Technician Commitment launches Collaboration Fund 2023

From its inception, the Technician Commitment has been a collaborative endeavour. This ethos has been echoed and reflected in the biannual signatory events and the number of collaborative partnerships that have arisen as a result of the Technician Commitment in the past three years. To further support this culture, the Technician Commitment Steering Board are pleased to launch a third round of the Technician Commitment Collaboration Fund.

The Collaboration Fund is a small grants scheme which provides funding to Technician Commitment Signatory Institutions to enable collaborative projects with external partners to advance the aims of the Technician Commitment.


The scheme is open to all Technician Commitment Signatory institutions and funding is awarded on a competitive basis. The Steering Board invites submissions in the range of £100 - £1000 to support the creation of collaborative opportunities. Examples may include, but are not limited to: joint workshops, shared training, development of shared materials, facilitation of work placements/exchanges and seminars/conference styled activity.


Criteria

  • Projects must be undertaken between 1 April 2023 and 31 December 2023.
  • Projects must demonstrate how they are advancing one or more of the key pillars of the Technician Commitment; Visibility, Recognition, Career Development and Sustainability.
  • The collaboration must be with a UK based partner external to your organisation.
  • The organisation that applies for funding must be a Technician Commitment signatory. The collaborating external organisation(s) do not need to be a signatory of the Technician Commitment.
  • Any member of staff from a signatory organisation can apply to the Collaboration Fund.
  • Applications should include a letter of support from your institutional Technician Commitment lead.
  • Applications will not be accepted if you have applied in the last two rounds.
  • The panel will be looking for applications that evidence how the proposed activity will be sustainable beyond the initial funding.
  • Successful applicants will be asked to produce a short project report, outlining the activity undertaken and the outputs, outcomes and impact.

Duration
The application window runs from 21 November 2022 – 10 February 2023.
Successful projects should be delivered between 1 April 2023 and 31 December 2023.

Scope of Fund
Collaborations can take many forms and the Technician Commitment Steering Board welcome new and innovative approaches.
The panel will consider any reasonable costs, if justified.


Application Process

  1. Please download and complete the application form.
  2. If it is not the Technician Commitment institutional lead making the application, please provide a letter of support from them alongside the application form.
  3. Applications should be submitted to carly.dellar@gatsby.org.uk by 10 February 2023.
  4. Applications will be reviewed by a panel chaired by a member of the Technician Commitment Steering Board and will be communicated early March 2023.

Additional Requirements
Successful applicants will be asked to produce a short report, outlining the activity undertaken and the outcomes and impact.

Support
The Technician Commitment team are very happy to discuss ideas for the collaboration fund to help you shape your application. If you would like some support in developing your ideas, or would like more information, please get in touch with us.