Interested in a study trip abroad?

We want to hear from you if you are interested in travelling abroad to look at innovative policies or practices that could be of benefit to consumers or users of services in Scotland. “Consumer” is here used in its broadest sense to cover education, environmental, financial, health, housing, justice, social care, and various other services as well as more ‘traditional’ areas of consumer policy, such as trading standards or faulty goods.

You should be resident in Scotland and over 16, but apart from that you can be from any background, educational level or nationality. We would expect you however to show enough knowledge and understanding of your particular area of interest to carry out your own study and report on findings that are of practical value. You could be a student, professional or voluntary worker or simply an individual with a particular interest or enthusiasm of consumer concern that you’d like to pursue through study of particular policies or practices from abroad.

Please note that applications are accepted only from individuals, not organisations.

How we would help you:

We would pay for:

• Travel expenses
• Reasonable living costs while abroad
• Costs directly related to the research to be carried out (we will need details)

What we would expect from you:

If your application for a travel grant is successful, you will be expected (as a condition of receiving the grant) to provide a written report on your study trip and show how your findings could be of practical benefit to consumers/service users in Scotland. You would also be asked to give an oral presentation to the trustees of the PGMF.

If you are awarded a grant we will agree with you the time period within which you will carry out your project. If for some reason you are unable to go ahead with your project within the agreed period, we will of course expect you to repay any money we may have given you.

How do I apply?

Write and tell us about yourself, your project, where you want to go and how much money you want from the Fund. We also welcome applications from individuals with disabilities.

You can either complete the online application form and e-mail to us at: info@pgmf.co.uk.

Or you can simply write to us - without filling in the application form – at:


(If you do this, we will still need the information requested on the form; try to keep your letter short, a maximum of one A4 page long).

You are also encouraged to contact us with any queries or to discuss your ideas before sending in your application. Please telephone 01786 447190 and ask for the Peter Gibson Memorial Fund, and we will arrange for one of our trustees to contact you.

If we are interested in your application, we will invite you for an interview, at our expense, to discuss this in more detail. We may ask for more information beforehand. To find out more go our FAQs page.