Themed Funding: Graduates with Impact

The application process - important dates

The deadline for online applications is 5pm on October 14th 2010. The bids will be externally evaluated and outcomes announced in November. Successful teams can start work from December 2010 onwards. All projects must be complete by January 31st 2012.

What is the scope and focus of this award?

ESCalate offers themed funding in priority areas emerging from developments in practice and policy from: the UK; international policy developments; concerns of employers, professional bodies and other stakeholders.

Applicants should be knowledgeable about current policies, practices and initiatives existing across the four nations of the UK.

The theme for this round of funding is graduate contribution to society and the economy, graduates with impact is a priority area for the Higher Education Academy and one that is very relevant in the current climate of concerns over graduates and employability. Applicants will determine the actual focus and scope of their project for themselves, guided by the following observations:

• ESCalate anticipates that outcomes from the successful project will identify the evidence base and/or disseminate effective practice for teaching and learning opportunities that produce education graduates with impact i.e. those who contribute successfully to society and/or the economy.
• The priority area of graduates with impact as proposed by the HE Academy includes student engagement in curriculum design, teaching provision and their learning experience.
• Areas where impact could be demonstrated include higher education and its communities (both local and international); and ethical, social and environmental responsibility, as well as employment and employability.

What is the intended purpose of the work?

The primary purpose is to contribute to the enhancement of the student learning experience either directly, or through enhancement of teacher understanding and pedagogical expertise, or resource development.

Outputs should be directly relevant to those engaged in the discipline of Education and should promote the development and sharing of practices within Education, Continuing Education, Lifelong Learning and Staff Development communities across the HE sector including FE Colleges delivering HE programmes.

Successful applicants will be capable of imaginative and relevant research and scholarly activity that will contribute to an authoritative picture of the factors that impinge on the relationship between the student experience and graduates’ subsequent lives and contribution to society and the economy across the UK.

Teachers and students in the discipline of Education will be able to use the outputs to address issues of teaching and learning for themselves and their colleagues.

Who can apply?

• Lead applicants must be staff members working in a UK Education department with Education, Continuing Education or Lifelong Learning students.
• A single lead person may submit an application on behalf of a collaborating team or group from two or more institutions.
• Applicants need to demonstrate that the skills of the team members are relevant to the areas of activity.
• At least one member of the team should have extensive research experience relevant to the area.
• More than one institution should be involved in the work and wherever practicable, applicants should seek collaborative partners from across regional boundaries of the UK.
• Partner institutions must be publicly funded UK universities and FE Colleges delivering HE programmes in Education, Continuing Education, and Lifelong Learning.
• The funding is intended to support teams of practitioners: in exploration and development of existing practice; pedagogic research; the spread and uptake of ideas and practice beyond individual institutions and national boundaries.
• No person on the project team can hold two concurrent funding awards with ESCalate.

How much is available?

Total funding available is up to £15k per successful project. ESCalate intends to fund one project in 2010-11.

What do you have to do to apply?

Important: In order to apply for an ESCalate award, make sure you are eligible and then you must register with ESCalate. Once your registration has been approved, you will be able to log in to your account and complete an online application form. You can save drafts at any point.

All application form fields need to be filled in and any supporting documents such as a timeline, budget breakdown or reference list attached to the application. Remember to save the document in order to submit it. 

You will need to ensure you have the approval of the senior managers (e.g. Heads of Department) in participating institutions. Once you submit your application they will receive an automated email asking them to confirm their support for the project.

What we can pay for and what we can't

You can buy-in support to help you conduct the project where those skills do not exist within the team, such as:

• administrative support costs
• consultancy skills, researcher and research assistant time
• purchase of training or services
• travel, subsistence and consumables for meetings or dissemination events

We cannot fund HEFCE funded salaried staff who are involved in the project. We cannot pay for the purchase of computers and other hardware.

Please remember to include Full Economic Costing (FEC) and VAT into your budget if these are required by your institution

Matched funding is expected (in cash or kind) from the contributing institutions. This could be money, time, resources or a combination.

Discussion with ESCalate staff during the application process is encouraged. For academic questions contact Jocelyn Wishart at j.m.wishart@bristol.ac.uk and for any questions regarding the administrative and financial process contact teresa.nurser@bristol.ac.uk

If I am successful what happens next?

All successful project leaders will be notified via email with a link to their ESCalate project application page, then see the notes under the discussion tab.A few days after this you will be sent an agreement form which needs to be signed by the project leader and the nominated HOD and sent back to

Teresa Nurser, ESCalate, University of Bristol, 35 Berkeley Square, Bristol BS8 1JA.

Once we receive this we will notify you that we have all the paperwork and you can instruct your finance department to invoice us for one third of your award funding. Then when we have received and approved your interim report you can invoice us for the second third of funding. The final payment can be invoiced when we have received your final report and all outcomes are approved by us.

Throughout the project's lifetime with us we expect that we are notified and of any changes made to the budget, personnel or outcomes. If not,we have the right to cancel the grant at any time.

• Guidance on writing your interim report (see link, top right)
• Guidance on writing your final report (see link, top right)

If I am not successful what happens?

If you are not successful we will notify you via email with a link to your ESCalate project application page, then see the notes under the discussion tab. We will give constructive feedback where appropriate and hopefully this will help in any subsequent bids you might make. This award funding is very competitive but we hope that the help we can give supports your bid writing in the future.