The importance of the ‘wow factor’ in your Carrick application

Denise ChalmersDirector (Awards, Fellowship, International Links)CARRICK INSTITUTE

www.carrickinstitute.edu.au

The Grants Scheme

The Grants SchemePrinciples• Compliance with the Carrick Institute mission, objectives and values • Transparency • Value for money • High impact • Future looking

Carrick Institute Objectives• Promotion of systemic change• Recognise fundamental importance of higher education learning &

teaching• Develop mechanisms to identify, develop and disseminate good practice• Establish reciprocal national and international sharing and benchmarking• Identify important future oriented issues that impact on higher education

and facilitate national approaches to them

Carrick Institute Grants Scheme

1. Leadership for Excellence in Learning and Teaching Program

2. Competitive Grants Program3. Priority Projects Program

Preparation – Getting started

1. Review all documents for all grants programs before deciding to apply or which type of grant to apply for including:

a. Carrick Institute mission, objectives, valuesb. Guidelines c. Checklistsd. Assessment reports (2006-7)e. Project management informationf. Previous and current projects/grants reports and activities

2. Review your own ideas/proposal – is it sufficiently different, or add a significant development/extension to what currently exists?

3. If you find a project, methodology similar to what you are proposing, find out more about it, see if you can join, receive reports etc.

Preparation – getting started (cont.)

4. Reassess – do you have a viable idea/issue?5. Establish your team/collaborators - be strategic

1. Will this team impress?2. Does it include a range of skills, contributions – are these clear?3. Is it a collaborative or convenient team? – Do you have a track

record of working together? Is there an established relationship?4. Are the members all committed?5. Do you all have HoD’s, senior exec support? How can you build

the support? Is it strategic for the university?

6. Have you done a pilot? 7. Do your homework - review the literature and develop a

sound theoretical basis for the project. Identify the need, gaps to be filled, application to be made (1st & 2nd generation).

8. Provide evidence of clear project management stages

Writing the application – Putting the bones in place

1. Address ALL the criteria and follow the guidelines2. Demonstrate how it fits the category throughout the

submission3. Start writing NOW for next year, revisit regularly 4. Involve ALL members of the team in planning and writing the

application5. Have it reviewed by friends, colleagues, successful grant

holders, assessors6. Review against the previous Grant Assessment reports7. Provide a pithy, compelling synopsis of the project on first

page. Include discipline/focus and intended outcomes.8. Ensure coherence between each/all section - objectives,

outcomes, dissemination, evaluation, budget etc.

AWARDS

Carrick Australian Awards for University Teaching (CAAUT)

Awards for Teaching Excellence (up to 27, $25,000) − Prime Minister’s Award for the Australian University Teacher of

the Year ($50 000)

Programs that Enhance Student Learning (up to 14, $25,000) Submissions due - 11 July, 2008

Citations for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (up to 210, $10,000)

Submissions due - 9 May, 2008

Career Achievement Award

Preparation – Getting started

1. Review all documents for all Awards programs before deciding to apply or which type of award to apply for including:

a. Guidelines b. Assessment reports c. Previous award applications – successful and unsuccessful

2. Review previous applications – What is their edge, what makes them stand out, what makes them dull? What features work and which do not work? List these

3. Review your own teaching, talk to others to identify the things that you do that others do not?

4. You need to provide EVIDENCE from a variety of sources of your depth, breadth and sustained contribution

Writing the application – Putting the bones in place

1. Start writing NOW for next year, revisit regularly 2. Address ALL the criteria and follow the guidelines

- state claim - provide examples, illustrate- provide evidence from a variety of sources

3. Demonstrate how it fits the category throughout the submission

4. Have it reviewed by friends, colleagues, successful award winners holders, assessors

5. Review against the previous Award Assessment reports6. Provide a pithy, compelling synopsis on first page. Include

discipline, breath, depth and sustained nature of teaching.7. Ensure coherence between each/all sections.8. Less is more - EDIT

And the WOW factor?

Use ‘Extreme Makeover’ as your guide

Put the focus of your time and work in building the bones and underlying structure

Only then - highlight the features that you think will stand out (1-3 only) – trim the fat, highlight with makeup, clothes.

There is no ‘WOW’ without a strong underlying structure.A strong, coherent application, with evidence, will be more likely

to be successful over a “wow” application without coherence/substance.

A strong, coherent application with “Wow” will stand out over the rest.

What is “Wow”? Just as for beauty, it is intangible, but can be glimpsed in Passion, coherence, focus, confidence, commitment, evidence, focus on students/others, symmetry,

FELLOWSHIPS

Carrick Fellowships

New scheme started in 2006

High profile and well resourced

• Senior Fellowship Program (4) max $330,000• Associate Fellowship Program (10) max $90,000

Closing date 8 February, 2008

Designed to promote system wide initiativesStrong encouragement for international links and networksStrong commitment to dissemination and implementation