The third episode of our specialist series, Explore: How To Plan An Expedition, focuses on the reality of funding, and who's paying. Money is one of the least favoured things to talk about when it comes to expedition planning but it's unavoidably essential, as without it, your grand plan is very little more than an idea. In this episode, Matt speaks with Dr Eleanor Drinkwater, Ben Saunders, Tom Allen, and Shane Winser. They go deep into grant applications - how to write them, what to include, and how to review them. They also cover crowdfunding, corporate commercial funding, and even self-funding. They discuss how competitive it can be, how to stand out, and what work remains even when the expedition is over.
Dr Eleanor Drinkwater is an entomologist, expedition leader, lecturer and science communicator. Having completed her PhD on invertebrate personality, she is fascinated by both invertebrate behaviour, as well as understanding how humans can work with and cultivate invertebrates in a sustainable and ethical way. She has worked both in the UK and further afield in Peru, Australia, Honduras and French Guiana. She is committed to science communication, and has also co-founded an entomophagy science festival group.
Ben Saunders is a pioneering polar athlete and a record-breaking long-distance skier, who has covered more than 6,000km on foot in the Polar Regions. He's broken the record for the longest human-powered polar journey in history, and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. He has shared his story with a huge range of people, businesses and organisations, and his focus is now on climate technology investment.
Tom Allen has been a full-time traveller, writer and filmmaker for over 15 years. He has undertaken adventurous journeys on 5 continents, runs a long-established adventure cycling website, and now describes himself reluctantly on his social media profiles as a 'self-unemployed creative explorer'. In 2016 he led the RGS-supported Land Rover Bursary expedition to explore and map the first long-distance hiking trail across the Caucasus. The Transcaucasian Trail, as it is now known, has since evolved into a massive international development project which he estimates will take a good decade or so to complete.
Shane Winser works for the Royal Geographical Society where she curates the annual Explore symposium and Festival. A zoology graduate, she assisted in the planning and organisation of the RGS's own research programmes to the tropical forests of Sarawak and Brunei, the mountains of the Karakoram, and the drylands of western Australia, Kenya and Oman. She chairs the technical panel for BS 8848: the British Standard for organisers of a wide variety of ventures, including university and academic fieldwork, gap year experiences, adventure holidays, charity challenges and research expeditions.
You can find out more about the Royal Geographical Society and access advice and support for field research and scientific expeditions by visiting www.rgs.org/in-the-field or follow them on @rgs_ibg on socials.
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