AUDE Development Fund general information and guidelines

General Information

1. The development fund aims to support one of AUDE’s primary objectives through the allocation of funds to AUDE members and AUDE member led projects to provide a blueprint for continued professional development.  

2. The fund encourages applications for activities that will benefit the association, for example through:

• international study trips and projects
• research projects
• research papers
• meetings and projects that will have clear benefits for the sector and AUDE’s association members

3. Members may also apply for the fund to support activities such as:

• attendance at AUDE events/courses 
• attendance at external events
• learning that will be passed onto AUDE and their association members as a member benefit
• attendance at international conferences

Application Guidelines

1. All applications will be made on the appropriate application form and submitted to the AUDE Professional Development Group  at AUDE either by post or email. The AUDE office address is 3 Holywell Drive, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, or please e-mail the form to the learning@aude.ac.uk.

2. Applications should be made no less than 4 months in advance of the event (if application is for a dated event). Applications will generally be considered at scheduled Professional Development Group meetings, unless in exceptional cases there is a special need to convene because of a time-criticality.

3. AUDE will provide no more than £4,000 excluding VAT per application for each fund.

4. The fund is not transferable to other individuals or within an organisation.
   
   
5. The fund is not available for degree programmes. 
   
   
6. Travel expenses and subsistence allowance will be considered but must be in line with AUDE’s travel and expenses policy as detailed in the application form.
   
   
7. Monies will be forwarded on production of relevant quotes and/or receipts once these costs have been approved. Or where AUDE can pay in advance or on behalf of the beneficiary, we will.
   
   
8. It will be agreed that the applicant will allow AUDE to publish the output of the fund on AUDE’s website and to disseminate the knowledge gained to the wider AUDE membership. Details of this will be agreed with AUDE’s Professional Development Group.
   
   
9. The fund must be repaid in full if the applicant does not complete the qualification course (within 18 months). 
   
   
10. If the applicant resigns from their intuition while using the development fund, it can be carried over for a year at their new workplace only if the applicant stays in higher education, if the application moves out of the sector, payment will need to be reimbursed by their intuition (within 18 months). 

Who can apply?

To be eligible you must be:

• employed by an AUDE member institution and expect to be employed at the time of the application, event or project outcome
• any member of professional service staff can apply 
• looking for opportunities to enhance your professional competence and growth
• committed to sharing and using the knowledge and experience gained, for the long-term benefit of the HE estates and facilities community

What information should you include on the application form?

A brief description of your career to date and current role and responsibilities, the benefits you expect to gain from the AUDE development fund, as well as how you intend this to have an impact on your organisation and/or the estates and facilities profession in HE.

As part of the application, you will need to identify:

• expected key areas and impact for your professional development
• one or more learning outputs that will benefit estates and facilities within your organisation, the AUDE community and/or within the HE sector. This could include an article, blogs, AUDE conference presentation, written report, AUDE regional meeting presentation, webinar or e-learning content, etc, as may be most appropriate for the topic. This might be done with the assistance of a mentor, in collaboration with a colleague (you will need to specify who this would be) or alone. This output in mandatory. 
• explain why the fund is not being supported by organisation 

How will the successful applicant be selected?

The applications will be considered by AUDE’s Professional Development Group and the AUDE Executive Committee. The decision will be based on the information in the application form, and a key factor will be how the applicant defines the benefits for both themselves, their Institution and the wider HE profession.

When will I know if I’ve been successful?

The successful applicant will be notified as soon as possible that their application has been accepted to enable practical arrangements to be made in good time.

How do you apply?

Applications are welcome from any member of professional service staff working at an AUDE member institution (see above), and they must have the support of the estates/facilities director or equivalent, to promote shared learning within the organisation.