Prospectus 2016/17 Funding Round

Grant Fund

Edge Foundation Overview

Edge is the independent education charity dedicated to raising the status of technical and professional education.

High quality technical and professional education provides the opportunity for all young people to reach their full potential, equipping them with the skills they need for today’s global, digital economy.

Technical and professional education should be valued as highly as academic education - there are many paths to success. Visit www.edge.co.uk to find out more.

Grant Fund Overview

Following the successful launch in 2014 of the Innovation and Development Fund, the Edge Grant Fund is a programme of grant funding which will open in the autumn of 2016 and be available in alternate years starting in 2016, then 2018 and 2020. Each round will have up to £1million of grant funding available.

Applications for funding are invited to support both short and long term projects that build on proven models of success or test new approaches within education and learning. Projects must support Edge’s Strategic Priorities, and must support innovation or development within technical and professional learning. Projects can support practical delivery or be research based to build evidence and/or support the understanding and dissemination of best practice.

Applications are welcomed from all educational establishments or not-for-profit organisations working within the education sector.

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Edge’s Strategic Priorities

There has never been a more exciting time in technical, professional and vocational education. Fundamental changes are being made to every aspect of the system from curriculum to funding to the provider base, while the decision to leave the European Union makes it more important than ever that the UK can build a highly effective and skilled labour market for the future.

Over recent months, the Government has published three key documents that lay the foundations for reform: English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, Reviewing post-16 education and training institutions: updated guidance on area reviews and most recently the Post-16 Skills Plan.

Edge wants to seize this opportunity to drive forward the following key priorities:

1) High quality careers guidance

This should be provided from an early age and should provide information about the full range of options and careers. Careers guidance should be impartial, especially between vocational and academic routes.

2) Profound employer engagement

There should be a range of opportunities for educators to experience the world of work. There should also be a range of ways for businesses to work with educators for example to deliver projects and improve work readiness.

3) A 14-19 phase combining vocational and academic education

From 14, every young person should have the opportunity to study technical and creative subjects. There should be a single coherent phase of education covering the 14-19 age range culminating in a broad baccalaureate recognising vocational learning.

4) More high quality apprenticeships

More apprenticeships should be developed at Level 3-7 to build advanced skills. In particular more apprenticeships should be undertaken by 16-24 year olds and those starting work.

5) Parity between different routes in HE

Technical, professional, academic and apprenticeship routes through Higher Education should all be seen as equally valid. More young people leaving school, including higher attainers should be able to choose to apply for apprenticeships, technical, professional and academic routes through HE.

Fundamental change is already in train. We want this grant fund to provide the evidence and practice to ensure that this delivers a step change in technical and professional education.

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How to Apply

There are three clear steps for applicants considering applying to the Edge Grant Fund:

Step One

Check that your organisation is eligible for a grant (page 7) and that the project is in line with the Funding Themes (page 5) through reading this Prospectus and referring to our Previous Beneficiaries (page 8). If you wish to complete an application contact us at grant@edge.co.uk for an Initial Application Form.

Step Two

Complete and submit an Initial Application Form by the grant deadline (page 10). We aim to assess applications within two weeks of this deadline. All forms to be sent to grant@edge.co.uk

Step Three

Successful applicants have six weeks to complete a Business Plan Application Form, Budget Form and Risk Register with this being assessed by Edge staff and Trustees. We aim to make decisions on Business Plan applications within three weeks of the submission deadline.

Please note all applications must be submitted on the interactive PDF application forms and we cannot accept additional supporting documents. If you have any problems with the application forms please ensure you have the most recent version of Adobe Reader and if you are still experiencing issues please contact us.

If you have any questions regarding the application process you can contact us at grant@edge.co.uk.

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Application Criteria and Guidelines

About the Grant Fund

The objective of the Grant Fund is to support the creation and/or development of innovative projects within the area of technical and professional education and learning, building on previously effective models or testing innovative methods. Projects can be research based or support practical delivery or be a mixture of both.

The Grant Fund will support projects that create best practice models that have the potential for being scaled or are suitable for replication through dissemination across the sector. Projects are required to have a direct impact on young people both during the funded period and longer term.

Funding Themes

We are looking for projects that address at least 2 of the following 5 themes. Projects which address a higher number of themes are of particular interest to us.

Improve the design and delivery of engaging and relevant Information, Advice and Guidance

Projects that support young people to understand the full range of curriculum options, routes to further and higher education as well as career options available

Support the development of profound employer engagement

Encouraging broader, deeper, more varied and embedded employer engagement in education and training; bringing learning closer to the workplace and ensuring young people are better prepared for the world of work.

Support the development of truly blended learning opportunities as part of a 14-19 curriculum

We are particularly interested in innovative curriculum development and delivery models which provide young people with access to a mixture of both academic and technical/professional learning opportunities.

Support the development of high quality apprenticeships, particularly at higher levels

The introduction of the Apprentice Levy and government target of 3 million apprenticeship starts during the course of this parliament provides an excellent opportunity to develop apprentice programmes at levels 3, 4 and 5 that are truly the gold standard for vocational education.

Address areas of skills shortages for the UK economy

Technical and professional education and learning targeted at areas and sectors that have the highest chance of leading to employment. Applicants will therefore be expected to have identified an area of skills shortage and offer a rationale for their chosen sector.

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Grant Amounts

In 2016 the Fund has £1million to grant to suitable projects, with applicants able to apply for between £30,000 and £100,000. Any grant awarded must be spent within 24 months of the project start date.

Match Funding

Edge will give particular consideration to applications for projects that have already secured match funding or intend to use the Edge grant to obtain further match funding.

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Application Eligibility

Eligible Organisations*

Edge is keen to receive applications from a wide range of organisation types including the following:

An education establishment, such as any:

• School or Academy• Further Education College• University

A not-for-profit organisation, such as a:

• Registered Charity• Company limited by guarantee• Community Interest Company limited by guarantee

This list is not exhaustive and if you are unsure if your organisation is eligible please contact us for clarification.

Edge will only fund an organisation which meets the following criteria:

• is a not-for-profit organisation• has its own bank account with at least two signatories• is able to provide annual accounts or 12 months financial projections• is able to evidence a successful track-record of delivering technical/professional learning

for young people.

* Exclusions

Edge will not fund applications which:

• are for activities or organisations that are outside of the UK• are submitted by individuals or profit-making organisations• are submitted by organisations whose financial history shows serious financial deficit or are

non-compliant with their regulatory body• promote religious beliefs or political opinions• request money for: contingency costs / retrospective costs / recoverable VAT

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Previous Beneficiaries of Edge Grants

Detailed below are examples of the type of project funded via the Innovation and Development Fund. These are provided to give potential applicants a feel for the type of projects supported by Edge.

Activate Learning (City of Oxford College)Received a grant to assist with setting up a Career Pathway College to provide high quality technical education in construction and heritage craft and a new STEM centre. Activate also developed project based learning working closely with major and local employers.

Ayrshire CollegeReceived a grant to assist with opening a Skills Centre of Excellence. Based at an Ayrshire school, the Centre offers vocational courses and new Scottish Foundation apprenticeships often found only at FE colleges to school pupils.

Barking and Dagenham CollegeAwarded a grant in relation to the development of The Siemens’ Mechatronics Academy which offers specialist STEM courses as well as the Siemens Mechatronics Certification Programme.

Blackburn CollegeWon a grant to help the college establish a Regional Automotive Technology Hub providing real world learning across the automotive curriculum. The college has developed close working relationships with a number of main dealers and a local independent garage network.

Career ReadyReceived a grant to develop their existing Career Academy model within the logistics sector. Five new Career Ready centres have been opened and Career Ready used the Edge funding to secure substantial match funding and in-kind support from the industry.

Coleg y CymoeddAwarded a grant to help establish a Centre for Excellence for Railway Training with outreach for the whole of Wales and West of England. With a focus on apprenticeships the Centre addresses the looming skills shortage around railway engineering and overhead line electrification.

Eden ProjectGiven a grant to kick start turning the Eden Project into a campus for real world learning. Eden offers a wide range of apprenticeships, foundation and honours degrees including horticulture, food production, hospitality and visitor management.

Hackney Community CollegeAwarded a grant to develop a specialist centre providing apprentices for SME creative and digital media companies taking space in the Here East business hub in the QEII Park.

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Oldham CollegeReceived a grant to help develop an employer led digital curriculum within their new Digital Skills Centre. The college has built a successful Employer Advisory Board who co-design curriculum units and provide internships and masterclasses for students.

PROCATAwarded a grant to set up a Careers Academy for Railway Engineering and Aviation (CAREA) to provide careers advice which links schools and business. PROCAT have developed a robust model for profound and lasting employer engagement via Employer Advisory Boards.

Sir Frank Whittle Studio SchoolAwarded a grant to help a newly opened Studio School develop a specialist logistics centre. The school has built a stunning range of employer partners which has helped them provide award winning work experience programmes for their students.

Details of all Edge Foundation supported projects can be found on our website: www.edge.co.uk

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Grant Fund Timeline

The following dates only apply to those projects selected to progress to phase two of the process:

Edge reserves the right to change these timescales and dates as appropriate.

Open for applications Thursday, 20th October 2016

Deadline for Initial Applications Midday Thursday, 1st December 2016

Notification of Initial Application decisions By the end of the week of 2nd January 2017

Deadline for Business Plan Applications Midday Thursday, 16th February 2017

Notification of grant decisions By the end of the week of 27th March 2017

What Happens Next?

Grant OfferIf successful, applicants will be made a conditional offer with a grant agreement and terms & conditions drawn up and agreed before an initial payment is made.

MonitoringAs part of the terms & conditions grantees will be required to complete monitoring reports using templates provided by Edge. Information required will be financial, quantitative and qualitative.

SupportOnce initial grants are made Edge will work with grantees to maximise the impact of their grant and facilitate awareness and dissemination of best practice.

EvaluationAll applications must include a plan and a budget to carry out an evaluation of the project at the end of the 24 month grant term. Grantees are also required to complete an evaluation template provided by Edge within the last quarter of the grant term.

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Frequently Asked Questions

In order to help potential applicants answers to the common questions asked regarding the Grant Fund are given below.

Will the Grant Fund be open every year?

It is our intention to open the Grant Fund in alternate years namely 2016, 2018 and 2020 after which the performance of the fund will be reviewed.

What sectors are classed as having a skills shortage?

Rather than specify sectors with skills shortages Edge requires applicants to demonstrate why a sector is being targeted. This may be evidenced for example through national research or local consultation ie local labour market information data.

What supporting documents do you need/can I provide?

As detailed within the application form Edge require copies of your governing documents and annual accounts during the Business Plan Application stage. Please do not submit any further supporting documentation as this will not be considered during assessment.

I am unable to use the interactive PDF application forms, what shall I do?

All applications must be submitted using the official PDF application forms. Ensure that you have downloaded the most recent version of Adobe Reader. If you have ongoing issues with the forms please contact Edge directly to discuss.

Can I submit a hard copy of my application?

No. All applications are required to be completed on the official Grant Fund application forms and submitted electronically to grant@edge.co.uk.

What age group is the Fund targeting?

Projects must focus on young people up to the age of 24, however projects which support the development and delivery of higher and degree level apprenticeships or other degree level provision have no upper age limit for beneficiaries.

How are decisions made?

Applications are assessed using an externally developed assessment framework with both Edge staff and Trustees involved in decision making.

I have a question that isn’t answered above, what shall I do? Please contact Edge directly at grant@edge.co.uk.

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Edge is the independent education charity dedicated to raising the status of technical and professional education. High quality technical and professional education provides the opportunity for all young people to reach their full potential, equipping them with the skills they need for today’s global, digital economy.

Technical and professional education should be valued as highly as academic education - there are many paths to success. Visit www.edge.co.uk to find out more.

• High quality careers guidance provided from an early age. • Profound employer engagement to make learning relevant to work. • A single 14-19 phase combining vocational and academic learning. • High quality apprenticeships to enable young people to earn and learn.

• Parity within HE between technical/professional and academic education

Join us on Facebook/UKedge, follow us on Twitter @ukEdge and use our resources on Flickr and YouTube

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