Guidelines, Application and Referee forms

1. The Mount Everest Foundation (MEF) is a Registered Charity (No 208206). Its aims are to encourage and support expeditions exploring mountain regions, and both education and research pertaining to a wide range of subjects in mountain areas including geography, glaciology and the effects of altitude.

Unless an expedition has research as its primary objective, it must have a strong exploratory element to be deemed eligible for support. Expeditions planning geographical exploration, first ascents of, or major new routes on high or remote mountains are likely to qualify. Applications from expeditions proposing to visit little-explored or formerly inaccessible areas are particularly encouraged, as are those pursuing worthwhile research. Normally, the MEF will only support expeditions where the majority of members come from Great Britain of New Zealand.

2. The knowledge acquired during an expedition must be made publicly available. In return for support or approval, the MEF requires a Summary Report (forms available on MEF website) to be submitted within six weeks of returning home, and a Final Report as soon as possible thereafter. Four copies of this Report should be sent to the MEF Secretary, as well as one to each of your referees. If this is not done, the leader is likely to be refused future support.

3. Expeditions with climbing and mountaineering objectives should be aware that there may be other grant options available. Some of these are listed below. For further details (including criteria, application forms closing dates etc) please see the relevant websites:

British Mountaineering Council: www.thebmc.co.uk (under ’ International’): Note that expeditions applying for BMC Approval only can use the MEF form)

Mountaineering Council of Scotland Climbing and Mountaineering Bursary: www.mcofs.org.uk

Welsh Sports Association Overseas Expedition Grants: www.welshsports.org.uk

The Alpine Club Climbing Fund: www.alpine-club.org.uk/expeditions

Mark Clifford Climbing Grant: www.markclifford.co.uk

Nick Estcourt Award: www.nickestcourtaward.org

Gino Watkins Memorial Fund (for Polar Regions): www.spri.cam.ac.uk/about/funding.ginowatkins

Note that all applicants for MEF support will automatically be considered for the Alison Chadwick Memorial Grant without the necessity for specific application

4. As the MEF does not normally expect to provide more than a minor part of an expedition's finances, organisers of large and expensive expeditions should be aware that the MEF has limited resources. Expeditions should therefore be able to show that a large proportion of the estimated budget will be raised elsewhere and that personal contributions are of a sufficient size. When completing the application form, details of any type of commercial assistance eg. a support trek, paying clients, sponsorship etc. must be fully declared. Failure to do so could result in the grant being cancelled and/or reclaimed.

5. One or more members of the expedition may be asked to attend an interview with the Screening Committee in London. These interviews are normally held in November and March. Completed application forms must be returned to the Secretary by the 31st August and 31st December of the preceding year in order to allow time for references to be processed. These dates are strictly observed. If you are proposing to carry out scientific work, you must ensure that whoever comes to the interview is competent to discuss the scientific programme with Committee members. Although applications may be considered from expeditions that have left their country of origin prior to the date of the interview, no expedition that has already returned home can be considered. The Screening Committee reports to the Management Committee, which holds its own meeting about four weeks later. Shortly after, the Secretary will inform the expedition leader of the Management Committee's decision

6. For each expedition member give the name, age, occupation, nationality and previous relevant experience (i.e. Scottish winter, Alpine, Greater Ranges). While it is not necessary to provide complete biographical details, names of significant completed routes or notable attempts should certainly be included. Scientific expeditions should give a detailed description of the work proposed in the Appendix.

7. It is important that you comply with the current regulations of the countries you propose to visit. These may include payment of peak fees, the insurance and equipping of porters, the employment of a Liaison Office and the deposit of environmental, customs and rescue bonds. It is a condition of receiving MEF support that all political requirements are satisfied. Where appropriate you should also advise the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of your intentions.

8. If an expedition is unable to go to its stated locality after a grant has been awarded, it should obtain MEF approval before taking any steps to go elsewhere or to make changes in the team.


	MOUNT EVEREST FOUNDATION Patron: H.R.H. THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH, K.G., K.T. All applicants for MEF expedition grants must read our current Application Guidelines (Rev. 04 Aug 2008) shown below. The guidelines can also be downloaded as a PDF document Guidelines for Grant Applicants (Rev. 04 Aug 2008) size: 27KB - Adobe PDF (Grant Application Forms and Referee Forms are available to download at the bottom of this page) Guidelines for Grant Applicants (Rev. 04 Aug 2008) 1. The Mount Everest Foundation (MEF) is a Registered Charity (No 208206). Its aims are to encourage and support expeditions exploring mountain regions, and both education and research pertaining to a wide range of subjects in mountain areas including geography, glaciology and the effects of altitude. Unless an expedition has research as its primary objective, it must have a strong exploratory element to be deemed eligible for support. Expeditions planning geographical exploration, first ascents of, or major new routes on high or remote mountains are likely to qualify. Applications from expeditions proposing to visit little-explored or formerly inaccessible areas are particularly encouraged, as are those pursuing worthwhile research. Normally, the MEF will only support expeditions where the majority of members come from Great Britain of New Zealand. 2. The knowledge acquired during an expedition must be made publicly available. In return for support or approval, the MEF requires a Summary Report (forms available on MEF website) to be submitted within six weeks of returning home, and a Final Report as soon as possible thereafter. Four copies of this Report should be sent to the MEF Secretary, as well as one to each of your referees. If this is not done, the leader is likely to be refused future support. 3. Expeditions with climbing and mountaineering objectives should be aware that there may be other grant options available. Some of these are listed below. For further details (including criteria, application forms closing dates etc) please see the relevant websites: British Mountaineering Council: www.thebmc.co.uk (under ’ International’): Note that expeditions applying for BMC Approval only can use the MEF form) Mountaineering Council of Scotland Climbing and Mountaineering Bursary: www.mcofs.org.uk Welsh Sports Association Overseas Expedition Grants: www.welshsports.org.uk The Alpine Club Climbing Fund: www.alpine-club.org.uk/expeditions Mark Clifford Climbing Grant: www.markclifford.co.uk Nick Estcourt Award: www.nickestcourtaward.org Gino Watkins Memorial Fund (for Polar Regions): www.spri.cam.ac.uk/about/funding.ginowatkins Note that all applicants for MEF support will automatically be considered for the Alison Chadwick Memorial Grant without the necessity for specific application 4. As the MEF does not normally expect to provide more than a minor part of an expedition's finances, organisers of large and expensive expeditions should be aware that the MEF has limited resources. Expeditions should therefore be able to show that a large proportion of the estimated budget will be raised elsewhere and that personal contributions are of a sufficient size. When completing the application form, details of any type of commercial assistance eg. a support trek, paying clients, sponsorship etc. must be fully declared. Failure to do so could result in the grant being cancelled and/or reclaimed. 5. One or more members of the expedition may be asked to attend an interview with the Screening Committee in London. These interviews are normally held in November and March. Completed application forms must be returned to the Secretary by the 31st August and 31st December of the preceding year in order to allow time for references to be processed. These dates are strictly observed. If you are proposing to carry out scientific work, you must ensure that whoever comes to the interview is competent to discuss the scientific programme with Committee members. Although applications may be considered from expeditions that have left their country of origin prior to the date of the interview, no expedition that has already returned home can be considered. The Screening Committee reports to the Management Committee, which holds its own meeting about four weeks later. Shortly after, the Secretary will inform the expedition leader of the Management Committee's decision 6. For each expedition member give the name, age, occupation, nationality and previous relevant experience (i.e. Scottish winter, Alpine, Greater Ranges). While it is not necessary to provide complete biographical details, names of significant completed routes or notable attempts should certainly be included. Scientific expeditions should give a detailed description of the work proposed in the Appendix. 7. It is important that you comply with the current regulations of the countries you propose to visit. These may include payment of peak fees, the insurance and equipping of porters, the employment of a Liaison Office and the deposit of environmental, customs and rescue bonds. It is a condition of receiving MEF support that all political requirements are satisfied. Where appropriate you should also advise the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of your intentions. 8. If an expedition is unable to go to its stated locality after a grant has been awarded, it should obtain MEF approval before taking any steps to go elsewhere or to make changes in the team. Forms may be downloaded by clicking the following links: Grant Application Form (Rev. 04 Aug2008) (25 KB) - Adobe PDF Grant Application Form (Rev. 04 Aug2008) (178 KB) - Microsoft Word 97 Referee Form (Rev. 03A Aug2008) (17.1 KB) - Adobe PDF Referee Form (Rev. 03A Aug2008) (145 KB) - Microsoft Word 97 Information Sheet (Aug2008) (25 KB) - Adobe PDF Adobe PDF (Portable Document Files) can be viewed and printed via Adobe Acrobat Reader. This free software is available from www.adobe.com or click Get Adobe Reader below