The Eden Catalyst Fund supports evidence-based education enhancement and innovation projects for up to £10,000. We support initiatives which contribute to the development and delivery of education enhancement activities at the School. We are particularly interested in applications relating to the following themes.
Curriculum enrichment
The Catalyst fund supports projects aiming at developing activities that support and enhance students’ learning experience.
Assessment and feedback enhancement
The Catalyst fund supports projects aiming at developing current assessment methods to enhance students’ ability to know the causes of things.
Technology enhanced learning and digital innovation
The Catalyst Fund supports projects aiming at improving student experience at LSE by innovating or enhancing learning through technology.
Inclusive education
At LSE, inclusive education is centred on the recognition of all identities, underpinned by a steadfast dedication to principled and inclusive teaching and learning approaches. Our key areas of emphasis within the inclusive education framework encompass academic mentoring, the integration of inclusive and anti-racist pedagogies, and the enhancement of our curriculum.
Student voices and/or student partnership
Student voice is an overarching term covering the multiple ways in which LSE can gain insights from students to enhance education and the student experience. Closing the feedback loop is a key part of student voice activity to help ensure that students feel heard and that they understand how their insights are being used to shape LSE. Student partnership is an expansion of student voice, focusing on ways in which LSE can position students as equal participants, active collaborators and/or co-creators of their education and wider student experience. This ethos is at the heart of LSE’s Educate for Global Impact strategy.
Academic Support
The Catalyst Fund, in line with LSE commitment to fostering community, inclusion and wellbeing for all students, supports projects aiming at strengthening provisions of academic support and academic mentoring at course, programme, or department level.
Education for Sustainability
Education for Sustainability reflects an educational approach that employs teaching methods to equip students with the skills for perceptive analysis of social issues, aiming to drive progress towards a more sustainable future. Erica Pani, Academic Lead for the Education for Sustainability Initiative at LSE, explains here what Education for Sustainability means at LSE. The integration of sustainability into LSE's teaching and learning experiences has become a commitment within the Education strand of LSE's Sustainability Strategic Plan, playing an integral role in accomplishing LSE 2030 Priority 1: Educate for Global Impact.
**Please note - the Catalyst Fund also supports research projects and data collection contributing to institutional and sector-wide debates connected to the themes listed above.**
If you wish to apply, please use the online Expression of Interest (EoI) Form. The EoI form is a simple, high-level application form requesting an outline of the project and an estimation of cost that will allow the funding panel to agree to a project in principle. Here you can find a printable copy of the EoI form to give you an idea up-front of the sections and questions you will need to fill out. We welcome Expressions of Interest emerging from interdisciplinary, interdepartmental dialogues and submitted by applicants across different departments.
Once completed the EoI form will be automatically sent to the Eden Centre for the funding panel's consideration. We aim to respond to EoIs within 15 to 20 working days of submission.
The approving panel is aiming to support evidence-based, education enhancement, and innovation projects.
Evidence-based: The panel is interested to hear about the evidence base underpinning the project, this could be from the scholarship, how the project connects with past projects within and outside the Department, and/or results from student feedback.
Education Enhancement: The panel is interested to hear about initiatives which contribute to improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment activities and experiences for students and staff in line with LSE 2030 Educate for Global Impact. These can be at course, programme, or department level.
Innovation: The panel is interested to hear about projects aiming at innovating teaching and learning activities, introducing creative pedagogic practices, digital innovation, redesigning assessments, and focusing on key priorities of LSE2030 Educate for Global Impact. These can be at course, programme or department level. The Fund also supports innovation by funding practice sharing and practice building within and across disciplines.
The panel is particularly interested to hear about how applicants will use the experience of the project to inspire the larger LSE teaching and learning community (outputs can be sharable resources, Atlas development sessions, HE blogs posts, case studies, short videos, etc).
To ensure continuity and clarity in the application process, the following points outline what is beyond the remit of the Fund. The list below will be reviewed annually to meet the ever-changing landscape of teaching in Higher Education.
Regrettably, we are unable to fund:
- Costs towards repeating activities previously funded by the Catalyst Fund or other funds across the School. However, we are very interested in supporting ideas or practices emerging from past projects implemented within a department or inspired by previous Catalyst funded projects across the School.
- Costs towards paying permanent members of staff.
- Costs towards paying teaching staff to perform teaching and marking duties.
- Costs towards hiring external consultants whose area of expertise overlaps with the expertise of teams or members of the LSE community.
- Costs towards producing Departmental merchandise.
- Costs towards buying electronic goods for staff such as laptops and desktops.
If relevant to a successful outcome of the project, the approving panel may fund:
-
Costs towards food catering
-
Costs towards hiring venues outside LSE
-
Costs towards travel expenses for visiting scholars
The Catalyst Fund can also support activities and initiatives focused on education enhancement and innovation that are part of or to be implemented during a Departmental Away Day.
To mark the first Education Forum of 2023/24, Dr Claire Gordon, Director, Eden Centre inaugurated the first edition of The Eden Catalyst Spotlight Fund. This year's Spotlight is on the theme of Student Voice.
The TEF results prompt the School to work collaboratively to keep students at the centre of the LSE community. Colleagues are encouraged to share their plans on how to enhance students' education and learning experience in line with LSE Educate for Global Impact Strategy. In particular, the Eden Catalyst Fund welcomes plans for projects emerging from students’ feedback and/or aiming to improve the visibility of how feedback is acted on. The Eden Catalyst Fund is also interested in funding projects emerging from/inspired by past research conducted by LSE Change Makers.
Proposals at course, programme and departmental level were welcome, as were collaborative staff/student projects. Colleagues were also encouraged to reach out to their network across the School to implement interdepartmental initiatives.
The deadline to submit applications under the Spotlight Fund was 5 January 2024. Awards were announced in early 2024.