Summer 2013
SAPS Associate Awards – Application Guidelines and
Terms and Conditions
Applicants should ensure that they are referring to the current application form and
guidelines available from the SAPS website at www.saps.org.uk/awards
Background and Aims
The Science and Plants for Schools (SAPS) programme aims to strengthen plant science
education in UK schools and colleges. SAPS is a programme funded by the Gatsby Charitable
Foundation and based in the Botanic Garden of the University of Cambridge.
SAPS Associate Awards are available to teachers and technicians enabling them to develop an
idea or activity that will enhance the teaching of plant science in their school or college. These
Awards are only available to teachers and technicians registered as SAPS Associates engaged
in secondary and post-16 science education in the UK. Awards of up to £500 per application
will be paid to the applicant’s school/college on satisfactory completion of the funded activity.
SAPS Associate Awards support teachers or technicians working in one of the following areas:
 producing a plant-based teaching resource that can be used in other schools or colleges
 undertaking an opportunity that will advance the applicant’s knowledge/practice in
relation to plant science teaching and learning (beyond conventional CPD courses)
 others at the discretion of the SAPS office
SAPS particularly encourages activities which do one or more of the following:
 target 16-19 year olds
 focus on areas of interest for new SAPS resources and/or current themes for
development (see below)
 will offer a novel representation of plant science in the classroom
 may lead to resources that are Relevant, Affordable, Reliable and Engaging (RARE)
 do not duplicate an existing SAPS resource
Topic areas and themes currently of interest to SAPS for development can be found at
www.saps.org.uk/awards
SAPS will not fund an application where:
 the proposed activity, and associated benefits to the applicant, are possible without a
SAPS Associate Award (for example where bursaries already exist)
 the award is to be used solely or predominantly for a formal CPD course, a single piece
of equipment or on transport costs
 the outcomes of the proposed activity have limited transferability to other settings (e.g.
rely on specialist expertise or costly equipment not available in most schools)
Steps in application and timeline
15.04..2013
13.05.2013
03.06.2013
17.06.2013
13.01.2014
Funding round opens
Submission deadline for applications
Notification of results, successful candidates sent Award Agreement Form
Deadline for return of Award Agreement Form
Latest date for submission of resources based on completed activity. Resources
may be submitted earlier than this. Award Report form sent out on receipt
of resource
Science and Plants for Schools, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, 1 Brookside, Cambridge CB2 1JE
(t) 01223 748455 (e) saps@hermes.cam.ac.uk (w) www.saps.org.uk
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Summer 2013
20.01.2014
Latest date for return of Award Report forms
Once the resource and Award Report Form have been received and approved by SAPS, the
award will be released to the applicant’s school/college.
Application Form Notes
Numbering relates to fields on the Application Form.
1. Contact details of Applicant and Head Teacher/Bursar
Applicants MUST be registered as SAPS Associates. Applicants who are not SAPS Associates
can register here: www.saps.org.uk/associates
Applicants must be teachers or technicians currently based in a secondary or post-16 UK
school or college. Payment of the award will be made to the school/college of the applicant, not
the applicant directly. The contact details of the Head Teacher/Bursar will be used to arrange
payment details.
Previous holders of SAPS Associate Awards may apply again, but only for a different activity,
and only if the SAPS office has paid out the first award in acknowledgement that the previous
activity has been successfully completed.
2. Summary of proposal (max 20 words)
This should be a brief and simple explanation of the nature of the project.
For example:
‘I want to create a resource to help teach about plant hormones’
‘I want to develop a new practical activity using plant enzymes’
‘I want to attend a plant science seminar to update my knowledge’
‘I want to write a case study for my students on a key issue in plant science relevant to society’
‘I want to create a database drawing from real plant science research for my students to use’
3. Description of planned activity (max 500 words)
This section should explain:
 how the funding will be used
(e.g. purchase equipment necessary for a practical activity, pay for supply cover in
order to develop a resource, pay for registration fees to attend a meeting)
 what the project aims to achieve in terms of students’ learning outcomes
(e.g. improve students’ understanding of plant transport, or increase students’
awareness of plant science research, or develop students’ plant-based practical
skills)
 how the activity will be developed
(e.g. make contact with a plant scientist or educationalist, take a day off to develop
idea in the school lab, brainstorm with colleagues in the science department)
SAPS is particularly keen to understand whether the aim of the planned activity is to develop
teaching in relation to the curriculum, or to go beyond the curriculum and try out new ideas and
activities.
Science and Plants for Schools, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, 1 Brookside, Cambridge CB2 1JE
(t) 01223 748455 (e) saps@hermes.cam.ac.uk (w) www.saps.org.uk
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Summer 2013
The applicant and his/her school are responsible for the assessment and management of any
Health and Safety risks associated with the activity planned to be carried out with a SAPS
Associate Award. If in any doubt, school science safety advisory services are available for
detailed advice–CLEAPSS (www.cleapss.org.uk) or SSERC in Scotland (www.sserc.org.uk).
4. Start date of activity and expected duration
The start date should be at least 4 weeks after the application deadline and the activity should
be complete ideally within a few months and definitely by 4th October 2013. Any
outputs/resources generated by SAPS Award activities should be based on relevant SAPS
templates. Sample templates are available at: www.saps.org.uk/awards
5. Total amount sought from SAPS (up to a maximum of £500)
This should include any VAT applicable. If the total cost of the activity is greater than the
amount sought from SAPS, an indication of the total cost of the activity and the source of
additional funding should be included. Please also indicate if your proposal includes the use of
matching funds from another organisation.
6. Detailed expenditure
Please include a breakdown of the expected expenditure for the SAPS Associate Award, and
where relevant, the expenditure for the activity as a whole if a SAPS Associate Award is not the
only source of funding.
It is appreciated that this may be an estimate. However, a reasonably accurate list of the items
and costs the SAPS award is expected to cover is necessary to assess its viability.
NOTE THAT A SAPS ASSOCIATE AWARD CANNOT BE USED FOR:
 purchasing items not integral to the activity (e.g. everyday equipment unrelated to the
activity)
 unreasonable travel (e.g. first class) or subsistence costs
 part costs towards any activity which is not focused on plant science teaching and
learning
If there is any doubt about proposed expenditure, please contact the SAPS office for further
advice. Successful applicants may be asked to provide evidence of their expenditure on
completion of their projects. Award amounts will be based on actual, not projected, expenditure
and will not exceed £500.
7. Likely output of activity
Please indicate what the tangible result of the activity is expected to be. This should be
something which could be shared with SAPS and other SAPS Associates.
For example, a written teaching resource, a database, a written case study, an article based on
a learning experience, a piece of software, a collection of images, a new protocol for
technicians, a guidance sheet for students.
8. How the resource will be shared with other schools and colleges
Science and Plants for Schools, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, 1 Brookside, Cambridge CB2 1JE
(t) 01223 748455 (e) saps@hermes.cam.ac.uk (w) www.saps.org.uk
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Summer 2013
Applicants are encouraged to consider how they can share the outcomes of their activity with
others. For example, a presentation at a departmental meeting, or an invitation to local
teachers/technicians to a workshop run by a SAPS Associate Award holder, or a written article
for a science education journal.
In addition, those resources deemed suitable by SAPS may be put on the SAPS website for use
by others. SAPS may invite successful award holders to talk to other teachers/technicians about
their experience. Other ideas on how outputs could be shared are welcome.
9. Signature and authorisation
Signatures are required to confirm that both the applicant and his/her school have agreed to the
terms and conditions of the award.
What happens next?
It is expected that applications will be acknowledged by email within one week of the deadline.
All eligible applications will be reviewed by a panel based on the criteria set out below. This
panel will comprise mainly of SAPS staff, but others may be invited to comment on applications
where specific expertise will help in decision-making.
Assessment criteria
Applications will be assessed according the following criteria:
 how well the proposed activity meets SAPS’ aims to engage and excite 11-19 year olds
with plant science
 the likely success of the proposed activity
 the activity’s feasibility in terms of timescale, outputs/outcomes and costs
 how clearly the applicant relates the activity to an aspect of plant science relevant to UK
curricula OR proposes an innovative activity that will go beyond the curriculum
 the stated commitment to sharing ideas and resources resulting from the activity with
others
It is expected that decisions will be made within 4 weeks of the application deadline. The
decision of SAPS will be final and while SAPS will endeavour to provide feedback on request to
any unsuccessful applicants, SAPS reserves the right not to enter into any correspondence
about these processes.
Successful applicants will be sent a short Award Agreement form to fill in before the activity
starts.
On completion of the funded activity, applicants will be required to submit an Award Report form
to SAPS. Once this and any resources generated by the activity have been approved by SAPS,
the award funding will be released to the school.
Science and Plants for Schools, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, 1 Brookside, Cambridge CB2 1JE
(t) 01223 748455 (e) saps@hermes.cam.ac.uk (w) www.saps.org.uk
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Summer 2013
Appendix 1: Terms and Conditions of a SAPS Associate Award
Successful payment of SAPS Associate Awards will depend on the acceptance of the following
conditions by the applicant and his/her school/college:
1. The award will come from the University of Cambridge via the Science and Plants for
Schools (SAPS) programme. Schools/Colleges must ensure that the funds awarded are
used to reimburse expenses incurred as a result of developing the proposed activity in
the application.
2. All activities have a completion date of 13.01.2014.
3. A SAPS Associate Award Report endorsed/agreed by the applicant’s school/college,
including a statement of expenditure, must be submitted to and approved by SAPS
before the award will be paid out.
4. The applicant and his/her school/college are responsible for obtaining all copyright
permissions for images and text included in resource materials.
5. The applicant and his or her school/college are responsible for the assessment and
management of any Health and Safety risks associated with the activity planned to be
carried out with a SAPS Associate Award.
6. It is the intention that any resource(s) generated by a SAPS Associate Award will be
made widely available, primarily through the SAPS website, via a Creative Commons
license. Further information on creative commons licensing, widely used in education,
can be found here: http://creativecommons.org/. SAPS will ensure that the applicant is
credited as the originator of any resource, and that the resource can be freely and easily
used by others to develop their own practice in science education.
Science and Plants for Schools, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, 1 Brookside, Cambridge CB2 1JE
(t) 01223 748455 (e) saps@hermes.cam.ac.uk (w) www.saps.org.uk
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