AS Hornby Educational Trust and IATEFL Associates Teacher Association Development Projects Award

Purpose of Hornby projects

The over-arching purpose of Hornby projects is to stimulate and enhance the professional development of ELT practitioners in transitional countries through knowledge sharing, skills training and resource provision, wherever possible exploiting and strengthening the Hornby Alumni network and other local and regional teaching networks.

Hornby projects are usually initiated by returning Hornby Scholars to share skills and knowledge with their local communities or by Hornby Alumni who want to channel their ideas into projects that will benefit the immediate, or wider, community.

There are also special projects which fall outside the above category – possibly initiated by a Teaching Association, an individual or institution, or arising from ELT conferences, ELTeCS requests etc.

Proposals can be for workshops, seminars, consultancies, exchanges and courses, including distance learning courses. It should be stressed that academic research will not qualify, unless conducting the research actively involves a network of fellow professionals and the outcome of the research is further development of this network. The maximum financial support is normally £1500 for an individual proposal.

Applying for Hornby funding

The first step in applying for Hornby funds is to prepare a proposal. Please ensure that you use the standard proposal form (attached), and that your proposal meets the Hornby Project Scheme criteria below.

Preparing a Proposal

Before creating a draft proposal, you should discuss your project idea with your local British Council office to ensure that your project is complementary to the work of your British Council office, and is therefore one that they can support.  You will need to have thought about: rationale and objectives; target audience; project team; schedule; fundraising; evaluation and reporting, etc.

Following this initial discussion, draft your project proposal using the standard proposal form. Please consult your British Council colleagues during the drafting process and show them your final version before submission.

Hornby Project Scheme Criteria

Essential criteria:

• share meaningful and useful resources, skills or knowledge among local teacher communities
• have the support and financial backing of the local BC office
• complement British Council regional initiatives in ELT and teacher development
• contain a clear procedure for evaluating the longer-term effectiveness of the project (i.e. not just an immediate reaction questionnaire)
• request funds of no more than £1500

Desirable criteria:

• involve Hornby alumni
• be short term and of limited funding
• achieve maximum engagement and impact for the funds expended
• have a wider and sustained impact
• involve Teaching Associations and/or the alumni network

The Hornby Trust will not normally fund:

• one-off conferences
• conference participation
• commercial publications
• the whole project

Recommendations on how to submit a proposal

Ensure that you use the standard proposal form and complete all sections.  Additional information may be useful but should be provided only if it is essential for understanding what will be achieved.

Proposals should be concise, objective and show clearly how the objectives will be achieved (steps should be listed alongside the time frame). Clear statements and a reasonable number of objectives will help the evaluation process.

The Hornby Trust will not normally provide complete funding. It contributes to projects and activities and matching funds are expected from other partners. The total amount of funding required from the Hornby Trust should be specified in detail, as well as other partners' contributions. 

It is important to identify team members and partners. Team members are directly involved in implementation of project activities. Partners may not be directly involved but may provide funds, venues, printing services, etc.

Proposals for workshops, events, and similar activities should demonstrate how dissemination and follow up will be carried out, so as to show sustainability after the event is over.

Proposals should not have a commercial nature, i.e. the production of teaching materials for sale.

Evaluation should include both short-term evaluation of the project, i.e. how the project methods and results will be measured, and long-term evaluation, i.e. what impact the project has had in permanently changing the behaviour or beliefs of the target audience.

For example, a questionnaire or feedback form may be used to evaluate the immediate success of a workshop or training event. For the longer term, a follow-up questionnaire or report six months after the event might be used to assess impact.

How to submit a project proposal

If your Teachers’ Association would like to submit a proposal for Hornby Trust project funding, please complete the proposal form and send it to Lou McLaughlin: associaterep@iatefl.org and Kirsteen Donaghy: Kirsteen.Donaghy@britishcouncil.org.my by 10 September 2018.

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