Technicians Development Fund

Research Technical Professionals, Technicians and line managers of technical teams can apply to the Technicians Development Fund. The fund is held centrally by The Academy and is to provide grants to support a developmental activity, event or project which will improve, enhance, or develop our technicians and the wider technical community.

Case studies

Who can apply?

Any technician or line manager of technical teams can apply for the grant.

How much can I apply for?

The amount of your application will depend on the type and scope of development you are looking to commission. We have a total fund of £15,000 for this year's grants and therefore we will strongly welcome part or match funding from departments to make the activity reach as many people as possible. The application must include details on the return of investment anticipated.

What can allocated grants be used for?

We would encourage an imaginative use of these funds. However, grants should be used to strategically help meet the aims of the Technician Commitment. Some examples of what the grant could be used for include:

  • Commissioning of external expertise to develop technicians or technical teams
  • Travel costs for cross-institutional secondments
  • Purchasing of online development tools that can be disseminated widely across the University
  • The development of training for a new piece of equipment
  • Bringing in expertise to roll out development via a 'train the trainer' approach.

What the grant cannot be used for

We have no explicit list of activities that the grant should not be used for, but some examples include:

  • To cover the cost of existing activities or projects we reasonably believe the department should cover
  • Staffing costs related to disability support, family leave or sickness absence
  • Staffing costs where there is a reasonable expectation that these should be covered by the department or are intrinsic to the normal role of the employee (e.g. a UoL employee speaker fee at a UoL event).

What is the shortlisting / assessment criteria?

The Technician Commitment Steering Group will review the applications and choose a range of activities that best meet the purpose of the grant. Whilst we would encourage you to be ambitious in your application, it should also be realistic; successful applications will clearly demonstrate that the activity will work or is needed and are achievable within the prescribed timeframe. Items the steering group will assess are:

  • Does the application demonstrate how a return of investment will be calculated?
  • Does the application have the support of the Head of Department or equivalent?
  • Does the application meet the aims of the Technician Commitment?
  • Does the application explain how the recipients plan to disseminate new learning or techniques?
  • Does the application help meet the aims of the University strategy?

Technical staff are often in student-facing roles and therefore find themselves in situations where they offer pastoral support. Applications that aim to support technicians in this area will be looked upon favourably. As well as applications that support the University's commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

If you are not successful it doesn't mean it wasn’t a good idea, or a worthy activity, just that we have a limited number of applications we can support at this time and that you should try again in the future.

When must the activity happen?

The activity must be completed by 30 June 2025. The grant will be transferred to your department's budget account when we receive confirmation that the activity can go ahead.

The grant cannot be rolled over into a new financial year, and if the activity does not take place, you will be required to repay the money in full.

Will I need to do an evaluation?

To learn what positive outcomes have been achieved as a result of the grant an evaluation will need to be completed. The evaluation report should include how successful it was in meeting the original objectives, lessons learned and recommendations. This must be submitted to The Academy within 6 weeks of the activity finishing. You may also be expected to attend the Technical Leaders Forum (or Technical Network events) to discuss how the development has changed practice.

What is the application deadline?

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis up until 1 June 2025. Completed application forms must be sent to theacademy@liverpool.ac.uk

Failure to carry out the activity or to not provide an evaluation report will require the monies to be repaid in full to The Academy.

Application

The Technicians Steering Group aims to review and reply to all submissions within 15 working days. If you would like feedback please contact theacademy@liverpool.ac.uk

If you experience any issues with accessing the form, please log in to Microsoft Online and then refresh this page.

Alternatively, download the Technicians Development Fund guidance and application form (Word, 176KB) and email it to theacademy@liverpool.ac.uk.