These monthly newsletters aim to keep all member networks updated with news describing how to get involved, as well as information of relevant events, services and new initiatives from the RSC Networks team. If you require further information about any of the items in the newsletter, or have any comments or ideas for content please contact the Networks team.

Committee members and representatives are encouraged to disseminate this information, as appropriate, to colleagues and other members. E-alert request forms can be downloaded from the Useful Forms and Documents page. Up to date lists of members can be obtained by emailing the Networks Team.
 

Networks Newsletter - October 2020

Dear colleague,

Welcome to the October Networks Newsletter, our way to keep our member network committee members and representatives up to date with RSC activities, services and new initiatives.

This month’s Newsletter contains:
  • Upcoming Deadlines
  • Upcoming Events
  • Spotlight: Member network Annual Report: from 2019 to 2021
  • Communications from across the RSC
  • Latest updates on our policy work
 
Upcoming Deadlines
 
01 October
06 October
08 October
26 October
27 October
29 October
31 October
03 November
03 November
03 November
Deadline for Local Section and Interest Group Top-Up Fund applications
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 15 October to additional networks

Deadline for E-alerts going out on 15 October
Application deadline for the Outreach Fund small grants
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 5 November to additional networks
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 5 November
Deadline for October Research Development Grant applications
Registration deadline for Air quality in megacities Faraday Discussion
Deadline for 2020 Research Fund applications
Deadline for applications to the Research Enablement Grant
 
Upcoming Events
 
01 October
05 October
06 October
13 October
13 October
15 October
20 October
20 October

22 October
27 October
05 November
Member e-alerts
RSC Desktop Seminar: RSC Advances Emerging Investigators, 4pm UK time
Environmental Science Desktop Seminar: Peter Vikesland, 4pm UK time
Faraday Discussion: Cooperative phenomena in framework materials
Environmental Science Desktop Seminar: Krista Wigginton, 4pm UK time
Member e-alerts
Environmental Science Desktop Seminar: Neil Donahue, 4pm UK time
Volunteering in Schools – best practice for RSC Members, 6.30pm UK time
RSC Desktop Seminar: Progress in singlet fission and photon upconversion, 1pm UK time
Environmental Science Desktop Seminar: Delphine Farmer, 4pm UK time
Member e-alerts
 
Spotlight: Member network Annual Report: from 2019 to 2021

More than half of all reported 2019 activities were organised by Local Sections in the UK and almost one in 5 of all 2019 member network events was organised by an international Local Section. In 2019 our Interest Groups held 86 half- or full-day scientific meetings and 51 multi-day meetings, catering to over 10,000 attendees. Our Interest Groups and Local Sections awarded 193 grants and bursaries and sponsored 53 events in 2019.

You can learn more about 2019 member network activities and the changes to the Annual Report for 2020 and 2021 in the full article on the Networks Newsletter blog.

Learn more about 2019 member network activities in the full blog article

 
Communications from across the RSC

Here are updates about events and activities from our Outreach, Careers, Events, International, and Research & Innovation teams, as well as the Chemists’ Community Fund and RSC Publishing.

The 2020 Annual Report form will be with committees this month
Thank you to all of you who volunteered to test the new Annual Report form!

We are making changes to the form based on your feedback and suggestions, the final version of the form will be circulated to committees in the next two weeks. Once the 2020 Annual Report form has been circulated we will begin to make the necessary changes to prepare the 2021 report form so that we can circulate it to committees in January 2021 to allow you to complete it throughout the year.


Data protection - a few quick reminders for committees
Following on from our data protection top tips for committees, here are some reminders about how you should handle member data.

What to do when a committee member leaves
If a committee member has recently left you should do the following to be compliant with data protection legislation:
  • Remove the ex-committee member’s contact details (e.g. email, address, phone numbers) from your records
  • Ask the ex-committee member to delete any contact details they have for committee members
What information is stored by the committee?
At your next committee meeting you can ask:
  • What information members of the committee hold and how it is stored (e.g. on a spreadsheet, memory stick, phone, etc.)
  • How is the information being protected? Do you have passwords, etc.?
  • Is anyone storing any other information (e.g. lists of delegate details from past events, etc.)? Is there a reason for storing old contact information or can it be deleted? Can you show how consent was given to hold this data?
You can use this record processing activity sheet to note all the data you store, how consent was gained and when it should be deleted.

Communicating with your members
If you want to send an email to your members you can:
  • Send an e-alert via the Networks team. The e-alerts go out twice a month, and can be sent to your own members and also other networks. The Networks Team will contact the secretaries of the other networks you wish to send the email to, and check they consent for their members to receive the email.
  • You can request the email data of your members from the RSC to send your own email. You will need to complete a data protection form. You must delete the data after six weeks and use blind copy on a bulk email so the email addresses are not visible to others in the list. You cannot share this email data with anyone else. If you receive any emails requesting to be removed from the mailing list please forward these to the Networks team.
  • Maintain your own mailing list. Some networks maintain their own mailing list, but they must complete a Compliance Checklist document. The checklist ensures the RSC is kept informed, explains where the data is stored and how it is being used etc. For a Compliance Checklist, please contact our Membership team.
Awards and grants
With the onset of the pandemic you might not be giving away as many awards or grants this year, but you will still need to consider data protection in your processes! Once the award is given you should delete any contact details (e.g. email, address, phone numbers, etc.) for anyone who applied.


If you have any data protection questions please contact the Networks team


Two new grants to support our community during COVID-19
We have developed two new grants to help members during the current circumstances:
  • Our new Research Enablement Grants give up to £10,000 to members in the UK and Republic of Ireland to initiate new research directions or to complete research disrupted by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: rsc.li/researchenablementgrant
  • Our new Research Development Grants of up to £250 provide PhD students and post-doctoral researchers support for activities to develop a broad set of skills to further their research careers, including (but not limited to) registration for a virtual conference or funding towards organising an online meeting: rsc.li/researcher-development-grant


Grants for Carers and Assistance Grants
We are pleased to share the RSC has been able to continue with the extended purpose of our Grants for Carers and Assistance Grants schemes to include:
  • Extra equipment that may be needed to work from home and/or home-school those you care for (maximum £500 total cost)
  • Specific assistance or support needed to attend an online meeting, conference, workshop, professional development or teaching responsibility as restrictions ease
Eligibility criteria are available on the funding webpages.


Sponsor the 2021 #RSCPoster Twitter Conference
#RSCPoster is the RSC’s flagship virtual event, pioneering the virtual conference field and bringing together the global chemistry community to network and share their research and engage in scientific debate.

The conference is held online via Twitter for 24 hrs each March, with the 2020 instalment attracting around 800 posters from 59 countries, 4700 attendees and reaching a potential audience of over 32 million. The conference spans the chemical sciences, with participation from disciplines across the field of chemistry and at every career stage.

We’re currently looking for sponsors for the 2021 event – if any interest groups are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please click on the button to contact the team!


Talk to the #RSCPoster team about sponsorship opportunities by 1 November


Commonwealth Chemistry survey for early career chemists
We need your help to support us with shaping the future of chemistry: we are looking for early career chemists from Commonwealth countries to tell us about training and funding, working environment, career progression, networks and collaborations.

We want to uncover the challenges, needs, and opportunities that early career chemists are facing; this feedback will be used to influence the strategy and direction of the Commonwealth Chemistry. Please complete the survey if you are eligible, and please share this survey with early career chemists in your area.

To encourage participation and show our appreciation, everyone who completes the survey can enter our prize draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher. Three winners will be selected at random and announced in November.

Complete and share the survey by 14 November: rsc.li/eccsurvey


Chemistry Week 2020: ‘Inclusion’
16 – 22 November 2020

Chemistry Week is an annual celebration of the chemical sciences. This year we are encouraging member groups to help celebrate the theme of ‘Inclusion’. This is in recognition of the shift in nature of events that many groups have had to make during this time and the additional factors that need to be taken into consideration to run inclusive events, whether that supports members directly or reaches out to public and school audiences.

We want to support you with any activities and events you may have planned for Chemistry Week, from inspiring the next generation to celebrating the diversity of chemistry within our community. Grants for activities are still available through the Outreach Fund, the deadline for applications in October as been extended to Monday 26th October.

Talk to the Outreach team if you have any Chemistry Week questions


Latest issue of Analytical Matters now available online
Find out about the latest Analytical Division activities including:
  • Opportunities to network at the Analytical Division Symposia
  • New Council members
  • 2020 Analytical Division award winners
  • CPD Resources including the latest AMC Technical Briefs
If you have any items you wish to be included in the next newsletter please email analyticalmatters@rsc.org by 31 October 2020.

Read the latest issue here


 
Latest updates on our policy work

With a programme of activities spanning research funding, mobility of scientists, open access, chemicals regulation, teacher supply, curriculum and much more, our goal is to shape the development of policy relevant to the chemical sciences.

Help us influence developments in post-18 technical education
We have an opportunity for you to help shape our policy work in technical education. We’re looking for research participants who would be happy to take part in a 40-minute interview, and would love to hear from people with the following viewpoints:
  • employers, especially if you are involved in hiring or training employees for technician roles. You don’t need to be very familiar with post-18 technical qualifications.
  • educators, if you currently offer, used to offer or have considered offering post-18 technical qualifications in subjects related to chemistry.
Technicians and the skills they bring are vital to the chemical sciences. We want to influence future developments in relevant education routes. This research will help us understand the current qualification landscape: are existing qualifications recognised by employers, attractive to providers and appealing to learners? How do they prepare learners for entering the workplace or further study?

The research is being conducted on our behalf by Shift Membership. You can express an interest as an employer or an education provider, or find out more on the Networks Newsletter blog.

Read the blog article to learn more about this project and our broader education policy activities

 
Thank you for reading!

The Networks Newsletter is sent to all member network committee members as a dynamic newsletter with tailored content, this is the full version. Please get in touch with suggestions for what you would like included or feedback about what we've sent you!

Send us your feedback

Kind regards,

The Networks Team
Fiona, Aurora and Debbie


 
Posted by Aurora Walshe on Oct 1, 2020 2:00 PM Europe/London

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