Invitation to bid - strategic investment in international lifelong learning
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Introduction
1 This paper invites organisations to make bids for funding for strategic investment to support delivery of the aims of Scotland's international lifelong learning strategy. We expect that this programme will support a small number of projects of significant scale and impact across the lifelong learning sector. A total of £500,000 per annum for at least three years has been identified to support this activity.
2 The application form can be found here and any further queries should be sent to Internationallifelonglearning@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Background
3 The Government's Economic Strategy and National Performance Framework focus Government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. Internationally this means focussing in particular on increasing sustainable economic growth; on articulating and promoting an identity and image of Scotland as an excellent place in which to live, learn, visit, work, do business and invest; and promoting Scotland as an independent-minded nation. Work is underway to develop this approach further for each of the Government's Strategic Objectives (Wealthier and Fairer, Safer and Stronger, Smarter, Healthier and Greener).
4 Aligned with this thinking is International Lifelong Learning - Scotland's Contribution, known here as the international lifelong learning strategy, that was launched in March 2007.
5 The strategy includes a list of actions for further consideration, and a coordinating group has been set up to oversee the work of the various agencies who may be involved in future actions. In the Scottish Government's budget for FY 2008-09, resource has been allocated to support the implementation of the international lifelong learning strategy and the co-ordinating group has agreed that £500,000 of this funding should be earmarked for strategic initiatives. We anticipate that equal amounts of funding will be available in FY 2009-10 and 2010-11; decisions beyond that date will be determined by future spending reviews.
Purpose of funding
6 In announcing this new funding, the coordinating group wishes to emphasise that many of the actions suggested in the strategy are already being actively taken forward through the core activities of partner organisations, including the Scottish Government, the British Council, the Scottish Funding Council, other development agencies, and individual educational institutions. The purpose of this funding is not to directly support or replace the core activities of any of these bodies, but to add value to them by additional national activities.
7 We envisage that this can best be done by funding initiatives with the following characteristics:
· Initiatives should have a strategic focus which aims to enhance the capacity of the lifelong learning sector to meet the aims of the international lifelong learning strategy, for example by improving the effectiveness with which Scotland can attract, retain and benefit from the presence of international learners
· Initiatives should not seek to provide competitive advantage to specific institutions but should be based on collaborative approaches;
· Bids should not be made by any single educational institution unless this institution is acting on behalf of a larger consortium and it can be demonstrated that the activities for which funding is sought can benefit all institutions in that sector;
· It should be expected that projects will be financed on a matched funding basis i.e. half of the total amount of funding required will be provided by the organisation (or organisations) involved and the other half by the Scottish Government. There should be a clear indication of where this matched funding will come from and it should not involve funding obtained from other Government sources, for example the Fresh Talent: International Students Challenge Fund or the Prime Minister's Initiative.
· Bids should include explicit consideration of sustainability of the proposed initiative beyond the duration of external funding, and should indicate ways in which the initiative will seek to identify ways of embedding long-term funding as part of mainstream activities.
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Amount and profile of funding available for each bid
8 In keeping with the proposed national or sectoral scale of activities, the coordinating group has agreed a preference to concentrate the available funding on a small number of significant activities. The group is unlikely to fund activities costing less than £50k in total, on the grounds that such sums represent normal levels of investment in business enhancement, which are achievable by all educational providers from recurrent funding.
9 Over the anticipated three years of funding (total £1.5M) we expect to fund a number of strategic proposals, each of which may run for between one and three years.
10 We will aim to allocate all three years' funding in a single process. In indicating the proposed start date and spending profile for funding, bidders should take into account start-up delays associated with recruitment of staff and creation of partnership bodies.
Scope of proposals
11 Organisations are free to propose any activity that meets the above criteria. However, based on those key areas identified by the coordinating group, we have identified some categories of activity that appear to be of widespread interest in the sector and it may be helpful to potential bidders to be aware of these. Areas of interest identified so far include:
· Activities to support post-graduation employment of international students in Scotland, such as improved links with employers, work experience placements within programmes, referral services, and/or guidance and advisory services;
· Development of institutional capacity to engage successfully in international education, for example through improved strategic planning, new forms of market intelligence, relationship building with key overseas agencies, and/or improved awareness and knowledge of relevant market factors;
· Enhanced profile for Scotland in key international markets, for example through additional marketing activities and/or placement of key staff;
· Enhancement of the quality of the educational experience for international students in Scotland, for example through guidance and support services and improved links with the wider Scottish community;
· Activities with a particular emphasis on enhanced outward mobility for students, researchers and staff.
Criteria for selection of bids
12 Bids will be evaluated against the criteria listed below, and decisions on funding will be taken in order to obtain maximum value for the use of public funds.
· Impact on the aims identified in the international lifelong learning strategy: will the proposed activities address and help to deliver some of the key aims of the strategy? Has the extent of the intended impact been realistically estimated e.g. by using results the findings of previous research?
· Evidence of demand: to what extent is the project based on sound educational or market research which demonstrates an unmet need?
· Innovation and linkage with existing activities: Do the proposed activities replicate work which has already been done elsewhere, or overlap unhelpfully with the core business of an existing agency or organisation? Have the bidders considered the scope for synergies and the impact on relationships between existing bodies? Do the proposed activities represent significant strategic change on a scale which institutions could not be expected to fund from their own resources?
· Technical feasibility: Are the proposed activities technically achievable within the timescales and budgets proposed, given the skill sets and experience of the bidding institutions?
· Organisational commitment: to what extent is the project consistent with current strategies and values of the bidding organisation(s)? Is there a clear commitment by the bidding organisation(s) to support the proposed activities and to undertake any structural change necessary to fully implement the proposed activities?
· Sustainability: is there evidence of a strategy to ensure that the proposed activities can be sustained beyond the period of external funding? For example, have the bidding organisations made a commitment to provide longer-term funding? Have any potential savings been identified through substitution for existing practices?
· Wider Benefits: Have the bidders identified clear benefits from the proposed activity for Scotland's lifelong learning sector and its learners? Where the bid involves the creation of Intellectual Property Rights, have the bidders clearly indicated how these will be managed in order to maximise the benefit to the sectors as a whole? Is there a clear plan for dissemination of the project outcomes to the sector(s)?
· Project team capacity: is there evidence that the bidders have access to an appropriate range of project management and organisational skills in order to demonstrate a capacity to manage and deliver this project on time and to budget? Are timetables realistic e.g. in comparison to similar previous projects? Are risks identified and addressed? Where the bid is based on a consortium, is the role of each partner clearly and appropriately identified?
Next steps
13 Bids should be submitted on the application form to Internationallifelonglearning@scotland.gsi.gov.uk by 1 September 2008. The coordinating group will make arrangements to consider bids and provide recommendations to Ministers.
14 The coordinating group will ensure that there are no conflicts of interested created when making appropriate arrangements to consider the bids.
15 In the event that two or more bidders make similar proposals, the coordinating group reserves the right to approach all such bidders in order to explore the possibility of revising and resubmitting a single proposal based on broader collaboration. Where such collaboration is not possible, the coordinating group may then decide to support none, one, or more than one of such overlapping bids.
16 Any further queries should be sent to Internationallifelonglearning@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
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