Assignment 2 Expression of interest
| To be conducted | Individually, in pairs or groups of three |
| Deliverable |
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| Length | 1000 words |
| Weighting | 10% |
| Submission method |
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| Due date | Week 10 (Sunday 27 September, 11.59pm) |
| Criteria | Criteria sheets |
| Sign up | Sign up your team (or yourself if you’re working independently) |
Assignment 3 Grant application
| To be conducted | Individually, in pairs or groups of three |
| Deliverable |
|
| Length |
|
| Weighting | 40% |
| Submission method | Note: There are two separate submission links – one for the application, and one for the reflection. Grant application
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| Due date | Week 14 (Sunday 1 November, 11.59pm) |
| Criteria | Criteria sheets |
| Sign up | Sign up your team (or yourself if you’re working independently) |
| Example | There is an example proposal from the precursor for this unit for you to review. Note it was not the same assignment, but you may wish to look at parts of this example for inspiration – particularly the budget and risk management matrix. More information. |
Background
Assignment 2 and 3 have been designed to bring together the theoretical and practical aspects of the unit. In these two linked assignments, you will design a program, product or service and write a grant application to allow you to seek funding for the project.
In arts organisations and cultural institutions, external funding sources are often used to allow organisations to develop services, products and programs they would otherwise be unable to develop. Grants are also used for infrastructure and sought out for collecting projects.
Aims
This assignment has two aims:
- To allow you to put together the theory and practice through design of a product, program or service, and thereby to help you develop in depth knowledge related to a particular type of program, product and service.
- To give you experience with writing an application for funding.
Funding body
While the requirements are a mishmash of the application fields for State Library of New South Wales’ public library grants and QUT’s Engagement Innovation Grants, you get to pick the funding body for your application as appropriate for the type of organisation you are situating your project in. For a Queensland public library, you might choose SLQ as the funding body, or maybe the Gates Foundation. The choice is yours, but the application requirements remain the same regardless. You’ll need to take the strategic goals of the funding body into account when you prepare your application.
Detailed requirements: A2 Expression of interest
Within organisations, expressions of interest are often sought from groups who intend to submit a full application for a grant. In this assignment, you will complete an expression of interest in order to receive interim feedback on the program, product or service you will focus on in Assignment 3.
You will complete an online form providing the following information about your proposed project:
- Project title (50 words maximum)
- Project purpose, aims, objectives and anticipated benefits (500 words maximum)
- Project overview (500 words maximum)
The content from this assignment can be used in Assignment 3.
Detailed requirements: A3 Grant application
In this assignment, you will prepare a grant application for a product, program or service that meets the needs of a specific user group.
Part A: Grant application (group or individual)
Project description (1000 words)
- Project title (50 words maximum)
- Organisation
- Amount of funding requested
- Project purpose, aims, objectives and anticipated benefits (500 words maximum)
- Project overview (500 words maximum)
Project plan (approx 500 words excluding tables)
- Proposed start date of the project
- Anticipated finish date for your project
- Project team and responsibilities
- Project timeline: state each project activity, responsibility and timeframe (presented in a table; no word limit)
- Budget:
- As accurately as possible, identify major costs of the project (include component, justification and amount) (no word limit)
- Provide explanatory notes on the budget if required (250 words maximum)
- Identify major risks, likelihood, impact and mitigation strategies (no word limit)
- Provide an overview of how the project will be evaluated and benefits measured (250 words maximum)
Assessment criteria (1250 words)
In this section, you must demonstrate how your project meets the assessment criteria for applications.
Need
- Describe how the project will meet specific needs of the community (250 words maximum)
- Identify and describe broader community benefit (250 words maximum)
Strategic alignment
- Describe alignment to the organisation’s mission and strategic priorities (250 words maximum)
- Describe alignment to funding organisation’s strategic priorities (250 words maximum)
Innovation
- Describe how the project is innovative in its concept or idea, design, delivery or content (250 words maximum)
Appendices
- Include a reference list as a separate document
Part B: Reflection on learning (individual or group)
Your reflective discussion should consider what you have learnt from this assignment and review the quality of your work. You should also reflect on the team work process and experience. You should consider the strengths and weakness of the work, by referring to the marking criteria provided for the assignment. Do you feel this piece of work is representative of your abilities? Some questions to prompt you may be:
- What was the thing you thought you did best in this assignment?
- What was the thing you thought you did least well in this assignment?
- What did you find the hardest part of this assignment?
- What was the most important thing you learned doing this assignment?
Your reflection should be approximately 500 words long.