Project for the literacy and basic education of low-literate adults: Call for proposals for the scientific monitoring of regional basic education centers (GBZ)

The aim of the call is to identify and select a suitable project for the scientific monitoring of the establishment and operation of regional basic education centers.

Funding will be provided for a project, possibly as a joint project (with a main applicant and sub-applicant/subcontractor with sub-calculation), which uses methods and approaches to be able to track the development and achievement of objectives of the GBZ during the process. The objectives and tasks of the funded GBZ are explained in the announcement of a competition for participation in projects for the exemplary testing of regional GBZ of January 4, 2024 (SächsABl. p. 57, No. 3/2024).

The in-depth evaluation of individual learning opportunities or subject content is not the subject of the accompanying research.

In order to increase participation in basic education in the respective region and to support low-literacy learners in their participation opportunities, the scientific monitoring should provide scientific support to the sponsors of projects for GBZ. In interaction with the sponsors, it should track the development and achievement of objectives of the GBZ and provide action-oriented support, taking into account science-based aspects. In addition, findings on the results of the projects, in particular with regard to the objectives pursued by the SMK as well as the conditions for success, influencing factors and transferability, are to be collected and summarized in a transfer concept.

The accompanying research thus comprises two areas of activity:

a) Formative evaluation of the set-up process
The task of the accompanying research is to support the strategic-conceptual discourse on the achievement of objectives. Control knowledge must be generated to enable those responsible for the project to optimize the implementation process, i.e. to avoid or correct implementation problems and thus improve the impact of the innovations in practice.

Research questions could be, for example
- How are regional supply and stakeholder structures recorded and taken into account, how efficient is knowledge management?
- How is the GBZ networked in the region, are regional network structures strengthened or developed and is cooperation with socio-spatial, working environment partners initiated or expanded?
- Which formats and communication channels are used and prove to be efficient?

b) Evaluation of target achievement and recommendations for future practice
The scientific monitoring is intended to make statements on the efficiency of the implementation of the described tasks and the achievement of the objectives of the projects at the level of structural, process and result quality.
The SMK is particularly interested in answering the following questions:
- To what extent/with what success were the goals set by the project sponsors achieved?
- Which results were achieved with which specific offers and measures?
- Which target groups were able to benefit from which offers and measures and in what way?
- What suggestions can be derived for the application of the knowledge gained in practice and the perpetuation of effective services and measures in adult education structures in the respective region or at another location?
- What recommendations can be made for the transfer of the knowledge gained?

In addition, further questions derived from the state of the art in the field of research on low-threshold approaches to literacy and basic education for low-literacy learners can be pursued within the framework of the project with regard to the tasks and roles of regional GBZ and the added value experiences of the GBZ providers.

The accompanying research is therefore an important interface for the strategic further development of basic education services in Saxony.

Funding is provided for the scientific monitoring of the testing of the establishment and operation of GBZ, in particular with regard to regional networking with regard to raising awareness and involving local and regional stakeholders as well as with regard to addressing and supporting adults with low literacy levels to participate in lifelong learning. The main aim is to determine which approaches and conditions for success should be considered and fulfilled for the sustainable establishment and effectiveness of LTCs and the roles and functions assigned to them in adult education.

All funded projects (up to 7 GBZ) are to be included in the accompanying scientific research. The diversity of regional basic education landscapes must be taken into account. In addition to the GBZ providers, other research partners such as the Coordination Office for Literacy and Basic Education in Saxony or cooperation partners of the GBZ can also be involved in the project. However, funding is only provided for the applicant.

The scientific support must be carried out in close professional coordination with the SMK. The work and results must be presented in a comprehensible and application-oriented form and made available to the SMK as a result of the project in the form of a transfer concept. In addition, a final presentation is to be provided.

Alternative learning opportunities for pupils with special needs: Participation competition Coordination office and scientific support

As part of the Free State of Saxony's European Social Fund Plus (ESF Plus) program, the Saxon State Ministry of Culture (SMK) is funding the development and implementation of "alternative learning opportunities" to increase the graduation rate of pupils who cannot be taught in class due to social or emotional impairments or mental illness. The implementation projects will be funded in three project areas (A: primary level, B: lower secondary level, C: truancy) and are set to begin in the 2024/2025 school year.

Project proposals are invited for the coordination of established services and their specialist support on the one hand and for scientific monitoring on the other. Project proposals can be submitted for both coordination and scientific support or for only one of the two sub-areas.

The aim of the announcement is to identify and select one suitable project each for a "Coordination Office for Alternative Learning Opportunities" and scientific support. Consequently, a maximum of two projects covering the areas of coordination and scientific support can be funded on the basis of this announcement.

To provide technical support for the implementation projects in project areas A (primary level), B (lower secondary level) and C (school refusal), a "Coordination Office for Alternative Learning Opportunities" and scientific support will be funded to support the networking and cooperation of the various stakeholders by pooling the experiences and findings of the individual implementation projects, identifying successful approaches and using them both in the short term across projects and in the long term to prepare them for transfer to regular operations.

To this end, the "Coordination Office for Alternative Learning Opportunities" should
a) provide technical support for testing the concepts of the providers with the aim of transferring proven models, approaches and methods to regular operations,
b) facilitate an exchange and networking between the individual projects in project areas A, B and C as well as between these and existing projects and c) act as a contact and advice center for schools, school supervisors, legal guardians and the local public youth welfare agencies for the placement in suitable individual projects.
youth welfare organizations.

The scientific monitoring of the "alternative learning opportunities" is intended to
a) analyze the implementation of the "alternative learning opportunities" with regard to their success, challenges and implementation hurdles and
b) evaluate possible transfer and continuation options for alternative forms of schooling for pupils with social-emotional or psychological impairments and school refusers as part of a scientific classification.

The staffing of the coordination office for the fulfillment of the specified tasks should be estimated in such a way that one person (up to 1.0 FTE) performs the project management and, together with another person (up to 1.0 FTE), the tasks of coordination and consulting as well as public relations and networking. A project assistant (up to 0.75 FTE) can be funded to support coordination. Material and administrative expenses are also eligible for funding (see Section VI of this announcement).
The staffing of the scientific support should be estimated in such a way that personnel of up to a total of 1.0 FTE is calculated as a scientific specialist or specialists (minimum qualification: Master's degree or equivalent). Material and administrative expenses are also eligible for funding.

Tasks of the "Coordination Office for Alternative Learning Opportunities" and scientific support:
The following range of tasks must be covered in the areas of coordination and scientific support.

Tasks for the coordination area are in particular
- External process support for implementation projects,
- Contact and advice center for multipliers, schools, school authorities as well as other professions and affected legal guardians,
- Information (transparency) about offers and providers of offers,
- Organization and implementation of networking and training opportunities for project staff working in the implementation projects,
- Information on the subject area through public relations work and sensitization of key persons in society,
- Formation and management of a project advisory board consisting of representatives of the highest and subordinate school supervisory authorities, the Saxon County Council and the Saxon Association of Towns and Municipalities, the local youth welfare organizations and the coordination office as well as the planned project for scientific support.

The tasks of the scientific support are in particular
- Generating statements on the level of structural, process and result quality regarding the efficiency of the implementation of the "Alternative Learning Opportunities" and the achievement of the project objectives,
- Deriving recommendations for the application of the knowledge gained and the continuation of effective offers and measures in the Free State of Saxony, in the respective
respective region of the pilot projects or at another location,
- Inclusion of further questions derived from the state of science in the field of promoting the target groups of "alternative learning opportunities".

The project of the coordination office serves to provide professional support as well as the exchange and networking of the implementation projects with the relevant stakeholders in youth welfare and schools. The coordination office also serves as a contact and advice center for placement in suitable implementation projects. The project for the scientific monitoring of "alternative learning opportunities" is intended to provide information on successful approaches within the framework of the testing of "alternative learning opportunities" and their transfer to regular operation.

Implementation must be carried out in close cooperation with the Saxon State Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, the State Office for Schools and Education, the participating and, if applicable, other local
local youth welfare organizations and the schools and independent youth welfare organizations involved in the implementation projects in project areas A, B and C in accordance with Section II letter C number 1.2.

Funding rate: The funding rate is up to 100 percent.

Applies only to call basic education centers: The intended funding covers personnel expenses and material expenses up to a maximum total amount of EUR 100,000 on average per year. Administrative expenses are funded up to 7 percent of the eligible direct costs

Type of grant/financing: Project funding in the form of proportional financing

Duration of project:

Basic education centers:
Funding is provided for a project duration of three years. However, approved projects can be extended during the funding period without a new funding announcement after a request has been made and a corresponding application submitted, subject to the availability of appropriate budget funds. A period until June 30, 2028 at the latest is planned for this.

Alternative learning opportunities:
The project duration is initially planned to be 30 months. Approved projects can be extended without a new funding announcement following a request from the funding provider and a corresponding application. The extension period depends on the planned duration of the projects and the availability of budget funds.
Funding for the implementation projects of the "Alternative Learning Opportunities" is expected to be possible until July 31, 2028 at the latest.

Eligible expenditure:
The following expenditure/costs are eligible for funding in accordance with the current rules of the administrative authority on eligible expenditure and costs (so-called FFAK).

- Personnel expenses for own staff and external staff as job funding or as a lump sum for personnel costs
- Material expenses: Consumables, equipment according to Afa (depreciation), expenses for services/rights/licenses, travel expenses, rents
- External services
- Administrative expenses (7% of eligible expenses less expenses for external services)

Other conditions:
The cross-cutting principles of respect for fundamental rights and compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, equality between women and men, gender mainstreaming and inclusion of a gender perspective, equal opportunities and non-discrimination must be observed in the implementation of projects.

In addition, the objective of promoting sustainable development and taking into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the principle of "do no significant harm", as enshrined in Article 11 TFEU, must be taken into account.

Brief explanations of the principles must be included in the project description.

Further information on the ESF Plus principles in the ESF can be found here:
https://www.sab.sachsen.de/documents/60761/Infoblatt/Grundsätze

https://www.sab.sachsen.de/documents/Infoblatt/Grundrechte

- Legal entities under public law
- Legal entities under private law
- Partnerships with legal capacity

The project sponsor is expected to have experience in project management and in the implementation of research projects or accompanying scientific projects in the field of adult education, preferably with a focus on literacy and basic education.

Funding recipients of approved projects for the pilot testing of regional GBZ may not be funding recipients (or sub-applicants in the case of a joint project) of the project for scientific support.

The EPC supports TU Dresden projects in accordance with the Vice-Rector Research 2/2023 and must be involved in the application process. The EPC advises on the funding conditions and the application process, has powers of attorney for the legally binding signature vis-à-vis the SAB and has central access to the SAB funding portal for the submission of project proposals.

Applicants must submit the following documents by email to epc@tu-dresden.de by August 12, 2024
- Notification of third-party funding
- Project proposal according to SAB structure with signature of coordinating Chair(project proposal structure)

Please note: Project proposal should not exceed 10 pages DIN A4 (proportional font, e.g. Arial, font size 11 pt, single line spacing), plus attachments if necessary (e.g. for extensive tables).

Additional information required in the project proposal
a) Information on the project sponsor
- Description of specialist skills and experience
- Description of project management skills
- Description of spatial and organizational framework conditions
- Description of existing specialist and other networks and/or collaborations
- Description of the qualifications and suitability of the staff to work on this project

b) Information on the project
- Detailed description of the implementation and achievement of the project objectives
- Description of the course of the project, the planned measures and work steps with reference to the tasks (milestone plan)
- Description of the measures for quality assurance and for managing cooperation with the relevant stakeholders
- Statements on ensuring the sustainability and continuation of the results

c) Information on the expenditure of the project

(Personnel costs: we will be happy to calculate the personnel costs if you contact us before August 12, 2024)

- Personnel expenses
- Travel expenses
- Expenses for external services from external partners
- Expenses for consumables and the use of equipment (usually depreciation or rental/leasing)
- Rental costs for rooms
- Expenses for administration
- Expenses for organizing events, networking and public relations
- Presentation of total expenses (cost estimate) for the entire duration of the project and the distribution over the individual annual periods

The selection is made by a jury, which assesses the following priorities in particular with the specified weighting:

1. objectives of the project (25 percent)
2. achievement of objectives, work steps (33 percent)
3. results and documentation (25 percent)
4. total expenditure, funding amount, own contribution, economic efficiency (17 percent)

Further application procedure:
- Legally binding signature of the project proposals by SG 5.2 (EPC)
- Upload to the SAB funding portal by SG 5.2 (EPC) by August 23, 2024 at the latest
- Technical and content-related evaluation and selection of the best project proposal by an expert selection committee, probably by October 4, 2024
- Notification of the selection decision by the Sächsische Aufbaubank - Förderbank - to all applicants; invitation to submit a formal application.
- Submission of the project application by November 15, 2024; then: Review of the application and decision on approval by the SAB.

Basic education centers: https://www.sab.sachsen.de/smk-esf-plus-richtlinie-vorhaben-zur-alphabetisierung-und-grundbildung-gering-literalisierter-erwachsener

Alternative learning opportunities: https://www.sab.sachsen.de/alternative-lernangebote-f%C3%BCr-sch%C3%BClerinnen-mit-besonderen-bedarfslagen

Structure Project description

ESF Plus guideline Lifelong learning potential 2021-2027

Basic education centers (GBZ):

Announcement Basic Education Centers from 19.06.24

Quality standards for literacy in basic education ESF Plus

Program page SAB (Basic education centers)

Funding module SAB basic education centers

Alternative learning opportunities (ALA):

Announcement of alternative learning opportunities

SAB program page (Alternative learning opportunities)

ESF Plus principles for GBZ and ALA:

- https://www.sab.sachsen.de/documents/Infoblatt/Grundsätze

- https://www.sab.sachsen.de/documents/Infoblatt/Grundrechte

Notice from the Vice-Rector Research 2/2023

Notification of third-party funding

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