GSASA STUDENT INITIATED PROJECT FUND - illustration by Anastacia Macdonald

Application form here!!

Deadline: Monday 6th November at 5pm.

Introduction 

The Student Initiated Project Fund supports a range of student-led projects and activities across the year, encouraging collaboration between students from different departments and schools across GSA.  

Every Semester, the GSASA has £3000 to allocate towards supporting student projects, exhibitions, events/fundraisers, publications and initiatives. All students from all areas and levels of study (Undergraduate, Postgraduate and PhD) are eligible to apply for funding of up to £200. We aim to meaningfully support as many projects as possible, with decisions regarding allocation made democratically through the Student Representative Council (SRC) Funding Committee. 

The Project Fund is dedicated to supporting projects that are considered to be ‘extra-curricular’. We acknowledge that this term can be difficult to define, but it is important that the Project Fund is not used in a way that participants would directly gain course credit or be used for course curriculum activities. Projects should therefore be very explicit about their extra-curricular nature, and the SRC reserve the right to dismiss projects if they are concerned that the project or its outcomes might form the basis of curricular or assessed work.   

This application is for student-led extracurricular creative projects only. For hardship assistance please visit the GSA Hardship pages on the student intranet: https://gsofa.sharepoint.com/sites/StudentIntranet/ProfessionalSupport/StudentSupportServices/Pages/discretionary-funds.aspx 

Application Process 

Students making applications to the Student Initiated Project Fund are required to complete the attached form, which should be submitted digitally* by 5pm Monday 6th November 2023 to Leilani Rabemananjara (Student Engagement Coordinator – Communities and Societies): l.rabemananjara@gsa.ac.uk please include the subject title of this email as “Student Initiated Project Fund Application”. 

*When emailing applications please send them in PDF format, with all documents and any supporting images (optional) included in one PDF file. Please use your full name as the name of the file you’re submitting.   

Application Advice Drop In 

There will be an advice session which you are encouraged to attend if submitting an application. This is a chance for you to talk through ideas, ask questions or get support filling out your application. The advice session will take place on Wednesday 1st November between 1-2pm via Zoom meeting with the Student Engagement team. Links to this will be available on the Funding Committee Page of Canvas (https://canvas.gsa.ac.uk/courses/266/pages/src-funding-committee)  Please note, you may be held in a meeting room when you join until it is your turn to enter and meet with the team. 

Everyone applying is asked to then attend and provide a short presentation to the SRC Funding Committee Meeting between 12-2 pm Wednesday 8h November via Zoom. Presentations should be casual, no more than one minute long and with no visuals necessary. Presenting your ideas to the committee is a chance for you to expand on your application and answer any questions the Committee may have for you before they consider your application. 

If you cannot attend this meeting, please get in touch with the student engagement team in advance to send your apologies. If apologies are not sent in advance of the Funding Committee Meeting then the application may not be considered.  

All applicants will be given short feedback by the Committee irrespective of the application’s outcome. If you are unsuccessful in your application to the Student Initiated Project Fund, we will encourage you to re-submit your application to the next round of allocations with guidance, feedback and recommendations on your previous application if appropriate. 

Where funding is granted, you will be asked to submit copies of publications or documentation of the way in which you used the funds. You should keep a record of all of your expenses, so that you can prove how you’ve used the money if required to.  

Application Criteria - some things to consider when developing your application: 

What kind of project will the fund support?  
 

• Applications will only be considered for student-initiated and extra-curricular projects. Unfortunately, the SRC cannot consider applications that they feel are the result of, or in response to, course criteria and briefs, or which might constitute work submitted for assessment.  

• You may apply for retrospective funding i.e.. for a project which has already taken place 

• Funding will not be granted to cover the costs of refreshments, food, and/or living costs. 

• You can only apply for a maximum of £200 per project.  

How will your project develop your practice on enhance the student experience?  
 

• Please tell us how you think your proposal will benefit your work/practice and that of any collaborators/participants (if applicable). The SRC will factor this into their decision-making, and strong applications tend to emphasise the impact of an activity on the student(s) involved, as well as the wider community. 
   

How much support will you need?  
 

• Applications must include a thoroughly researched budget in as much detail as possible; the SRC will not be able to consider applications without this element. A budget should include quotes or receipts (if applying for retrospective funding) where possible. Students may also wish to consider and detail contingency funds. 

• Due to the capacity of the funding, we ask for a maximum of £200 to be requested per application. If there are queries around this cap students are advised to get in touch with GSASA to discuss further fundraising opportunities in advance of the application deadline. 

• If you are applying for a project that is on-going or is intended to have future outputs, the SRC would like to see that you have considered the sustainability of your project in your proposal. What other sources of funding have you looked into, or researched to support the longevity of your project? 
   

Event Guidance 

To assist you in developing your event/fundraiser and completing the application form, we have provided you with some ideas and guidance on what kind of thing you could programme: 

How will the SRC make their decision? 
 

• Proposals are generally assessed on the project’s aims, feasibility and level of research undertaken in preparing the application - please tell us about your project in as much detail as possible. 

• All applications will be considered on their merits - the Funding Committee aim to be consistent and fair in their decision-making.  

• Decisions will be based on the strength of applications alongside a desire to divide funds as fairly amongst students as possible and fund a variety of projects that are representative of the diversity of student interests and activities at GSA.