Formal requirements
What types of schools can be involved in Sparkling Science projects?
Any school, regardless of school type, can be involved in the project. There must be at least one Austrian partner school in the project. International partner schools are also welcome to participate in the planned projects.
Can a school take part in several projects?
Yes, there are no limits in this respect. However, capacities and resources must be available in order to be able to participate in all of the projects applied for if funding is granted.
Do the projects have to start in the 2024/2025 school year?
Yes, the project should start as soon as the project is approved. The earliest possible start is September 2024.
Letter of Interest (LOI)
What is a Letter of Interest?
The Letter of Interest (LOI) is a declaration of intent by the partner school(s) to participate in the project. The document should set out the interest in participating and the key aspects of the intended collaboration, e.g. how and where the project ties in with the curriculum, what expectations the teacher(s) or the school have of participation in the project and the relevance of participation in the project for them. If the additional funding ‘Science in Schools’ is requested for the involvement of ‘new’ schools in the programme (see overview list), the school's experience with citizen science activities must be addressed.
The LOI must include the title of the submitted project. Formally, the date, stamp and original signature of the school management and the teacher(s) (presumably) primarily responsible for the project are also required.
How is the Letter of Interest submitted?
The Letter of Interest (LOI) of the partner school must be submitted digitally as part of the submission process. All LOIs will also be forwarded to the reviewers. The more meaningful the LOIs are, the more clearly the cooperation with the school and the added value for the participants can be assessed.
Additional information:
LOIs are required from the schools involved but not from the cooperation partners at the time of submission.
Confirmation of the formal cooperation between the submitting institution and the cooperation partners is provided later, after funding has been approved, via the cooperation and work contracts.
Cooperation
Is there a minimum number of schools/classes/pupils that must be involved in the project?
No, the number of schools/classes/pupils involved depends entirely on the project and is not an evaluation criterion. Projects that involve five schools, for example, are therefore not automatically rated better than projects with one school as a partner. Projects can be carried out with the entire school, specific classes or selected pupils. The decisive factor for the assessment is the contribution of the pupils and teachers involved, which leads to the success of the project, as well as the added value created for all those involved.
How are the long-term collaborations with schools to be described in the application (see special guideline point 5.1) to be understood and how much effort is involved?
The long-term collaborations to be described should be able to continue for at least two years beyond the duration of the funded projects with as little effort as possible and without financial resources.
Example: The scientific institution undertakes to regularly provide the school with topics for pre-scientific work, including literature tips and links, or researchers visit schools, for example as part of an open day, or they hold workshops at schools. Perhaps small projects can also be carried out together over the years.
How are peripheral regions or schools defined?
Helpful links can be found in the call text, p. 8, footnote 11. When applying for the additional funding “Science in Schools”, the reason why a region is considered peripheral must be explained in the project application, as the designation can refer to different aspects (geographical, socio-economic, etc.).
Does the OeAD have recommendations for cooperation with partner schools?
Recommendations for cooperation between schools and science can be found in the OeAD brochure of the OeAD Center for Citizen Science.