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Public and Community Engagement Module Development Fund

Do you want to include public or community engagement in your teaching?

The Public and Community Engagement Module Development Fund could support you. With this fund, we aim to facilitate innovation in the design or pedagogy of modules to include public or community engagement. We hope it will help departments to grow their own approaches to including public or community engagement in the curriculum by providing funding and by linking creators into the supportive expertise of colleagues in WIE, WIHEA and IATL.

Information session

All applicants are required to either attend an information session or meet with a member of the team. This is to help you put together a strong application and understand what support is available during your project. If you can’t attend a session, please contact Helen at to arrange a chat instead. The next information session is on 26th January at 2.00pm - 3.00pm, via Microsoft Teams.

Project types

Applications to the fund are welcomed under two categories: either innovation within an existing module or creation of a new module.

Innovation within an existing module

Apply for funding and support to develop new public or community engagement elements within a taught module(s) at UG or PGT level, through which students learn about and practise public or community engagement. The development process must include co-creation with a student or students.

The funding could be used to:

  • Pay for staff time.
  • Pay for student time. (See FAQ below for Unitemps costs.)
  • Purchase permanent resources for the teaching of the module.
  • Undertake relevant training or attend conferences that will inform the development process.
  • Pay for one-off costs to support effective working relationships with community partners.

The above is not an exhaustive list. If you have other ideas of how you want to spend your budget, please explain and justify them in your application.

Please note that if buying equipment, it must be specifically for use in the module. E.g., a laptop for a co-creator would not be funded.

The fund is intended to have sustainable, long-term impact so it should not be used for costs that only benefit one running of a module. For example, it should not be used to support students to do an engagement activity this year that couldn’t be repeated without additional funding the following year. Instead, for example, you could purchase equipment or learning resources that students could use every year.

Expected outputs from your project:

  1. New public/community engagement element(s) within existing taught module(s) at UG or PGT level, through which students learn about and practise public/community engagement. For example:
    • A new form of assessment related to public engagement (such as a blog, vlog, or engagement project).
    • A new, non-assessed project students undertake during the module.
    • Public engagement-related resources (e.g., commissioning a video about public engagement approaches with external experts).
    • Other innovation specified by you in your application. This list is not exhaustive and your innovative ideas are welcomed.

  2. If funding is used, a financial report on how it has been spent.
  3. A case study for the WIE website which future applicants to the fund could learn from. Examples of webpages about existing modules can be found here. You might choose to present yours in a different way that suits you, for example by using videos or photos.
  4. After the first running of your module, provide some additional reflections and examples for colleagues via our website.

Funding:

Up to £2,000. Applications for support without funding are also welcomed.

Application process

All applicants are required to either attend an information session or meet with a member of the team. This is to help you put together a strong application and understand what support is available during your project. If you can’t attend a session, please contact Helen at to arrange a short meeting instead. The date of the next information session will be advertised shortly.

Following this preparation, you will fill in two forms: one brief form to help us monitor our reach and keep in touch with you about WIE's work, and then a separate application form providing the review panel with the information they will need to make a decision about your project.

The next submission deadline will be published shortly; it is likely to be mid- to late April.

We aim to let you know the outcome of your application within three weeks, and make your budget available two weeks after that. Please read 'planning your project - timing and funding' below to help you plan a realistic timeline.

Application form

The application form is currently closed. It will be reopened in mid- to late March.

When you are ready to apply, start here. The first page asks for some contact and monitoring information; this will not be used to judge your application. The second page is the application form. While logged in, you will be able to save your progress on the form. If you require any help with accessing the application form or you notice a glitch, please contact Helen at .

Co-creation

This video about co-creation has been shared by colleagues in IATL to help you consider how to ground your project in co-creation with students. Students involved as co-creators should be paid at FA4 - see below FAQ for advice on Unitemps rates.

Planning your project – timing and funding

Please check processes and deadlines within your department for approval of module changes or creation. Please factor these into your planning and include them in the project timeline in your application.

Funding must be spent by 31st July as that is the end of the University’s financial year. We recognise that you may not receive final approval of your module changes or creation until 23-24, depending on the departmental and University deadlines you plan to work towards. This is fine, and we are happy to continue to provide advice after the end of the financial year, should you need it.

  • Attend an information session or arrange a meeting if you can't make it.
  • You may find it helpful to look at examples here.
  • Check deadlines in your department for making changes to modules or creating new ones. (You can find a summary of the University process here and FAQs here.)
  • Get departmental support for your project idea and include this with your application.

Frequently asked questions