Do we need to provide any particular information to support our proposal where we are a PTE without an EER rating due to being a new provider?

No, if you are a PTE without an EER rating due to being a new provider, you do not need to provide any additional information as part of your proposal. As long as you meet other eligibility criteria, you can still apply for this funding.

Can you explain the 25% of indicative 2023 UFS funding guideline?

The 25% guideline is to give PTEs an indication of the amount of funding you could apply for. We are suggesting that you look to apply for funding equivalent to 25% of your indicative 2023 UFS funding (delivery and learner components combined) when applying for funding under the PTE Strategic Fund.

Where a single PTE submits more than one proposal, the 25% guideline applies across a PTE’s combined proposals.

The 25% guideline does not mean that you should anticipate automatically receiving 25% of your UFS Funding from the strategic component.

Will you provide feedback on the reasons a proposal was or was not successful?

We will provide feedback where a proposal is not funded as part of the Right of Review process.

Can additional information be added to a proposal following its submission?

We will be in touch where we believe further information is needed for clarification to support the assessment and decision-making process. This engagement will be particularly targeted at those proposals that are close to being successful and for which additional information is needed to support the final decision to be taken. This would not be an opportunity for people to rewrite their proposal.

The Customer Contact Group (CCG) and Relationship Managers are your first points of contact. To support the process, a representative from the UFS team will be involved in substantive discussions. 

Can we submit more than one proposal?

Yes, you can submit multiple proposals (i.e. more than one completed proposal template), if you think that will best enable you to build your case.

You can also tailor the proposal template if that will help you tell your story. Just be sure to capture all relevant information. We recommend looking to the assessment criteria to see what you need to cover.

How much should we write?

Write as much as you need to in order to convey your idea, make your case for funding and address the assessment criteria. This could mean a short proposal or a more detailed one. Reference the assessment criteria matrix as well as the guidance in the proposal template.

What should milestones look like, can you please give us some examples?

A milestone is a significant stage or event in the development of something. You will know best what your proposal will need in order to be implemented and what will need to be done to make it happen.

We are open to what makes a meaningful milestone (so long as it is not simply to provide us with a report). We do not necessarily need to see a completion milestone, just milestones that reflect work to that point.

So, we are open to what this could look like. We suggest, as a rule of thumb, aiming for between two/three and six milestones, which link to when you would be looking to get payments.

Can you explain what TEC would like to see written for the public statement?

We are looking for a high-level summary of what you intend to do with the funding and what will be achieved by the funding being used in this way. We have asked for a statement of up to 200 words, but this is a guide rather than a target.

Public statements for successful proposals, will be published alongside the amount of funding received.

What – in TEC’s view – makes for a good proposal? What does ‘good’ look like?

A good proposal is one that responds to the purpose of the funding and successfully meets the assessment criteria, including giving confidence that the proposal will meet intended outcomes and can be implemented in practice.

What should a proposal that is seeking both NRSP and PDMF funding look like?

We anticipate receiving proposals seeking funding for both elements of the Strategic Fund. You may propose a project that integrates them both.

The form is designed so you can respond to both funding elements in the same document, should you wish to do so. Separating out the costs and milestones will give us an indication of what aspects of a proposal and/or project relate to the NRSPs and what aspects relate to the PDMF. You could also indicate where you have flexibility about which funding pot your proposal relates to.

Is there a review process if our proposal is declined?

Yes, there will be a Right of Response (RoR) process.

What will happen if you receive more applications than you have funding?

We are using the government procurement process and that is based on a weighting exercise for the criteria, as well as a value-for-money assessment. So, every proposal will be weighted against the Fund’s assessment criteria and then we will move into a value-for-money assessment. We have not set an explicit cut-off point in terms of scoring.

This is why we are looking to be flexible across the two appropriations of funding available here. It may be that we look across both elements of the funding and have more demand for, and much better proposals for, one element over another.

Whether we would look to partially fund more providers, over fully funding fewer providers, will depend on many factors, including viability of proposals if not fully funded.

Are funding payments connected to milestones? 

Yes, payments are connected to milestones.  

It is important to note that, should your proposal be successful, the final schedule of milestones will be determined following proposal submission, so that they can be aligned with business cycles.

Are we required to get a letter of support or endorsement from WDCs or RSLGs?

There is no requirement or need to obtain letters of support or endorsement from WDCs or RSLGs to include as part of your proposal.

Do we need to get our proposal in before the 9 September deadline to ensure the Strategic Funding pool isn’t used up?

No, you don’t. You have until 5pm, 9 September to submit your proposal. You can submit at any time up to this deadline. If we receive proposals before 9 September, then we may start assessing that proposal. However, no final finding decisions will be made until all applications are received and assessed.