• Introduction
• Project basics
• Timescales
• Themes
• Structure
• Funding
• Mentors
• About

Funding

How much funding is available?

In most cases, projects will receive around £3,000, with a few larger projects receiving up to £10,000.

Projects focusing on employer engagement will receive a fixed budget of £3,000.

Projects that receive over £7,000 will be asked to liaise with their Links Regional Centre to arrange a dissemination event.

How is the amount decided?

In your application you will be asked to indicate the total amount of funding you are requesting and to show how you intend to meet the costs of the project. We advise you to write a budget that is an honest assessment of what you will need to spend.

Projects that receive larger amounts of funding need to show that they are greater in scope and/or ambition. If a strong proposal is submitted but there are some doubts about the amount of funding requested, LinkedUp may ask the lead institution to revise and resubmit the application.

What can be funded?

As a guide, funding can include the cost of:

• developing and sharing learning resources
• activities with learners, in and out of school, that are essential to the project and would not otherwise be taking place
• travel to meetings or briefings (including a briefing for the mentor and lead partner at your regional Links centre)
• phone calls or videoconferencing
• a relevant CPD course (normally for one person who feeds back information)
• supply cover for the lead partner for coordination of the project
• supply cover for partners for identified activities (but see the note below about supply cover)
• payment for the time of partners who are not school-based
• briefing or consultation meetings, eg. for parents
• stationery, CDs/DVDs and photocopying/printing
• other expenditure if clearly needed to enable you to meet your objectives

Mentor expenses

Your budget should include expenses incurred by your mentor, for example phone calls or travel expenses. We recommend that you discuss this with him/her before submitting the form. If this is not possible, it would be wise to set aside around £100. You do not need to include the cost of the mentor’s honorarium, which will be paid separately by ALL.

Overseas visits

Funding cannot subsidise an overseas visit, but could be used for an additional aspect or activity during a visit. You may not give any funding to schools that are outside the United Kingdom.

Supply cover

Please consider your use of supply cover carefully to make sure that there is enough funding for other expenditure. For example, it is appropriate to enable teachers to observe lessons or to work together for a short period with a clear outcome in view. In contrast, it would be a less effective use of funding to hold a meeting that required a full day’s cover for all partners.

Co-funding

It is possible to contribute funding from another source to enhance the scope of a LinkedUp project. If this applies in your case, you will be asked to provide details in the application.

What can’t be funded?

Funding will not be provided for:

• large scale commercial resources such as sets of text books or software licenses
• ICT infrastructure or classroom furniture and fittings
• alcoholic drinks, restaurant meals or catering at project team meetings
• any items or activities which do not directly contribute to the success of the project