International Student Wellbeing Strategy funding – 2017/18
Overview
The International Student Wellbeing Strategy
More than 130,000 students from all over the world choose to come to NewZealand each year to further their education. International students often do not speak English as their first language and are living away from their families, sometimes for the first time. It’s important that they are well supported, welcomed and valued for their contribution to the communities they live and study in, and to NewZealand as a whole.
Since July 2016, international education agencies have met with students, community groups and education providers to hear about the issues that are important and what solutions work best for them. As a result, government agencies have developed the International Student Wellbeing Strategy, a broader student-centred strategy supported by the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice.
The International Student Wellbeing Strategy will bring government agencies, providers and students together to identify and implement opportunities for strengthening wellbeing.
The international student wellbeing funding
The Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment has allocated $750,000 per annum from the Export Education Levy to fund initiatives under the International Student Wellbeing Strategy. We are running a collaborative cross-agency funding model, which will encourage collaboration between agencies and communities.
Funding process
Funding amount available
The total funding for the 2017/18 financial year is $750,000. This amount will cover both funding initiatives proposed by government agencies and non-government organisations. The split will depend on the number and quality of funding proposals the Ministry will receive.
Funding criteria
We will prioritise initiatives that meet most if not all of the following criteria:
-Fills an identified support gap and will have an enduring impact on supporting one or more wellbeing strategy goals
-Identifies leveraging/collaboration/partnering opportunities
-Demonstrates the capability and capacity required to successfully deliver on its intended outcome
-Includes well-designed implementation and evaluation plan
-Is cost-effective (considering impact relative to costs)
-Does not duplicate or crowd out existing services provided to international students
-Is innovative, taking advantage of new technologies to maximise reach and impact.
The initiatives can be local, regional or national. The majority of international students live and study in Auckland, which will naturally be a focal point for some initiatives. However, we particularly encourage and welcome local and regional initiatives outside of Auckland.
Funding cycle
We will run annual funding rounds where funding is likely to be allocated before the end of October. New initiatives should be completed within the current financial year though some initiatives may be funded over several years depending on their design. Decisions on these will be made on a case by case basis.
Annually, government agencies will review the effectiveness of existing initiatives funded and will decide on whether to continue funding them or not.
Application process
We are proposing a 2-step process: we will first consider Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from agencies and organisations that intend to formally apply for funding. This will be a brief outline of the proposal and impact (see attached template).
EOIs will be assessed by the Ministry of Education and successful EOIs will be invited to submit a full proposal detailing how the proposal measures against the criteria.
Timelines
We are now inviting EOIs. The deadline for submission of EOIs is20 September 2017. Please forward them to .
The outcomes of the EOI process will be communicated by 25 September 2017. You will then have approximately 3 weeks to submit a full proposal.
We expect to notify successful applicants in early November 2017.
Terms and Conditions
Co-funding
Co-funding is encouraged but not required.
Requests for additional funding
If extra funding is required to bring an initiative to completion, an approach must be made to the Ministry of Education. In collaboration with government agencies, we will decide, on a case by case basis, the best course of action.
One-year vs multi-year proposals
As this is an annual funding round, our preference is for successful proposals to spend the money within the same financial year. Multi-year proposals, however, will also be considered on a case by case basis.
Proposals not permitted
The following proposals will not be accepted:
- From individuals seeking personal study or research grants
- For projects seeking to promote political or religious objectives