Isaac Newton Trust Widening Participation and Induction Fund for Colleges

The INT Widening Participation and Induction Fund (WPIF) was established in March 2022 on the basis of a donation of £1.3m from Trinity College Cambridge to provide resources for Colleges to support their work with prospective and incoming undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as their teachers and their parents or guardians.

There will be two application deadlines per academic year, on 1 February and 1 June.  It is anticipated that the Fund will last until September 2025, at which time this programme will be ended.

The June 2022 round is now closed;  the next round closes 1 February 2023.

Cambridge Colleges are invited to apply for funding for specific projects, for up to £50,000 per academic year per College.  A total of £500,000 will normally be available in each academic year, but the budget for this first round is £100,000.

Colleges may submit applications:

• individually,
• together with other Colleges,
• or jointly with other institutions such as University departments or voluntary sector organisations; in such circumstances the funds will be disbursed to the College.

Grants are intended to cover activities scheduled to be completed within 12 months of the funding being awarded; Colleges may apply again in subsequent funding rounds for the support of the same, or different, activities in following years, up to £50k per year.

Funding decisions will be made by a panel chaired by a Trustee of the INT.

Principles and purpose

Projects eligible to receive support through the WPIF are those targeted at prospective and incoming undergraduate students of Home fees status who are under-represented in UK higher education, particularly at the University of Cambridge.

Such projects might, for instance, be for

• developing subject interests at younger age ranges; or
• encouraging applications among Year 12 students to Cambridge or other leading universities; or
• working with offer-holders and incoming students who can be helped further in building up their subject knowledge or study skills beyond existing provision at school level in preparation for university study.

Priority will be given to well-costed proposals that are innovative and specifically address educational disadvantages that have been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, but other proposals may also be considered for funding.

WPIF grants may be used:

• for partial salary costs and
• for the creation of lasting resources, such as websites or equipment,
• as well as direct student contact, such as residential events.

WPIF grants cannot be used:

• to provide additional bursaries or scholarships, which are already covered under the Cambridge Bursary Scheme; or
• for teaching for the Foundation Year, which is already fully funded.

For further information on the WPIF, please contact director@newtontrust.cam.ac.uk

How to apply

There is no application form.

A proposal should normally be no more than two sides of A4 and consist of the following:

• College or Colleges making the application;
• contact person (name and email address);
• overall projected cost; joint proposals between Colleges should make it clear what proportion should be attributed to each, to count towards the overall maximum of £50,000 per College in any academic year;
• brief description of the project, including a timetable;
• budget setting out how the grant will be deployed.

The above should submitted as a single pdf to administrator@newtontrust.cam.ac.uk to arrive no later than 5pm on Wednesday 1 February 2023.

Please mention in the subject line of the email that it is an application for the WPIF.

Spending the award

WPIF funding should normally be spent within 12 months of the award being made.  If any funding is held over after 12 months, it should be returned to the WPIF unless specific permission is sought from the INT to spend the money later. Permission will usually only be considered if there were unforeseen delays to the implementation of the project.

Final report required

Each College allocated funding must report back to the INT with an evaluation of the project that has been supported. This should include an assessment of how others may learn from their experience, including an account of what worked and what did not. This report may be shared with other Colleges, as well as others in the wider University engaged in outreach and induction work who may wish to undertake similar projects in future. Collecting and sharing these reports among those involved in widening participation work in the Collegiate University is an important purpose of the Fund.

Submission of a final report is a prerequisite for eligibility for future grants under the WPIF programme.