Higher Education Partnership Initiative 2017–18 - Call for proposals

The Higher Education Partnership (HEP) fund is an initiative of the British Council Vietnam to enable education, research and innovation links between the UK and Vietnam. 26 projects have been funded since 2013.

The ultimate aim of the HEP is to capitalise on the UK world-class teaching, learning, innovation and research capabilities to contribute to the enhancement of education, research and innovation in higher education in Vietnam.

This year, HEP is to provide seed funding to enable new UK Vietnam partnerships or advance the existing projects that create impact and sustainability in key areas of priorities as below.

Key area of priority in 2017–2018 is promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and start-up culture at higher education institutions in Vietnam. 

This is in response to the Vietnamese government strategy to boost innovation and start up ecosystem in Vietnam to respond to the society development and economic growth and to enhance students’ employability. Developing a high quality human and intellectual capital at higher education institutions will help foster an effective start up and innovation ecosystem in Vietnam. 

This can include initiatives and mechanisms in teaching, learning and research development that enhance innovation and entrepreneurship culture and promote role of university in the start-up ecosystem, which as a result will contribute to society development, economic growth and students’ employability.

The partnerships should be in the format of:

1. Education Policy reform: i.e. they support and facilitate the Vietnamese Higher Education Reform Agenda (HERA) and the internationalisation of Vietnam and UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). 

2. Transnational Education i.e. the delivery of education across borders which can take various forms:

• Delivery of UK education through foreign campuses
• Delivery of UK qualifications through partnerships with foreign institutions
• UK academics delivering training in foreign institutions

3. Development of R&D collaboration: i.e. they focus on very specific areas that match UK comparative advantage with Vietnam development needs

4. Industry engagement

Higher education institutions and research institutes in Vietnam and the UK are eligible to apply for this fund. Lead applicants can be either from UK or Vietnam.

The involvement of government and/or businesses/industries from either country in the proposed project and consortium application involving more than two partners will be an added value for the proposal.

The fund available under this Call is worth GBP90,000.  Applicants may bid for a range of GBP 15,000 - GBP 30,000 from this fund.

Applicants are required to meet a minimum of 50 per cent (50%) of the total project budget in the form of cash match funding which should be transferred into the British Council account for administration of match funder’s commitment. 

The cash matching fund is the contribution from applicant’s institution to the project in order to assure the result and the sustainability of the project. This is NOT the income of the British Council. The full amount of the fund (50% from the British Council and 50% matching fund) is to be used for the project implementation.

Project duration: 9–12 months

Each proposal will be considered by an assessment panel whose role will be to score projects against the assessment criteria, using an agreed scoring scheme. 

The main criteria for evaluation of the applications will be:

• The confirmation of participation by senior staff of BOTH UK and Vietnam HEIs in the project
• The extent to which the proposal meets the expectation of the call.
• The promise for an innovative and impactful project with clear indication of values brought to participating institutions and beyond (e.g new ideas and approach, high impact to wide group of targeted audience of both UK and Vietnamese institutions, etc.) through a clear and thorough application of M&E tools
• The theory of change that project will bring to support Vietnam HEIs development
• The potential of sustainability of the partnership beyond the funding period (e.g. commitment of the project team and project target audience after the project time, the possibility of extending the project using the available resources of the participating institutions, etc.)
• The commitment of 50 per cent (50%) of the total project budget in the form of cash match funding, and a clear grant management arrangement.
• The involvement of government and/or businesses/industries from either country in the proposed project and consortium application involving more than two partners as an added value.

Applications for funding can be submitted by the partner from either the education or business sector. Applications should clearly indicate the lead partner and fund allocation by activity with clear time-tables.

Applicants are required to complete a concept note form (Form 1) and submit this to the British Council. If the applicants’ concept note is successful, they will be notified to develop full proposals (Form 2).  In the case of consortia bidding, the proposal should be submitted by the ‘lead applicant’.  

Applicants who wish to look for Vietnam/UK partners to deliver the project can send their brief concept notes (Form 0) to the British Council by the required deadline. The British Council will support to facilitate the partnerships for proposals that are in line with the HEP initiative.

Proposals will be assessed following the timeline as specified in the important timeline.

Detailed important timeline can be found here.

• Form 0 – HEP 2017 – Brief concept note for those who are looking for partners for this project
• Form 1 – HEP 2017 – Concept note application form
• Form 2 – HEP 2017 – Full proposal application form

Concept notes and full proposals should be emailed by no later than the deadlines specified in the above timeline to:  

Phi Phan

Higher Education Manager (Partnerships)

T: +84 28 3823 2862 (ext. 2500)

E: Phi.Phan@britishcouncil.org.vn

Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our cultural relations ambitions. They contribute to the mutual trust, respect and understanding we strive for on behalf of the UK. Our Equality Policy commits us to ensure that there is no unjustified discrimination in people on the basis of age, gender, disability, religion and belief, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and work-life balance. All projects undertaken by lead and implementing partners must not contravene this policy.