Grant Round 2016
Making an application
Dr Alison Kuiper
Institute for Teaching and Learning September 2014
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Plan for today’s workshop
› Setting the scene
› Introductions
- You and your intentions
› Preparing an application
- Process
- Requirements and support
› Questions
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2016 Just one round
› Final round of OLT
- Research and Development Grants
- and Strategic Priority Commissioned Grants
› Two key matters
- Timeframe
- Priorities
- Close internally 14 October 2015
- Closes 5 pm 2 November 2015 with the OLT
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Aim of grants programme
› To provide funding for academics and professional staff
- to investigate, discover, develop and implement innovations in
learning and teaching
› Grants facilitate scholarship and research into learning and
teaching, and promote systemic change in the sector
› They play an important role in providing esteem for learning
and teaching scholarship and practice
› Category one funding
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You and your intentions
› Introductions
- You
- Faculty or school or ……
- Project area if you have decided
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Does your project fit an OLT priority area?
Research and development grants
› Academic standards
› Assessing equivalence of qualifications and learning outcomes
› Assessment and promotion of student learning
› Designing learning for the future
› Employability skills for the future
› Improving institutional pathways across higher education
› Improving access to and outcomes in higher education for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people
› The contemporary PhD
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Strategic Priority Commissioned Grants
› The future of the academic workforce
› Personalised learning in a massified higher education education system
› Academic integrity and good practice in assessment
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Making an application 1
› Maximum period of funding is two years
› Funding up to $500,000 per grant
› Getting started
- Download and read the information and nomination instructions
- Make sure your project fits one of the priority areas
- Start planning
- Contact potential partners and start assembling your team
- Keep in mind what you aim to achieve
- Follow the steps on the website
- http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/awards/oltprojects.htm
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Making an application 2
› Involve your partners in the planning
› Contact HoS
› Contact ICOs
- Alison for academic questions (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)
- Mirro Koureas in DVCE’s office for submission matters
› Consider impact
› Make use of both
› OLT and ITL / DCVE Portfolio resources
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Make use of the resources
› http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/awards/oltprojects.htm
› Templates for letters of support to download
› Further information
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OLT resources
Download and get very familiar with the OLT document and resources
› Assessment reports (prior application rounds):
- www.olt.gov.au/grants-and-projects/innovation-and-development
› Impact planning and dissemination
- www.olt.gov.au/impact
- www.olt.gov.au/dissemination
› Evaluation planning:
- www.olt.gov.au/evaluation
› To search for previously funded projects,
- olt.gov.au/list-projects
› OLT Good Practice reports
www.olt.gov.au/resource-library/good-practice-reports
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Progressing your application
› Seek feedback from
- mentors
- faculty colleagues
- previously successful applicants for OTL grants
- other successful grant applicants
› Use the templates and the checklist
- Mirro Koureas - ICO; Alison Kuiper - PEI
› Submit application in plenty of time with all required docs
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What makes a good application?
The OLT suggests a good application
› Demonstrates a passion for improving learning and teaching
› Is well grounded in literature
› Displays innovative strategies and approaches
› Shows a willingness to engage with emerging technologies
› Matches aims and activities to deliverables and outcomes
› Has well thought out dissemination strategies
› Shows good cross-institutional collaboration and engagement with
industry
› Considers the work of past OLT projects
› Considers the scope of the project beyond the home institution
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Criteria to be addressed
And used in evaluations
A. Project rationale and sector readiness
B. Project outputs (or deliverables)
C. Project impact
D. Project approach
E. Project team and governance
F. Project budget
G. Project evaluation
Address these under separate headings in the application
See page 7
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Project rationale and sector readiness
› Clearly articulated outcomes and a clear argument
- demonstrating how the project will address one of the program
priorities
- and contribute to the enhancement of learning and teaching in
higher education
› Assessors consider
› 1
quality of application
› 2
how important the project is to the sector
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Project outputs (or deliverables)
Project outputs (or deliverables)
› Be realistic about proposed outputs
› Sustainability of outputs – build this in
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Project impact IMPEL model
Impact Management Planning and Evaluation Ladder
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Project team and governance
› Roles and responsibilities of team members
- involve them in the planning
- a preliminary allocation of responsibilities among the team
members is advisable
› Demonstrate capacity of team to deliver
- including the quality and timeliness of the project leader’s
previous work
› It’s important to show the project will work.
› Allocate tasks and make sure people have the skills
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Project budget
- Funding up to $500,000
- Appendix 8 p41
- Note comments on teaching relief and salaries
- Questions to Mirro ext 15200
- Myrophora.Koureas@sydney.edu.au
› Project evaluation
- Evaluation strategy required
- Independent external evaluator required for projects over
$120,000
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Project evaluation
› Clearly identify the evaluation strategy
- Appropriate for scale of project
› External evaluator for projects over $120,00
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Submission issues and compliance requirements
› ICO, DVCE’s Office, provides this support, notifies OLT of impending
applications
› Only applications that have been notified and have received university
approval will be considered by the OLT
› Evidence of support from your faculty is required before letter of support
from the University can be provided
› Partner applications also require a letter of support from the DVC(E)
› Prepare your application following the 6 steps by the internal submission
date: Wednesday 14 October
› The internal closing date is firm; questions about this to Mirro Koureas.
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Making an application
› Online form (p20)
› Plus full proposal – 20 A4 pages following the selection criteria (page 7)
› Plus associated appendices (p17)
- Letter of endorsement
- Additional letters of support
- Biographies of team leader and members
- If applicable, design specifications
- Checklist (p25) Summary (p27)
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Don’t ignore these!
Appendices to the OLT programme information and application instructions
1. Assessment process
2. Obligations associated with receiving a grant
3. Intellectual property
4. Key web links
5. Proforma letters of support- lead and partners
6. Project impact planning
7. Information about project team and governance
8. Information about project budget, funding and payment
9. Definitions and descriptions
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Key things to note in making an application
›1
Value of the project
›2
Impact beyond the institution
›3
Methodology
›4
Technical requirements
› The value of the project is the most important factor in determining
funding.
› However an application which is professional and compliant provides
evidence that you are well organized
› and that the grant is well planned and likely to deliver on outcomes.
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