Deadline: 08-Feb-23
Is your company looking for investment rather than a grant? Ufi Ventures, the UK’s specialist vocational technology investor, might be able to help if you are interested then apply now.
VocTech Activate grant fund supports the development of new ideas that use digital tools and approaches to transform how people gain skills for work.
Watch our short explainer for an introduction to the grant fund, who it’s for and how it works.
Purpose of the fund
- VocTech Activate is our test bed where the first spark of an idea which could solve a vocational learning problem can be scoped and tested in the supportive environment that Ufi funding provides. We grant fund projects that are at a relatively early stage, helping to prototype ideas and work out the next steps necessary on the journey to long-term success.
Funding Information
- VocTech Activate provides grants of between £30,000 and £60,000 for projects lasting up to 12 months.
What will VocTech Activate grant fund?
- VocTech Activate will grant fund the design, development and early stage testing of novel approaches to digital vocational learning; helping to take those ideas through basic prototyping to the next stage of ‘seeding the market’ by delivering a first proof of concept prototype and planning a route to market. This could include:
- Design, development, and prototyping
- Refining learning design
- Small scale testing with users
- Planning a route to market & strategies for scaling
- Project Management
- Evidencing impact & what works
- Projects must:
- Focus on adult vocational learning in the UK (be aimed at adults (16+))
- Offer new learning tools, not just new learning content
- Show real innovation and risk to justify Ufi funding
- Show a clear understanding of the vocational learning market, have evidence of a defined learning need and describe how they expect the tech will improve outcomes for learners, in addition to the technical advances
- Show real innovation and risk to achieve a step change beyond normal business development to justify Ufi funding
- Have plans for testing with relevant learners/trainers/employers and for incorporating feedback from testing into product development
- Show ambition and vision for how the project could get to market and be eventually scaled up to reach a large number of learners, if the proof of concept proves successful
What is VocTech Activate looking for?
- They want to see innovative digital vocational learning ideas which are:
- Genuinely innovative in their overall approach, their technology, or the sector or community of learners to which they will be applied.
- Ideas where people are really thinking differently about how to use technology to deliver effective vocational learning at scale.
- Projects that look at any and every aspect of vocational learning, including (but not limited to) design and development of learning tools, new delivery models, evaluation and assessment, accreditation and recording evidence of achievement.
- Projects targeted at extending learning provision to sectors, industries and communities of learners that currently lack good access to vocational learning due to factors including market/sectoral structures, cost, time, distance or language.
- They are keen to draw upon the insights we have gathered from market intelligence work and engagement with stakeholders. These have highlighted areas where we feel there is a both a need for innovation in adult vocational skills and opportunity for scale. Issues, for example, include:
- Innovation in assessment, enabling learners to access feedback and content tailored to them, when they need it
- Innovative use of data, including AI and big data to improve outcomes for learners
- Making it easier and cheaper for trainers and teachers to develop their own high quality, interactive e-learning content for vocational learners
- Creating ecosystems with relevant employers and learning organisations to create new ways for people to validate their skills and create career pathwaysg.
Eligibility Criteria
- Their eligibility checker acts an early indicator of whether your project could be eligible for VocTech Activate grant funding.
- This form does not act as an indicator of whether a grant application will be successful or not.
- Do you have a project that uses digital technology to help adult learners in the UK aged 16-65 to gain or improve the skills they need for work?
For more information, visit VocTech.