JISC Techdis is running two funding competitions on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The competitions are aimed at technology developers and designed to promote independent learning.

The opportunities, which require organisations to develop feasibility proposals in the area of assistive technology, are part of the SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) programme. The programme encourages innovative solutions to specific public sector needs by engaging a broad range of companies in competitions that result in technology development contracts.

The first SBRI competition; ‘Making Waves,’ is designed to enhance communications, a learned skill and a basic human right. Learners with disabilities though, may lack independence due to an inability to communicate by speech or lack of motor control.

The second; ‘Plain Sailing’ focuses on enabling users to produce and access navigable and personalisable digital information independently, anytime, anywhere, in a user-friendly way.

A total of £500,000 has been set aside, which is likely to fund 3 or 4 contracts in each competition and organisations that may be interested in entering can find out more information at www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/sbricompetitions.

Additional enquiries can be sent to helpdesk@techdis.ac.uk.

Closing date for entries: Noon 15th March 2011.

LSIS news article

Conversations with further education and skills providers lead to the setting up of a new LSIS regional response fund

With a deadline for applications of 25 February, the LSIS regional response fund will support immediate improvement needs in the further education and skills sector brought about as a result of changes to funding mechanisms and allocations.

LSIS recognises the need for support and is looking for bids that will enable providers in an English region, to deal collectively with operational, funding and planning challenges set by new government agendas.

Broadly, the fund can be used to:

• set up a regional group involving LSIS Council members to use their regional intelligence on local/sectoral need and focus on priorities;
• promote activity and share  outcomes, ideas and effective practice across all parts of the sector, and across a whole region;
• help organisations to respond quickly to the challenges of   reduced funding and new priorities; and
• promote collaborative, sector-led activities that allow providers to enhance quality improvement in straitened times.

To find out more about the fund and how to apply, contact your LSIS regional development manager. The LSIS regional development manager for London is:

The idea for the fund resulted from recent conversations involving LSIS Council members and a wide range of participants across the further education and skills sector in England. The Council is particularly concerned to develop the creative and entrepreneurial skills that leaders and managers need to anticipate policy change and interpret, and respond to new freedoms and flexibilities.

The outcomes of the support will be disseminated widely to enable us to develop further, the leadership and management skills of a continuously changing sector.

Full article

Universities and colleges in England stand to benefit from a new programme of services and investment to deliver efficiencies through shared services in cloud computing infrastructure and applications.

The £12.5 million programme is part of a suite of activities under the University Modernisation Fund (UMF), a HEFCE fund that aims to help universities and colleges deliver better efficiency and value for money through the development of shared services.

This new programme, which will be managed by JISC, supports colleges and universities in the innovative use of digital technologies. The programme has two core elements:

• Investment of up to £10 million in cloud computing, shared IT infrastructure, support to deliver virtual servers, storage and data management applications.
• Investment of up to £2.5 million to establish cloud computing and shared services in central administration functions to support learning, teaching, and research.

David Sweeney, HEFCE Director for Research, Innovation and Skills, said: ‘At a time of pressure on university resources, it is critical that technology is used in a collaborative and cost-effective way, to deliver services that will benefit the sector. Cloud computing has the potential to do this in ways which will serve the academic community leading to improvements in research, teaching and administration.’

 Further details are available at: http://hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2011/cloud.htm

Cut the Carbon Fund
Closing date for applications: 31 January 2011 5:00pm

LSIS is pleased to invite bids from learning and skills provider organisations to join the new Cut the Carbon Fund (CCF).

The fund is designed to support projects to evaluate, further develop, expand and embed effective approaches to reducing the sector’s carbon emissions and to share these approaches and systems with other providers.

Bids, up to a maximum of £8,000, may be submitted by provider organisations working individually or in collaboration with others but must be for activities that would have transferable learning and benefits for the wider sector rather than just an individual organisation.

The FAQs indicate that bids can be accepted from “organisations in England whose primary function is as a provider of further education and training. Eligible providers are SFA/YPLA-funded organisations (other than schools) subject to inspection by Ofsted, with no inspection grades less than satisfactory in their most recent Ofsted inspection report. The only eligible Higher Education Institutions are those with learning and skills provision funded by the SFA/YPLA. This aspect of their provision would also be subject to inspection by Ofsted.”

Projects should be completed by 31st March 2011.

Applications can be made using the following forms:

CCF invitation (.doc, 153KB)
CCF Frequently asked questions (.doc, 162KB)
CCF application form (.doc, 158KB)

Funding opportunity from ESCalate…

Maximum per award £5,000
Awards per round  3
Deadline for proposal   Monday, 31 January 2011

Funding is intended to support innovative teaching and scholarship amongst teachers and lecturers from across the UK who work on higher education programmes within Education, Continuing Education and Life Long Learning. We are particularly interested in receiving bids from teams within the HE in FE sector.

Projects should directly benefit education students through developments in pedagogy and practice. Applications must demonstrate a scholarly approach to raising the status of teaching and learning. Applications must include plans for dissemination of outcomes both within the award holder’s institution and beyond, and include strategies for evaluation.

Successful projects will:

• support the development of pedagogy and practice in HE;
• allow award holders to develop their ideas, practices and resources in ways that directly support student learning;
• actively promote and disseminate findings and outcomes both within the award holder’s institution and beyond.

Full details and online application available on the ESCalate website

Closing date for applications: 4 January 2011 midday

LSIS  has  announced the opportunity for existing Support for Excellence and new Peer Review and Development groups to access funding for innovative curriculum design and developing new ways of learning in 14 – 19 vocational education and training.

Grants of up to £20,000 are available for collaborative development which will involve at least two organisations within the group. The intention is that the curriculum development and design solutions will enable capacity building within the sector to improve the quality of 14 – 19 vocational education.

For further details and to apply visit the LSIS funding page

Further  information about Support for Excellence

Teaching and Learning Cascading professional development funds: London region

Closing date for applications: 10 December 2010 5:00pm

LSIS is pleased to invite bids from learning and skills provider organisations for funding from its Flexibility and Innovation Fund. The Fund is designed to support innovative projects with the potential to secure significant improvements in sector practice or performance.

Bids, for up to a maximum of £50,000, may be submitted by provider organisations working in collaboration with others to carry out innovative work that would benefit the wider sector. LSIS will particularly welcome bids from providers working through cross-sector and extra-sector consortia arrangements.

Guidance on eligibility, funding criteria and how to apply for funding is available on the Excellence Gateway:

Flexibility and Innovation Fund on the Excellence Gateway

The fourth funding round opens on Wednesday 1 September 2010 and closes on Friday 29 October 2010.

LSIS is pleased to invite bids from learning and skills provider organisations for funding from its Flexibility and Innovation Fund. The Fund is designed to support innovative projects with the potential to secure significant improvements in sector practice or performance.

Bids, for up to a maximum of £50,000, may be submitted by provider organisations working in collaboration with others to carry out innovative work that would benefit the wider sector. LSIS will particularly welcome bids from providers working through cross-sector and extra-sector consortia arrangements.

Guidance on eligibility, funding criteria and how to apply for funding is available on the Excellence Gateway:

Flexibility and Innovation Fund on the Excellence Gateway

The fourth funding round opens on Wednesday 1 September 2010 and closes on Friday 29 October 2010.

Leadership in technology (LIT) grant based intervention

Closing date: Friday 17th September 2010 12:00pm

LSIS is inviting bids from learning providers, across FE and Skills, for project grants of £6000 for technology based improvement interventions. The grant is designed to support providers who identify a particular improvement need that can be tackled through the innovative use of technology and organisational development. This should enable organisations to use technology to achieve measurable and/or clearly identifiable benefits. The scheme aims to use sector expertise and best practice through mentoring, coupled with support from targeted LSIS Leadership of elearning programme activity.

Successful bids will also be eligible to bid for a capital grant the amount of which is yet to be determined.  The details of this will be finalised early in the autumn term and successful bids will automatically qualify for the fund.

Full details:  LSIS website