Project Proposal Guidelines

Project details

Project overview

Please ensure that the Project Overview conforms to the following basic structure:

• The project aims to...
• The project will involve [personnel and activities]...
• The outcomes of the project will be...
• The innovative features of this project are...

Indigenous focus

Please indicate whether the project is an Indigenous project. The project may be categorised as Indigenous if it does one or more of the following:

• Focuses on the teaching and improved learning outcomes of Indigenous students
• Is conducted in schools with significant proportions of Indigenous students
• Involves significant Indigenous cultural content which promotes Indigenous cultural inclusiveness and takes account of the context of Indigenous students
• Has significant Indigenous community involvement
• Is reliant on the involvement of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander teachers, Teacher Associates or others in a teaching or instructional capacity.

Personnel

Project Coordinator

The nominated Project Coordinator and their school/organisation may not be changed without their first notifying Curriculum Corporation. Please contact the ASISTM helpline, (03) 9657 9748, or email asistm@curriculum.edu.au, to enable changes to these details. Other contact details for the Project Coordinator may be updated at any time.

To assist with mailing and administration it is important that address details are entered correctly in the appropriate fields.

Deputy Project Coordinator

All details for the Deputy Project Coordinator may be changed at any time.

To assist with mailing and administration, it is important that address details are entered correctly in the appropriate fields.

Partner Organisations

The cluster should comprise the same partners as were entered on the Expression of Interest form. Before adding or removing a Partner Organisation, please contact the ASISTM Help Line, 03 9657 9748, or email asistm@curriculum.edu.au. Changes may be made to specific details within existing partner entries without notification to the ASISTM Help Line.

A Project Leader for each Partner Organisation must also be nominated, who will assume responsibility for project activities within their school or organisation. To assist with mailing and administration, it is important that address details are entered correctly in the appropriate fields.

Remember to ensure that the list of Partner Organisations includes the school(s)/organisation(s) from which the Project Coordinator, Deputy Coordinator and Teacher Associates are drawn. The Project Coordinator and/or Deputy Project Coordinator should be named as Project Leaders for their respective school(s)/organisation(s). It is very important that these details are entered correctly.

Applicants are required to add a short outline of how each cluster partner will be involved in the project. This should briefly describe the contribution of that school or organisation to the project, including any special resources or expertise each partner may be providing (maximum 100 words per partner). Where two or more partners are contributing in similar ways, text may be duplicated.

Teacher Associates

Applicants should provide as much information about each Teacher Associate in the fields provided as is available at the time the Project Proposal is submitted. Where Teacher Associates can be named, one entry should be completed for each individual Teacher Associate. Where Teacher Associates have not yet been individually identified (for example three graduate Technology students from a particular institution), one entry can be completed for the whole group, provided it is clear that the information is the same for all Teacher Associates. Where the name is not yet known enter To Be Confirmed in the field.

Applicants are reminded that Teacher Associates are intended to work with students, acting as role models and helping teachers to motivate students by bringing their 'real-life' experiences using Science, Technology or Mathematics into the classroom. They might be tertiary students studying for a degree in a related discipline, researchers, science/technology/mathematics professionals, or others who can provide examples of how these learning areas relate to a wider context beyond the classroom.

Personnel in the project who are not working directly with students should not be listed as Teacher Associates (see below).

Other project personnel

Besides Project Coordinators, Deputy Project Coordinators, Project Leaders and Teacher Associates, a project may also choose to engage various other personnel to assist with such matters as quality assurance, professional development or project planning. Any personnel fulfilling additional roles in the project should be described under Consultants, with a separate entry made for each role.

All projects will also be provided with a Critical Friend, to assist Project Coordinators with the successful implementation of their project, and to advise on quality assurance. These external Critical Friends will be drawn from a national pool of experts, created and funded by DEST especially for the ASISTM Project. The extent of the external Critical Friend's involvement in the project will vary according to the extent of the project's existing quality assurance processes, and the provision of an external Critical Friend from the national pool should not deter projects from budgeting to engage someone else in an internal Critical Friend role, if desired.

Rationale

Information provided in the Expression of Interest [EoI] has been inserted into the relevant categories on the Project Proposal. Applicants are advised to revise any existing answers to the Rationale answers already provided, particularly in reponse to any feedback provided in the Assessment Comments of the EoI.

Alignment to the specific learning area needs to be appropriately addressed. Please ensure that Technology refers to the Technology learning area and not ICT or the use of some technology tools to support one of the learning areas. The Technology box should not be ticked unless the project comprehensively addresses the Technology learning area or Technology Education.

What theory, research and/or practice has informed the development of your project?

This is a brief explanation of the educational or pedagogical theory that drives your project, the practices which might have inspired it, or any research on which it is based. It is not necessary to provide exact citations of research used. If citations are provided, they should be supported with a brief summary comment about why the research cited is relevant to the proposed project.

Planning

Applicants are advised to revise any existing information to take in feedback from assessors, if necessary or any critical changes to the project plan since the Expression of Interest stage.

Specific outcomes

This should be a short statement or list of exactly what will be achieved by the project for all those involved. This will enable Curriculum Corporation to judge whether or not the project has successfully achieved one or more of the ASISTM Project aims.

Limit: 200 words

What quality assurance procedures are planned for your project?

ASISTM projects should bring about appreciable changes in the schools named in the cluster, for teachers, students, and others who are involved. Each project should include plans to monitor its identified specific project outcomes and ensure they have been achieved. Project outcomes may be assessed through qualitative or quantitative data collection, through observation of change in teaching practices, student engagement or the culture of the school as a whole. The methods for measuring change will vary considerably depending on the aims or activities of the project, so the description provided should indicate outcomes and assessments which are appropriate to the aims described previously in the Expression of Interest.

A Critical Friend will be allocated to your project to address matters such as quality assurance in ASISTM projects. Please refer to the Other project personnel section of the Application Guidelines for more information about the use of Critical Friends in ASISTM projects.

Limit: 100 words

What Professional Development will be incorporated into your project?

This should describe how the project related learning needs of teachers in your cluster will be met through Professional Development. This should support your sustainability strategy by ensuring that the new learning and practices generated by the project activities will become embedded in the cluster schools.

Limit: 100 words

Summary of strategy for disseminating new knowledge/skills outside the cluster

One of the critical elements of the initiatives is how the new knowledge will be communicated outside the cluster. This should be a short statement summarising how your initiative's achievements will be promoted in and disseminated to other schools and organisations in your region, and nationally.

Limit: 100 words

Instructions for completing the Project Calendar

Preperation of a Draft Project Plan

Project Coordinators are required to complete an offline Planning Document in preperation for entering this information online. This will involve development of a project plan that aligns the milestones, activities and budgetary spending. The completion of this document is essential before going online and a downloadable copy is available below.

Listed below are explanations of what constitutes milestones, activities and budget lines for ASISTM grants. This needs to be utilised in completing the offline planning document.

Milestone Development

Project milestones are measurable achievements that can be reported on as fully or partially achieved when the progress reports are prepared. These will also be the Project Deliverables in the contract that will be signed between Curriculum Corporation and all the members of successful project clusters. These milestones should be drawn from the anticipated measurable outcomes for teachers, students and others which were described in the Planning section of the Project Proposal Form.

Sometimes a number of activities will need to be completed before a milestone is achieved, so there will be fewer milestones than activities. No fewer than six milestones should be identified across the life of the project; at least three before the mid-project report and at least three more in the second half of the project.

Align the Project Activities with Key Milestones

Compulsory Activities such as ASISTM briefing and the mid and final reports are automatically entered on the online Project Proposal form. Another compulsory activity to add is the Pre and Post surveys. These should be entered prior to commencing the project and at the completion of the project.

The activities that contribute to the achievement of the milestones could include:

• Teaching and learning activities
• Professional learning activities for teachers,
• Assessment of student and teacher learning and attitude change
• Development of teaching and learning resources
• Strategies to communicate the achievements of the project outside the cluster.
• Administrative activities should also be included, such as cluster meetings or general project coordination
• Involvement of Teacher Associates
• Visits to other schools or educational organisations

This is not a complete list of possible activities and other relevant activities can be included.

Budget Headings for ASISTM Projects

ASISTM budget items should be classified wherever possible as one of the following ten budget item types:

1. Professional Development for teachers, including:
   • Venue hire
   • Presenter fees
   • Materials
2. Consultants
3. Teaching/learning resources and materials
4. Student activities
5. Visits by staff to other schools and organisations
6. Travel/accommodation for State/Territory ASISTM briefing, including:
   • Teacher release for all school Project Leaders to attend (not part of the 15% TR)
   • Estimated travel costs to the nearest State/Territory capital
   • Accommodation if travel arrangements require an overnight stay
7. Administration, including, but not limited to:
   • Project Coordinator or other administrator's salary/wages
   • Teacher release for project coordination, if the Project Coordinator is a teacher
   • Meetings and communication within the cluster
   • Preparation of reports
   • Administration of finances, including budget report and contract audit
   • Administration of work and checks for Teacher Associates
8. Teacher Associates (anticipated average of $5,000 per Teacher Associate)
9. Teacher release (maximum: 15% of project budget)
   • Teacher release for attending Professional Development
   • Teacher release for all other project activities except the Project Coordinator role (if applicable) and Briefing attendance
10. Equipment/other assets (maximum: 10% of project budget)

ASISTM Project Proposal Planning Document

IMPORTANT: Ensure start date is no earlier than Feb 2008 and end date is no later than June 2009

Distribution of funding

To assist with planning project expenditure, applicants are advised that ASISTM funds will be distributed to successful projects according to the following schedule:

• 50% of the total project budget will be provided on the signing of the initial contract between Curriculum Corporation and members of the cluster
• 30% of the total project budget will be provided on receipt by Curriculum Corporation of the mid-project report
• 20% of the total project budget will be provided on receipt by Curriculum Corporation of the end-project report

Please note that all payments will be subject to completion of ASISTM financial and project activity reporting requirements. A full description of payment arrangements will be provided to successful projects at the time the contract is signed.

IMPORTANT: Budget items 9 [Teacher Release] and 10 [Equipment/Assets] will not be funded over the recommended maximum.

Entering information online

Once this information has been prepared in an offline document, the project plan is ready to be entered into the Activity Calendar. The default online setting for the Budget/Calendar section is the Activity Calendar.

Create a milestone by clicking on 'New Milestone'

Enter the milestone name, select the date in which it will occur and add a brief description of the milestone. When completed, click save and the milestone entered should now appear as an entry for that month.

Enter an activity by clicking on 'New activity'

Click on 'New Activity' and a pop up window is viewable.

1. Enter the activity name, select the date in which it will occur and add a brief description of the activity.
2. At least one budget item should be listed for each listed.activity.
3. To add a budget line, click the+ button and select an appropriate menu item from the drop down menu.
4. It will be one of the 10 ASISTM budget headings. Add the budget amount.
5. You may have several budget items to add. For example in a student activity, you may have a teacher associate cost, equipment cost, and teaching and learning materials costs. The total amount will be automatically generated.
6. Once the budget item(s) from the above list which are incurred by each activity have been identified and a cost estimated for each one, a brief description for each item should be prepared to clarify how this type of budget item relates to the activity listed.

For example:

7. If an activity incurs no cost (such as volunteer Teacher Associates, for example), a zero value can be entered next to the appropriate budget item.
8. If costs for an activity are to be covered from another source or through in-kind support, this should be explained in the description/notes box.
9. Some costs may not split logically into month-by-month expenses, and, in these cases, it is acceptable to indicate a lump sum at points in the project where payments will be made.
10. Budget amounts for administration need to be allocated to specific activities.
11. You can edit any amounts by clicking the edit button for the activity.

As you develop the project activity, progressive budget amounts and activity descriptions should be visible in the Activity Summary and Budget Summary.

Moving an activity

A completed activity can be moved at any time to another month by click on the activity item and dragging it to the preferred month and clicking once the pink pop up box expands.

Repeat this process until all activities and milestones have been entered.

Click 'Budget Summary'

This displays budget items entered providing a sub total under each budget heading and a total funding amount being requested.

Click 'Activity Summary'

This displays a printable list of all milestones, activities and associated budget items.

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