Winning funding case study

The SHARE Project
In 2009 JISC issued a call for bids through the Repository Start Up stream of the Information Environment Programme. NTU had previously received a small amount of JISC funding towards the Institutional Repository IRep project. The SHARE (supporting, harnessing and advancing repository enhancement) project bid referred to the work of this project but focused on the implementation of a learning and teaching repository, with its VLE NOW rather than the dissemination of research.

Research proposal
The proposal was to extend the University's repository provision by developing a Learning and Teaching Repository together with processes and strategies to effectively manage it.

Preparing and submitting the bid
Colleagues from the existing Learning Repository Working Group worked on the bid. JISC provided support in preparing bids in the form of:

• opportunities to consult with peer reviewers
• bid writing workshops
• online resources such as examples of successful bids
• briefings on the overall funding theme.

Further information on JISC funding

Tips for preparing and submitting bids

• Research the funding body, be aware of the types of bids they are likely to award. For example JISC focuses on technical developments and implementation of technology and processes rather than theoretical research outputs.
• Ensure that all requirements of the call are addressed within the bid (including technical, budgetary, reporting)
• Consider collaboration with other partners (including other HE institutions or external organisations). Bodies such as JISC may consider collaborative bids more favourably as they consider them to “spread the impact” of projects over a wider area.

Partners
The Canadian company Desire2Learn agreed to partner NTU in the SHARE bid by taking the project lead on technical developments.
Desire2Learn specialises in the provision of eLearning solutions to academic organisations and worked with NTU in the development of the NOW student portal. After funding was awarded NTU and Desire2Learn were required to sign a consortium agreement which confirms what outputs from the project will be made public (technical and non technical).

Funding award
In 2009 JISC awarded a total of £210,000 to the SHARE Project, to be released over two years, additionally there was matched funding from NTU and a £50,000 contribution in work from Desire2Learn

Managing the project
The SHARE project was one of the largest to be awarded funding within the Repository Start Up stream and this was reflected in the size of the project management team (eLearning Working Group). Initially the project team included 3 members of staff who worked between 2-5 days a week on the project, plus funding to “buy in” the time of other staff members from across the University.

Tips for managing a project

• Communication – regular communication with the project team is key. Two working practices which may aid this are;
  • Project Office - When staff are working a certain number of hours or days per week on a project. Having an office where all project staff can work together as a team is beneficial to team working and communication
  • Project Day – Having a set day a week set aside as “Project Day” and ensuring that all main project meetings and activities are scheduled for that day (within any given week) greatly aids project progress and work planning.
• Staff time. Carefully consider the pros and cons of staff secondments v buying out of time when preparing to bid
  • Secondments – where a member of staff works 100% of their working time, for a set period of time, on the project.
    • Pros
      • Staff will be able to concentrate fully on the project.
      • May aid project continuity and progress.
    • Cons
      • May be more expensive and therefore increase project costs.
      • May be more complicated to organize between departments.
  • Buying out time – A proportion of a member of staffs time is funded by the project to allow them to spend a set amount of hours per week working on the project.
    • Pros
      • Easier to organize between departments
      • A cheaper option.
    • Cons
      • Staff work on the project limited to agreed hours
      • Potential for conflict between project work and substantive post. If specific days/times for project work adhered to staff may find themselves “pulled back into their substantive post” – thus impacting on project progress.

Working with external partners
Desire2Learn are a Canadian based organisation so the early and precise scheduling of project meetings, allowing for time differences, was important. The successful negotiation of the consortium agreement was key to their contribution to the project. Close involvement with the project was maintained by holding project meetings via telephone and some video conferencing.

Tips for working with external partners

• Ensure all parties have a clear understanding of the consortium agreement
• Schedule meetings well in advance

Reporting requirements
JISC reporting requirements for the SHARE project were as follows;

• Project progress reports were to be made twice a year
• A final report and final budget report were required.

In addition JISC Programme Managers visited the project twice, reports from all projects in the stream were then aggregated and disseminated. It was also a requirement that the project website be kept live for three years after the conclusion of the project.

Tips for reporting

• Maintain communication with the funding body. Submission dates for reports can often be extended by negotiation.

Final thoughts and tips
Publicise your project to the by; academic community in its development by;

• presenting to conferences and groups
• Seeking advice and feedback from those that will ultimately use the tool/outputs
• Involve and make the most of the academic community. An example might be to invite staff members to ‘practical' meetings, which have the sole aim of resolving and issue or problem (technical/practical) within the project.
• Acquire project management skills (organisations such as JISC often run courses and workshops)
• Consider maintaining an ongoing live log of progress (perhaps as a blog). This would, not only, keep the project team up to date with developments as a useful project tracking tool but also be a useful reference tool when completing projects reports
• Project materials need to be accessible to all. Be aware that external partners will not have access to the University's drives etc.

For further information on the SHARE project please contact Vicki McGarvey, Senior eLearning Development Manager, CADQ.