Guidance for Applicants
Aim of the scheme
The Temple Quarter Engagement Fund aims to enable staff and students from across the University to deliver activities that fit with the values and ethos of our aspirations to be a global civic university. Funding is available from philanthropic donations for activities in the city prior to the opening of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus.
Activities should engage communities, businesses, enterprises or civic partners within Bristol; they do not have to be limited to the Temple Quarter area. This might be community engaged research, a student project, outreach activity or any other area of work that involves engagement beyond the University. They can include engagement activities associated with one of the intended schools or research groups that will be residents of Temple Quarter, but this is not mandatory.
You can read about the projects that have previously been funded to give you an idea of the types of activities that are possible.
A number of internal and external funding sources for engagement already exist. Part of the advice the Public Engagement team offers is on how to look for other sources of funding; as such, we will recommend applying for other schemes if they are more suitable.
Eligibility
- All current students and staff (academic, technical and professional services) are eligible.
- Proposals are welcomed from individuals and from groups. Where appropriate, applicants are encouraged to work with external partners who can be included on the bid.
- Any projects that would meet our aspirations to be a civic university would be eligible and we do not wish to be prescriptive. However, we would expect to see some proposed benefit for both external partners and University staff/students.
Getting advice
The Temple Quarter Engagement Fund is managed by the Public Engagement team and you are encouraged to talk to one of our Public Engagement Associates who can give you advice on your proposal:
Mireia Bes i Garcia (mireia.bes@bristol.ac.uk): Life Sciences, Health Sciences
Joel Morley (joel.morley@bristol.ac.uk): Engineering
Rhys Charles (rhys.charles@bristol.ac.uk): Science
Ben Meller (ben.meller@bristol.ac.uk): Arts, Social Sciences and Law
If your idea falls beyond our specific expertise, we will recommend a colleague in another team who can give advice instead. If you are not affiliated with a faculty you may email any of the associates and we will consider who is best placed to advise you.
If your proposal is student-led, we recommend that you talk with Charlotte Anderson (charlotte.anderson@bristol.ac.uk), Student Engagement Coordinator at Bristol SU.
If your proposal is about widening participation and outreach to schools, we recommend that you talk with the Widening Participation team for advice. They may recommend you apply for the Widening Participation Funding scheme instead (next deadline 27th March 2022; guidance here).
Award
We expect that most of the applications to this scheme will be in the region of £3,000 to £5,000. Applications for up to £10,000 may be considered but you should discuss this with the Public Engagement team in advance.
You should also discuss urgent proposals with the Public Engagement team in order to obtain approval to submit a proposal outside of a call deadline. These proposals will be limited to £2,500.
Approximately £20,000 has been allocated to the March 2022 call in total.
How to apply
Complete the online application form to apply for this scheme. If you have an external partner on the project, you should include them in the application. Their inclusion will be taken as their approval of this proposal so please ensure that they are happy with this.
Estates and indirect costs are not eligible. Staff buyout time or external partners’ time is eligible, as are materials, consumables and other direct costs, for the University or for external partners. You only need to use Worktribe, the University’s full economic costing tool, if you are costing in staff time. Under Funder, you should select “Internally Funded”.
If your proposal is a research project you will need to go through ethics approval. You should use the same process as you would for your other research projects.
The fund has no imposed start and end dates - these should be based on the nature of the project. It is generally expected that projects would start soon after they are awarded. However, we understand that some projects may have to start later due to student exams, teaching or research commitments, partner requirements, and other such factors. Please outline these in the application.
A sample copy of the application form is available to help you plan your application: Template TQ Engagement Fund Application (PDF, 158kB)
Application process
- Applications are assessed by members of the Public Engagement team and Temple Quarter Engagement Board. The deadlines for each assessment round are outlined on the Temple Quarter Engagement Fund web page.
- We aim to confirm the outcome of your application within a month of the deadline.
- If your proposal is unsuccessful, you can only resubmit the proposal if the panel recommends that you do so. If this is the case, you will receive feedback from the panel with advice on what needs reworking. You may also submit an entirely new proposal.
- If your proposal is successful, you will be contacted about the most appropriate way for funding to be transferred to you. For academics and professional services staff, this is likely to be a suitable budget code. You will then be responsible for ensuring the funding is spent appropriately.
- You must submit a short report at the end of your project. You will be provided with a template for this when you are notified about your project being successful. This will be shared with the Temple Quarter Engagement Board and used by TQ Comms; it will also be used by the Development and Alumni Relations Office to share with the donors and for other fundraising activity. You may also be contacted by the Public Engagement team about sharing your learning around the engagement activity.