The following are responses to questions that were posed during our 13 June webinar regarding the funding call (recording available here), in addition to some frequently asked questions that have been received via email.

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Q: Who is the institutional lead for my institution?

The institutional leads for all eligible institutions are listed below (some yet to be confirmed – these will be added when confirmed):

Institution Institutional Lead
Athlone IT Nuala Harding
Cork IT Marese Birmingham
Dublin City University Billy Kelly
Dundalk IT Moira Maguire
Galway-Mayo IT Carina Ginty
Institute of Art, Design and Technology Therese Moylan
IT Carlow Gina Noonan
IT Sligo Niamh Plunkett
IT Tralee Tom Farrelly
Letterkenny IT Billy Bennett
Limerick IT Brendan Murphy
Mary Immaculate College Gwen Moore
Maynooth University Alison Hood
National College of Art and Design Sarah Glennie
NUI Galway Iain MacLaren
St Angela’s College Declan Courell
Trinity College Dublin Linda Darbey
TU Dublin Jen Harvey
University College Cork Laura Lee
University College Dublin Áine Galvin
University of Limerick Mary Fitzpatrick
Waterford IT Laura Widger

Q: Are there particular criteria for the selection of the institutional lead?

A: No, that is a decision for each institution. Institutional leads are nominated by the Registrar/Vice-President for Teaching & Learning, or equivalent, in each institution.

Q: I’m not sure why it’s called a ‘call’ since it is allocated funding? A number of people here, for example, have been in touch with me asking how they can bid to the Forum for various projects, so I’ve had to explain to them that it is not ‘a call’ in the traditional sense.

A: This is a non-competitive funding call. A funding amount has been allocated for each eligible higher education institution. However, there is a need for each institution to identify and submit proposals for the teaching and learning initiatives that they intend to support with their allocated funding. Rather than competing for funding, institutions need to demonstrate how they will use funding within the parameters of the call. It is therefore the responsibility of the institutions to seek/develop proposals and determine which to put forward for inclusion within the funding allocation.

Q: Can an institution apply for more than one initiative?

A: Yes. Each institution must allocate a minimum of €25K to initiative type 001/19 to support local enhancement projects. Each institution should also submit proposals for any of the other three types of T&L Initiatives (T&L Initiative Type 002/19 (Working towards DELTA); T&L Initiative Type 003/19 (Working Across Disciplines); T&L Initiative Type 004/19 (Working with professional bodies/industry)) in any combination that supports their institutional context and priorities.

The number of proposals submitted should ensure that all allocated funding for the institution is committed across the proposed T&L Initiatives.

Q: Do you want one master application from each higher education institution with component parts, so you get a cohesive application from each institution?

A: Yes, each institution will submit one application, containing all individual proposals and associated presentations from that institution. A dedicated link to each institution’s application portal has been sent to the institutional lead in each institution. This link must be used for detailing and uploading presentations related to each teaching and learning initiative to be supported by the fund allocated to the institution. Essentially, it will be one master applications form that will require separate details and presentations for each proposed teaching and learning initiative.

Q: Initiative Type 001 involves T&L units seed fund local enhancement projects (LEPs). Does a proposal/project details need to be submitted for each LEP?

No. The Type 01 Initiative, irrespective of the number of local enhancement projects included in it, is considered one initiative and so each institution should have one proposal for that initiative type within their overall application. The video/recorded presentation submitted as part of that proposal should give a high-level overview of the approach taken by the T&L unit in seed funding local enhancement projects. Details of the individual LEPs is not required at proposal stage.

Q: Do we have to adhere to the budget guidelines?

A: The budget guidelines are based on the experience of the National Forum in funding enhancement projects previously. However, each institution can choose to allocate budgets to their proposed teaching and learning initiatives according to their needs. The exception is that at least €25K must be allocated by each institution to Initiative Type 001/19.

Q: Is there a maximum limit for the amount that can be allocated to Type 001 Initiative proposals?

While there is no specified maximum for this Initiative Type, and there is some flexibility in terms of the budget allocated to proposals for any Initiative Type, the fund is not intended to support Initiative Type 001 only. Each institutional application must contain one proposal under Initiative Type 001 and, to ensure a strong disciplinary focus, one or more proposals under one or more of Initiative Types 002, 003, 004. The aim of Initiative Type 001 is to stimulate small-scale local enhancement initiatives, providing an opportunity for those who have had limited engagement to date.

Q: What size should the LEPs be in the Type 001 Initiative?

As this is seed funding, it is expected that the €25000 allocated to Type 001 will fund a number of LEPs across each institution. The aim of Initiative Type 001 is to stimulate small-scale local teaching and learning enhancement initiatives, providing an opportunity for those who have had limited engagement to date. Larger initiatives focused on disciplines should be submitted instead under Proposal Types 002, 003 or 004.

Q: What kind of things can the money be spent on? Does it include, for example, staffing? And, on that point, with inter-institutional collaborations, is it possible to use part of the funding to fund a coordinator of the projects since there’s a lot of work associated with this aspect? Is the 15K for equipment allowable for any size proposal?

A: Money can be spent on staff and supporting them within the institution. It can, for example, be spent on consultation to support a teaching and learning initiative and/or it can be spent to recruit staff or to buy out staff time. It can be spent on equipment, providing any single item does not cost more than 15K and the total equipment spend per quarter does not exceed 20% of all costs for that quarter. The equipment that is purchased must be essential to ensuring the proposal plan deliverables are achieved. The funding can be spent on software, for example to pilot a particular approach, but careful consideration should be given to sustainability and how such software would be funded post 2020.

Can overheads be charged under this funding?

No, overheads cannot be charged under this funding.

Q: Can funding be used to supplement/expand an internally-funded project? Can funding be used to extend/build on previously funded T&L projects?

A: Yes, providing this does not lead to double funding and the teaching and learning initiative planned would be a clearly identifiable extension of the exiting project that meets a particular local priority.

Q: What are the National Forum's aspirations for collaboration across the sector in this call and what guidelines are being given to participants in relation to collaboration?

A: Inter-institutional collaboration is not required but is encouraged for Initiative Types 001, 002 and 003. It is important that institutions proposing an initiative under Type 004 explain how they will collaborate with professional bodies/industry to strengthen links and inform and be informed by each other’s expectations and understandings foster building stronger relationships.

Q: If a project is inter-institutional does it appear in each institution's master application and is the funding then divided between them?

A: Proposals involving collaborations across institutions are, of course, encouraged. In cases where institutions are collaborating on a proposed initiative, each collaborating institution should include the given teaching and learning initiative proposal in their application, identifying clearly the amount of their particular institutional funding to be allocated to the given initiative. The proposal in each case should also indicate that this is a collaborative initiative and who the partner institutions are. The proposal video should be developed in partnership between all collaborating partners and should be included within each individual institution’s submitted version of the proposal.

In practice, this will mean that where a collaboration is intended, it will be necessary for the institutions to agree on the collaboration and funding breakdown first and then include the individual proposals and the co-designed video in each institutional application accordingly.

What is the difference between a discipline group and programme team in the context of this call?

A programme team can be any group who is responsible for a given programme (even across disciplines), while a discipline group is specific to a subject area. People in different institutions define the discipline subject areas differently and we are happy to respect that.

Q: Is it possible to get approval quickly rather than have to wait until October? How do we overcome the difficulty of the time it takes to employ someone to run a project, given the timing restrictions?

A: Institutions know from now how much money they have been allocated (see appendix 1 of the call document) and, assuming they submit proposals that align with the criteria and conditions set out in the funding call, there will be no delay in that funding being released to them in November 2019. There is no barrier to institutions identifying staff/recruiting staff now to support the proposed teaching and learning initiatives in order to be in a position to begin the initiative immediately when the funding is released in November.

Q: What form of Creative Commons satisfies the requirement?

A: The CC BY license is the National Forum’s preferred open license. This is the most permissive license, enabling reuse, revision, remixing and redistribution by others, although all who use the resource must provide attribution to you as the creator. The specific choice of license is up to each creator (individual or group), however. For example, if a resource contains sensitive subject matter, you may determine that a different Creative Commons license is most appropriate (e.g. CC BY-ND). You are encouraged to consult with the National Forum and/or your institution to determine which license type should apply. If you would like further information on creative commons licenses please consult the National Forum Open Licensing Toolkit.

Q: I have an idea that I’d like to progress within two modules. A pilot with industry. Can this fund support an initiative at a micro level or should this be more a departmental application?

A: This is a decision for the institution and will depend on the approach it decides to take. Smaller-scale projects such as this might be best funded as local enhancement projects funded through T&L centres (or equivalent) using funding allocated to Initiative Type 001/19.

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All queries relating to this call should be forwarded to fund2019@teachingandlearning.ie. Please allow 48 hours for a response.