
13,829
5,278,579
136,109
1,371,946
894,852
426,157
2,262,761
11,427
25,408
5,128,660
12,188
162,107
-
162,107
-
162,107
2,010,863
2,172,970
149,919		 Unrestricted
£
151,931
46,484
217,483
140,949
-
11,927		 2021
Restricted
Total
£
£
92,841
244,772
730,908
777,392
1,082,720
1,300,203
219,197
360,146
430,101
430,101
-
11,927
2,555,767
3,124,541
92,841
181,285
698,908
883,260
1,077,064
1,083,498
127,506
346,092
468,493
468,493
3,630
3,630
-
-
2,468,442
2,966,259
-
158,678
87,325
316,961
-
-
87,325
316,961
-
-
87,325
316,961
186,838
1,693,903
274,163
2,010,864
87,325
158,283
94,027 81,994
68,257 1,247,036
229,759 934,751
186,259 50,805
- 2,371,862
13,829 -
592,131 4,686,448 568,775
81,994 88,444
184,353
6,434
218,586
-
-
-
54,115
109,153 1,262,793
50,182 844,670
270,659 155,498
2,262,761
- 11,427
25,408 -
509,517 4,619,143 497,817
82,614 67,305 70,958
12,188 - 158,678
94,802 67,305 229,636
-
2,350 (2,350)
97,152 64,955 229,636
- - -
97,152 64,955 229,636
1,507,065
1,736,700 274,163
1,833,852 339,118 1,736,700

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 17 to the financial statements.

24

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Balance sheet

As at 31 March 2022

Note
Fixed assets:
12
13
Current assets:
14
Liabilities:
15
17
18
Total unrestricted funds
Total charity funds
Restricted income funds
Unrestricted income funds:
Designated funds
General funds
Debtors
The funds of the charity:
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets
Total net assets
Investments
Cash at bank and in hand
Tangible assets		 £ 2022
£
25,910
1,314,341
1,340,251
490,375
1,187,156
1,677,531
(977,374)
832,718
2,172,969
339,118
1,138,548
598,152
1,833,852
2,172,970		 2021
£
8,884
1,301,822
1,310,706
1,272,037
1,507,360
2,779,397
(1,946,679)
700,157
2,010,862
274,163
1,045,861
787,991
1,736,700
2,010,863

Approved by the trustees on 14 September 2022 and signed on their behalf by

Hilary Newiss Chair of Council

Kalli Bowyer General Treasurer

25

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 March 2022

2022 2021 2021
Note
£ £ £ £
Cash flows from operating activities 20
Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities 337,826 384,555
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments 13,829 11,927
Purchase of fixed assets (31,119) (3,955)
Proceeds from sale of investments 338,165 338,373
Purchase of investments (314,881) (457,741)
Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities 5,994 (111,396)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the period 343,820 273,159
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 1,260,912 987,753
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 21 1,604,732 1,260,912

26

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

1 Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

b) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts n accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP FRS 102). The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The accounts have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value except that investments held as fixed assets are carried at market value as at the balance sheet date.

The Association meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Association's ability to continue as a going concern.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

e) Income

Income is recognised when the Association has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income received for general purposes of the Association is credited to unrestricted funds. Income subject to specific wishes of the donor is credited to relevant restricted funds.

Subscription income is taken into the financial statements as a receipt in the year in which the subscription is received.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Provision is made in the financial statements for income tax recoverable on gift aid donations.

Gross income received from the Asociation's investment portfolio is reinvested with the Association's portfolio fund managers for the acquisition of further stocks.

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the Association; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

f) Donations of gifts, services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the Association has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the Association of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised. The trustees’ annual report sets out more information about their contribution to the work of the Association.

g) Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

27

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

i) Grants payable

j) Allocation of support costs

Resources expended are allocated to a particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, support cost (the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function) is apportioned on the bases of an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity.

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the Association. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the Association’s activities. These costs are allocated to each activity based on staff time.

Cost of Raising Funds: 7% Engagement programmes: 41% Education programmes: 26% Policy, Partnerships & Impact 11% New Grants programme 15%

Where assets are financed by leasing agreement that give rights approximating to ownership ("finance leases"), the assets are treated as if they had been purchased outright. The amount capitalised is the present value of the minimum lease payments during the lease term. The corresponding leasing commitments are shown as obligations to the lessor.

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £100. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

 Office equipment Straight line over 5 years  Computer equipment Straight line over 3 years

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. Any change in fair value will be recognised in the statement of financial activities. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and shown in the heading “net gains/(losses) on investments” in the statement of financial activities. The Association does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

The Association's Investment Fund is invested in accordance with the Powers of Investment set out in the Schedule to the 1977 Supplemental Charter, which requires that at least 15% of the fund must comprise investments in Government and/or fixed interest securities, including interest-bearing cash deposits. Council has determined that the primary objective of investment policy should be to maintain the capital value of the fund in real terms over the long term.

n) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

28

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

1 Accounting policies (continued)

p) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the Association has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

The Association only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

q) Pensions

The Association operates under an auto enrolment scheme and auto enrols the new employees into the Government's NEST scheme. Pre 1 July 2014, employees are in an AEGON pension scheme. The Association matches the minimum 1% contribution and pays (on a sliding scale) up to two times the contributions made by employees to the schemes which can range between 1% and 5% of gross salary. The pension charge recorded in these financial statements is the amount of contributions payable by the Association in the accounting year.

2 Income from donations and legacies

Other income
Donations and legacies income
Donated services and facilities - office space
Subscriptions and donations		 Unrestricted
£
8,308
2,077
65,591
18,051
94,027		 £
-
-
-
81,994
81,994
Restricted		 2022
Total
£
8,308
2,077
65,591
100,045
176,021		 Unrestricted
£
11,077
65,383
62,468
13,003
151,931		 2021
Total
£
£
-
11,077
-
65,383
-
62,468
92,841
105,844
92,841
244,772
Restricted

3 Income from charitable activities

British Science Festival
Sub-total for engagement programmes
Branches and sections
Policy, Partnerships & Impact
Grants Programme
Other engagement programmes
Total income from charitable activities
Education programmes		 Unrestricted
£
-
68,257
68,257
229,759
186,259
-
-
484,275		 £
523,973
723,063
1,247,036
934,751
50,805
2,371,862
-
4,604,454
Restricted		 2022
Total
£
523,973
791,320
1,315,293
1,164,510
237,064
2,371,862
-
5,088,729		 Unrestricted
£
-
46,484
46,484
217,483
140,949
-
-
404,916		 2021
Total
£
£
91,939
91,939
638,968
685,452
730,907
777,392
1,082,721
1,300,204
219,197
360,146
430,100
430,100
-
-
2,462,926
2,867,842
Restricted

4 Income from investments

Interest
Dividends		 Unrestricted
£
13,736
93
13,829		 £
-
-
-
Restricted		 2022
Total
£
13,736
93
13,829		 Unrestricted
£
11,607
320
11,927		 2021
Total
£
£
-
11,607
-
320
-
11,927
Restricted

29

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

updat 5a Analysis of expenditure (current year)

Charitable activities

Staff costs (Note 8)
Direct costs
Investment managers' fees
Office costs
Depreciation and disposals
Legal and professional
Irrecoverable VAT
Office service charge
Office equipment
Insurance
Marketing and PR
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2022		 Cost of raising
funds
£
68,746
17,665
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
86,411
47,170
2,528
136,109		 Engagement
programmes
£
431,741
631,099
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,062,840
293,383
15,723
1,371,946		 Education
programmes
£
270,500
426,399
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
696,899
187,884
10,069
894,852		 Policy,
Partnerships &
Impact
£
227,729
111,983
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
339,712
82,048		 Regions,
branches and
sections
£
-
11,427
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,427
-
-
11,427		 Grants
Programme
£
147,706
2,003,299
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Governance
costs
£
26,077
-
-
574
-
11,750
-
-
-
-
-
38,401
-
(38,401)
-		 Support costs
2022
Total
£
£
188,555
1,361,054
56,073
3,257,945
11,171
11,171
222,434
223,008
14,093
14,093
154
11,904
128,306
128,306
101,039
101,039
-
-
8,238
8,238
11,902
11,902
741,965
5,128,660
(716,557)
.00
-
-
25,408
5,128,660
2,151,005
106,072
4,397 5,684
426,157
2,262,761

30

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Charitable activities

Staff costs (Note 8)
Direct costs
Investment managers' fees
Office costs
Depreciation and disposals
Legal and professional
Irrecoverable VAT
Office service charge
Office equipment
Insurance
Marketing and PR
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2021		 Cost of raising
funds
£
93,754
8,138
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
101,892
74,451
4,942
181,285		 Engagement
programmes
£
297,629
333,640
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
631,269
236,305
15,687
883,261		 Education
programmes
£
265,685
592,792
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
858,477
211,013
14,008
1,083,498		 Policy,
Partnerships &
Impact
£
204,688
59,624
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
264,312
76,689
5,091
346,092		 Regions,
branches and
sections
£
-
3,630
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,630
-
-
3,630		 Grants Programme Governance costs
£
£
100,219
37,317
283,385
-
-
-
-
364
-
-
-
7,331
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
383,604
45,012
79,605
-
5,284
(45,012)
468,493
-		 Support costs
2021 Total
£
£
155,114
1,154,406
-
1,281,209
10,430
10,430
283,189
283,553
15,488
15,488
28,654
35,985
148,090
148,090
29,815
29,815
49
49
7,135
7,135
99
99
678,063
2,966,259
(678,063)
-
-
-
-
2,966,259

31

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

6
Cost
At the end of the year
Wellcome Trust grants
Engagement Grants
Education Grants
PPI Grants
Grant making		 2022
2021
£
£
1,788,659
-
155,223
-
121,300
-
10,000
-
2,075,182
-

This is stated after charging :

2022 2021
£ £
Depreciation 10,658 15,101
Operating lease rentals:
Property 35,381 29,815
Auditors' remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit 11,750 9,000

Staff costs were as follows:

Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes		 2022
2021
£
£
1,173,864
987,727
107,267
100,425
79,923
66,254
1,361,054
1,154,406

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) during the period between:

2022 2021
No. No.
£60,000 - £69,999 - 2
£70,000 - £79,999 2 -
£80,000 - £89,999 - 1
£90,000 - £99,999 1 -
> £100,000 - -

The total employee benefits including pension contributions of the key management personnel were £261,916 (2021: £260,389).

The Council members were not paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the Association in the year (2021: £nil). No Council member received payment for professional or other services supplied to the Association (2021: £nil).

Council members' expenses represent the payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs totalling £248 (2021: £98) incurred by 2 (2021: 1) members relating to attendance at Council meetings.

32

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

9 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the period was as follows:

Fundraising, marketing and public relations
Engagement programmes
Ideas Fund
Policy, Partnerships & Impact
Educational programmes
Support and Governance		 2022
2021
No.
No.
4.0
6.2
6.9
5.3
7.3
8.2
5.6
4.4
2.5
1.2
6.2
5.0
32.5
30.3

10 Related party transactions

There are no related party transactions to disclose for 2022 (2021: none).

There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties.

11 Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

12 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets
Cost
Depreciation
At the end of the year
At the end of the year
At the start of the year
Charge for the year
At the start of the year
Additions in year
Net book value
Disposals in year
At the end of the year
Eliminated on disposal
At the start of the Year		 Fixtures and
fittings
£
29,269
942
-
30,211
25,555
2,508
-
28,063
2,148
3,714		 Computer
equipment
£
31,883
30,177
(29,030)		 Total
£
61,152
31,119
(29,030)
33,030 63,241
26,713
8,150
(25,595)
52,268
10,658
(25,595)
9,268 37,331
23,762 25,910
5,170 8,884

All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.

33

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

13 Listed investments

14
15
Grant accruals
Shares listed on the London Stock Exchange
Cash
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Fair value at the end of the year
Debtors
Accruals
Deferred income
Fair value at the start of the year
Additions at cost
Investments comprise:
Taxation and social security
Other creditors
Trade creditors
Cash held by investment broker pending reinvestment
Historic cost at the end of the year
Net (loss)/gain on change in fair value
Disposal proceeds		 2022 2021
£ £
950,020
457,741
(338,373)
158,678
1,228,066
314,881
(338,165)
12,188
1,216,970 1,228,066
97,371 73,756
1,314,341 1,301,822
1,178,874 1,146,270
2022 2021
£ £
1,228,066
73,756
1,216,970
97,371
1,314,341 1,301,822
2022 2021
£
98,082
17
47,399
1,126,541		 £
103,660
65
52,446
334,204
1,272,039 490,375
2022 2021
£
149,799
71,663
68,457
177,445
1,018,738
460,577		 £
118,809
47,588
114,354
80,050
-
616,573
1,946,679 977,374

34

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

16 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises both fees received in advance of the delivery of the services and grants received for future financial periods.

Balance at the beginning of the period
Amount released to income in the period
Amount deferred in the period
Balance at the end of the period
Net assets at the end of the year
Analysis of net assets between funds (prior period)
Net current assets
Net assets at the end of the period
Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)
Investments
Investments
Net current assets
Tangible fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets		 £
25,910
1,314,341
493,601
1,833,852
£
8,884
1,301,822
425,994
1,736,700
Unrestricted
Unrestricted		 2022 2021
£
616,573
(616,573)
460,577		 £
281,257
(281,257)
616,573
460,577 616,573
Restricted
£
-
-
2022 Total
£
25,910
1,314,341
339,118 832,719
339,118 2,172,970
Restricted
£
-
-
274,163
2021 Total
£
8,884
1,301,822
700,157
274,163 2,010,863

17a Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)

17b Analysis of net assets between funds (prior period)

35

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

18a Movements in funds (current year)

At 1 April 2021
£
-
32,000
80,307
104,693
25,565
2,350
29,248
-		 Incoming
resources &
gains
£
523,973
723,063
934,751
50,805
2,371,862
-
-
81,994		 Outgoing
resources & losses
£
(525,122)
(737,671)
(844,670)
(155,498)
(2,262,761)
-
(11,427)
(81,994)
(4,619,143)
-
(109,153)
(50,182)
(270,660)
-
-
(429,995)
(79,524)
(509,519)		 Transfers
£
1,149
-
-
-
-
(2,350)
(1,149)
-		 At 31 March
2022
£
-
17,392
170,388
-
134,666
-
16,672
-
274,163 4,686,448 (2,350) 339,118
148,187
70,000
167,000
237,500
500,000
15,861		 -
68,257
229,759
186,259
-
-		 (68,187)
50,896
(201,577)
71,901
-
-
80,000
80,000
145,000
225,000
500,000
15,861
1,138,548 484,275 (146,967) 1,045,861
598,152 120,046
149,317 787,991
1,736,700 604,321 2,350 1,833,852

36

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

18b Movements in funds (prior period)

Movements in funds (prior period)
Total restricted funds
Total designated funds
General funds
Restricted funds:
Designated funds:
Other
Engagement programmes
Education programmes
Policy, Partnerships & Impact
Branches
Sections and regions
Unrestricted funds:
British Science Festival
Other engagement programmes
Contingency for wind-down costs
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
British Science Festival
Other engagement programmes
Engagement programmes
Grants programme
Education programmes
Policy, Partnerships & Impact
Innovation Fund		 At 1 April 2020
£
-
-
74,650
13,002
63,958
5,980
29,248
-		 Incoming
resources &
gains
£
91,939
638,969
1,082,721
219,197
430,100
-
-
92,841		 Outgoing
resources & losses
£
(91,939)
(606,969)
(1,077,064)
(127,506)
(468,493)
(3,630)
-
(92,841)
(2,468,442)
(61,606)
(122,746)
(6,435)
(218,586)
-
-
(409,372)
(88,444)
(497,816)
(2,966,258)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 At 31 March
2021
£
-
32,000
80,307
104,693
25,565
2,350
29,248
186,838 2,555,768 - 274,163
94,000
95,000
128,000
294,000
500,000
15,861		 -
46,484
217,483
140,949
-
-		 115,793
51,262
(172,048)
21,137
-
-
148,187
70,001
167,000
237,500
500,000
15,861
1,126,861 404,916 16,144 1,138,548
380,204 322,536 (16,144)
598,152
1,507,065 727,452 - 1,736,700
1,693,903 3,283,220 - 2,010,863

19 Movements in funds - descriptions

Purposes of restricted funds

Festival of Science

These are funds received specifically to deliver the Festival of Science and have been fully spent in the year.

Other engagement programmes

These are funds received specifically to deliver Engagement Programmes. At the year end some grant funding had not been fully spent and has been carried forward.

Grants Programme

These are funds received directly to deliver the Ideas Fund programme. At the year end some grant funding had not been fully spent and has been carried forward.

Education

These are funds received predominantly to deliver work relating to the CREST awards. At the year end some grant funding had not been fully spent and has been carried forward.

Policy, Partnerships & Impact

These are funds received in order to deliver work in relation to the For Thought Summit. At the end of the year some grant funding had not been fully spent so this has been carried forward.

Sections

Sections raise their own funds as well as receive contributions from the engagement programmes. The majority of the balances are restricted funding from the British Science Festival.

37

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Purposes of designated funds

British Science Festival

These are funds set aside by management in order to support the activities of the Science Festival during the coming financial year if required.

Engagement

These are funds set aside by management in order to support the activities of the Engagement team in the coming financial year if required.

Education

These are funds set aside by management in order to support the activities of the Education Team in the coming financial year if required.

Policy, Partnerships & Impact

These are funds set aside by management in order to support the activities of the PPI Team in the coming financial year if required.

Contingency for wind-down costs

We currently hold £500,000 in designated reserves as a contingency in the case of wind down.

Innovation Fund

The availability of this fund encourages our staff to develop and implement ideas that contribute to our strategic goals during the year.

Transfers between funds

Transfers have been made between funds to enable the right reserves to be available in the right areas as described above.

20 Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

Net income / (expenditure) for the reporting period
(as per the statement of financial activities)
Depreciation charges
(Profit)/loss on the disposal of fixed assets
(Gains)/losses on investments
Dividends, interest and rent from investments
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities		 2022
2021
£
£
162,107
158,282
10,658
15,101
3,435
388
(12,188)
-
(13,829)
(11,927)
(781,662)
(69,905)
969,305
292,616
337,826
384,555

21 Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

Cash at bank and in hand
Cash awaiting investment
Total cash and cash equivalents		 At 31 March 2021
£
1,187,156
73,756
1,260,912		 Cash flows
At 31 March
2022
£
£
320,204
1,507,360
23,615
97,371
343,819
1,604,731

38

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

22 Operating lease commitments

The charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods.

Less than 1 year
1 - 5 Years
Over 5 years		 2022
2021
£
£
62,712
58,609
250,848
234,438
1,003,394
996,360
1,316,954
1,289,407
Property

The commitment relates to the service charge due under the Wellcome Wolfson Building lease. The term of the lease is for 40 years from 29 September 2003 increasing by inflation each year.

39

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

23 Detail of branches, and sections and regions restricted funds

Branches
Cardiff
Derby
Exeter
North West Scibar Network
Reading
South East
South Wales
South Yorkshire
Swansea
For branches set-up
Total branches restricted funds		 At 1 April
2021
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,350
2,350		 Incoming
resources &
gains
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Outgoing
resources &
losses
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Transfers
At 31 March
2022
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(2,350)
-
(2,350)
-
-
Sections and regions
Agriculture & Food
Anthropology
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Economics
Education
Engineering
General
Geography
Geology
History of Science
Mathematics
Medical Sciences
Physics
Psychology
Science & The Arts
Sociology
Total sections and regions
restricted funds		 At 1 April
2021
391
358
1,663
6,239
2,180
1,465
2,764
1,178
2,659
1,618
239
1,625
1,819
762
3,682
(32)
638
29,248		 Incoming
resources &
gains
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Outgoing
resources &
losses
(282)
(1,034)
(1,900)
(1,566)
(309)
-
(499)
-
(357)
(802)
(443)
(1,074)
(1,224)
(293)
(1,020)
(623)		 Transfers
At 31 March
2022
-
109
676
-
237
-
-
4,673
-
1,871
-
1,465
-
2,265
-
1,178
-
2,302
-
816
204
-
-
551
-
595
-
469
-
2,662
32
-
-
15
1,149
18,971
(11,426)

40