CALL FOR PROPOSALS: ABC EDUCATION PORTAL

APPLICATION GUIDELINES
The ABC and Education Services Australia invite interested businesses, individuals and institutions to submit proposals for the creation of interactive digital educational tools aligned to the Australian curriculum to feature as part of a new ABC education portal. This is an exciting new project for the ABC that will allow it to develop and increase its audience reach and online presence.

Background
In December 2011, Ministers Conroy and Garrett announced the $19.4 million funding for a new online education portal to be developed by the ABC and Education Services Australia (ESA). See joint press release for Department of Communications, Broadband and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) and Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Reform (DEEWR): www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2011/299. This initiative is the result of two years of research, pilots, pitches and scoping by the ABC Innovation in consultation with education partners and the ABC Cross Divisional Education Group set up in 2009 by ABC Managing Director Mark Scott. Further information: http://www.abc.net.au/learn/education-portal.htm

Objectives
The broad objectives of the initiative are to: Utilise and promote the capacity and capability of the NBN to improve the educational experience of Australian students, parents and teachers. Explore new possibilities for interactive learning in rich, immersive digital environments. Provide engaging and immersive digital learning experiences to engage students and parents in the home to support their learning at school. Develop world-class innovative and interactive educational resources for Australian students, parents and teachers with a focus on equal access. Make available to students, parents and teachers resources aligned to the Australian curriculum and aggregated around Learning Activities. Provide a wealth of digital media clips, content and interactive tools for use at home and in digital classrooms. Ensure the ABC fulfils its Charter obligation to educate and inform Australians by maximising the value and reach of educationally relevant ABC content.

Target audience
The key target audiences for the project are primary and secondary schools students, teachers and parents/ caregivers across Australia. The primary audience is students and parents/ caregivers at home with a secondary audience of teachers and students at school.

Content
There are two broad streams of content for the portal: 1. A library of digital clips, objects and other media for use inside and outside of the classroom. 2. A range of broadband projects that are innovative and highly interactive aligned to the Australian Curriculum and demonstrate the value and the utility of the NBN, particularly in the context of the home.

Curriculum areas
At this stage, the Stream 2 projects should address the requirements of Phase 1 of the Australian Curriculum: English, maths, history and science. The Supporting the Australian Curriculum Online Project (SACOL) is currently focusing on acquiring student resources in the following areas where there are identified gaps: English: The strand of English Language, with the exceptions of the substrands of Expressing and developing ideas and Sound and letter knowledge. History: The strand of Historical knowledge and understanding for Years F 2 and Years 7 8 History: The strand of Historical Skills across all year levels, World history Mathematics: The strand of Measurement and Geometry for Years F 2 For links to the Australian Curriculum, please go to www.australiancurriculum.edu.au. Whilst the ABC Education Portal seeks to address these gaps, the ABC and ESA will evaluate proposals that fall outside these identified gaps where applicants can demonstrate that their project is original and does not duplicate current resources.

Application brief
The ABC is seeking a range of projects to be delivered over the course of the life of the project (ending December 2014) that are highly engaging educational tools that can be used by students and families in the home and by students and teachers in the classroom. The aim is to create tools that would be feasible in a post-NBN world. There will be a number of funding rounds across the three year project (2012-2014). First deadline: Friday 31 August 2012

Application categories
The ABC/ESA education initiative will fund project ranging from $50,000-$400,000. The following is an indication of the types of projects we are seeking: Medium to small interactive projects ($50,000-$150,000): This may be a single interactive project or a project with a series of interactive modules. Flagship Interactive Projects ($150,000-$400,000): Interactive learning projects that involve rich media production, interactivity and collaboration. These projects will be built on existing technologies that are already tested and proven. NBN Pilot Projects ($150,000-$400,000): These interactive learning projects will explore new and innovative approaches to learning, real time collaboration and immersive environments. They may use new and emerging technologies supported by the NBN Applicants can submit application/s in more than one category.

Application process
All applications must be submitted to ABC Digital Education using this Application Form by Friday 31 August 2012. Applicants will be notified in writing of a decision within approximately 10 weeks of the closing date for applications. Submissions will be accepted by:

Email: Post:

education@abc.net.au ABC Digital Education GPO Box 9994 Melbourne VIC 3001 03 9626 1983 education@abc.net.au

Fax: Enquiries:

Assessment Stage 1: We will acknowledge receipt of your application. The ABC and ESA will evaluate the application against the assessment criteria. From this initial review, the ABC and ESA will shortlist potential projects. Stage 2: You will be notified in writing if your application has been shortlisted. Shortlisted applications will then be evaluated by a Review panel which consists of representatives of the ABC, ESA and experts from the digital media production and education industries. You may be contacted at this stage to provide further details on your proposal. All applicants will receive feedback on the success of their application within 10 weeks of the closing date for applications. Due to the large number of applications, we will not be providing detailed feedback to applicants. 3

Assessment Criteria
Funding decisions will be made against the following criteria: 1. Relevance to the Australian national curriculum, particularly in addressing areas where there are gaps or a shortage of digital and interactive resources 2. Broad appeal in the market, particularly for students at home (Years 5 to 10 as main target) 3. Innovation in both their use of technology and educational approach (defined as approaches which have not been widely used in Australia before) 4. Demonstrating the value of the high bandwidth, bi-directional, collaborative capacity of the NBN (ie projects that would not be feasible at lower connection speeds) 5. Providing equal opportunity for educational services and access to learning resources for all Australians (including those in regional areas or at economic or social disadvantage) 6. Cost-effectiveness (including value for money due to external funding sources or in-kind contributions) 7. Relevance to Cross Curricular Priorities (Sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, Asia and Australias engagement with Asia) as well as General Curriculum Capabilities such as Literacy, Numeracy, Information and communication technology (ICT) capability, Critical and creative thinking, Personal and social capability, Ethical behaviour and Intercultural understanding.

Guidelines
The Application Form contains three parts: Part A Complete if you are applying for funding for project development Part B Complete if you are applying for the ABC to license an existing product Part C All applicants to complete: Declaration and Submission Details

PART A FUNDING FOR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT Please consider the following points when completing your application: Ensure that you are aware of the ABCs Editorial Policies which enable content makers and the public to understand the editorial and ethical principles that are fundamental to the ABC. http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.htm Project team List the key members of your team who are confirmed to work on the project if your application is successful. List any education experts you have on your team or who you will engage if your application is successful. Attach separately 2 page CVs for each of your key team members. Project description Describe your project in a one-line synopsis and a paragraph of no more than 300 words.

 Attach separately any visuals that explain your project further (eg. site map, wireframes, user experience journeys, screenshots, prototype) Be explicit about how your project will demonstrate the value of the NBN. Project objectives Describe the objectives of your project in bullet point form. Ensure you include the specific educational aims and objectives of your project in relation to the funding criteria. Audience Indicate the relevant year levels your project targets. Address specifically how your project targets students and families in the home. Address specifically how your project targets students and teachers in the classroom. Outline whether your project has the potential to reach more than one target year level.

Explain how your project highlights the capacity of the NBN, especially in an educational context.
Content strategy Indicate your content strategy for the life of the project. Does your project involve Indigenous content or participation by Indigenous people? If yes, please briefly describe how you will manage that content and/or participation. Ensure that you are aware of the ABCs Editorial Policies which enable content makers and the public to understand the editorial and ethical principles that are fundamental to the ABC. http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.htm Indicate whether your project relies on User Generated Content (UGC) and / or social media. If your project does rely on UGC, outline any moderation requirements. If your project does rely on social media integration, outline which platforms. Indigenous content or participation Indicate whether or not your project uses content created by, or reflect experiences, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, their communities or cultures? If yes, briefly describe the strategies you will use to ensure that people from these communities are consulted during the creation of the product. Ensure that you are aware of the ABCs Editorial Policies which enable content makers and the public to understand the editorial and ethical principles that are fundamental to the ABC. http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.htm Technology and platforms Give a brief overview of the methodology (eg. agile, waterfall), technologies and tools that will be used in the execution of this project. Delivery platforms: indicate, in bullet point form, what platforms and/or devices you will deliver the project on (eg. full size/capability: web browsers with width > 1024px; smartphone/s, tablet/s, interactive whiteboards). Clearly indicate whether the resource will be optimized for smartphones and tablets.

 Flash development: If your proposal includes a pre-existing product which has been developed in Flash, indicate your strategy to make the resource available on a range of mobile devices. The costs should be itemised in the budget. Technical integration Indicate in bullet point form any key technical dependencies for the project with particular (but not exclusive) attention to: o Hosting requirements o Identity management requirements (if applicable). Guidance note 1 - Hosting: o The ABC may be able to provide hosting for projects using a LAMP hosting environment (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), however full external hosting costs should be included in the budget over a 3 year period for the purpose of the proposal. Guidance note 2 Identity management: o Any projects requiring user management will need to integrate with the ABC internal registration management system (MyABC ID). MyABC ID is currently in development, and will enable: 1. identity management (a user registers once, and their profile is available across multiple digital properties e.g. ABC Drum and ABC Environment) 2. single sign on (a user is logged in across multiple digital properties) MyABC ID will implement an industry standard, CAS (Central Authentication Service) server, and websites requiring user management will need to communicate with the MyABC ID CAS server using API calls. Existing CAS client libraries (PHP, Java, .Net) can facilitate integration with MyABC ID CAS server."Any costs for this integration should be estimated and indicated in the budget. Ongoing support and maintenance Outline in bullet point form how the project will need to be supported after delivery. o Platform / technical support requirements o Content development (if applicable) o Community management (if applicable) Any anticipated ongoing support and maintenance costs should be estimated and indicated in the budget over a 3 year period for the purpose of the proposal. . Intellectual property The ABC and ESA are seeking projects which can be identified as free for educational use so that no Australian (student, teacher or family) will bear a cost for the use of the project for educational use. The funding cannot cover projects which seek commercial gain within the Australian market. Outline in point form: Who owns the intellectual property of the platform / technology?

 Who owns the intellectual property of the content? If your product results in the creation of any User Generated Content (UGC), what intellectual property arrangements do you propose for that UGC content? Success criteria / reporting Indicate what you see as the success metrics of the project (refer to the overall ABC/ ESA education project aims and objectives). How will the qualitative and quantitative data for these success metrics be collected and reported upon? Risks No project is without risk. Please carefully consider any risks and indicate in the table provided, in very brief point form, what these risks are and how they might be mitigated. In identifying risks, consider: Student safety Technological dependencies Budget costs Resourcing

This list is not exhaustive. Accessibility Outline to what level your project will be accessible. Please note: Projects should be at a minimum WCAG 2.0 Level A compliant (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG). . As stated above, if your proposal includes a pre-existing product which has been developed in Flash, indicate your strategy to make the resource available on a range of mobile devices. The costs should be itemised in the budget. Timeline Include a timeline outlining the key milestones and date for delivery. Outline any dependencies for the project start date. Budget The budget should be a high-level budget which outlines the main costs for the implementation of your project. Include costs for previously mentioned items such as any conversion costs, support and maintenance and any other ongoing costs (eg. content development, community management).

PART B LICENSING OF EXISTING PRODUCTS Product details Ensure you include key contact details for your submission (name, phone number, email, address, postal address). Company background Give a short background on your company (300 words). Ensure you indicate your expertise in the educational market. You can attach separately any further information on your companys credentials. Product synopsis Give a one-line synopsis of your product. Product description Give a general description of your product (300 words). You can attach separately any visuals that explain your project further (eg. product information, user experience journeys, screenshots) You can also provide access to the product itself for the Project Review Group. Objectives / Aims Explain the general objectives and aims of the product. Ensure you explain the specific educational objectives and aims of the product. Include any evidence that the objectives and aims of the product are being met currently. Audience Indicate the relevant year levels your project targets. Address specifically how your project targets students and families in the home. Address specifically how your project targets students and teachers in the classroom. Outline whether your project has the potential to reach more than one target year level.

Explain how this product serves the needs of students and families in the home. Explain how this product highlights the capacity of the NBN, especially in an educational context.
Indigenous content or participation Indicate whether or not your project uses content created by, or reflect experiences, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, their communities or cultures? If yes, briefly describe the strategies you will use to ensure that people from these communities are consulted during the creation of the product. Ensure that you are aware of the ABCs Editorial Policies which enable content makers and the public to understand the editorial and ethical principles that are fundamental to the ABC. http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.htm

Technology and platforms Give a brief overview of the methodology (eg. agile, waterfall), technologies and tools that will be used in the execution of this project. Delivery platforms: indicate, in bullet point form, what platforms and/or devices you will deliver the project on (eg. full size/capability: web browsers with width > 1024px; smartphone/s, tablet/s, interactive whiteboards). Clearly indicate whether the resource will be optimized for smartphones and tablets. Flash development: If your product has been developed in Flash, indicate your strategy to make the resource available on a range of mobile devices. Technical integration Indicate in bullet point form any key technical dependencies for the project with particular (but not exclusive) attention to: Hosting requirements; Identity management requirements (if applicable). License arrangements The ABC would expect a license of 3 years which enables the content to be available exclusively for the Australian territory. No Australian student or family The license fee will be subject to negotiation. Outline the names of the licensor/s and ABN details. Please give an indication of how much the product cost to create (ball-park figure). Indicate whether or not the product received any external funding and if so, where that funding came from. Ensure that you are aware of the ABCs Editorial Policies which enable content makers and the public to understand the editorial and ethical principles that are fundamental to the ABC. http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.htm PART C DECLARATION AND SUBMISSION DETAILS Declaration You must ensure that you are the authorised representative of the Applicant company and / or the individual Applicant/s. Sign the form (electronic signature will be accepted), print your name and date. Supporting Documentation Please email any supporting documentation including 2-page CVs of your key team members and any visuals to explain your project) to education@abc.net.au with the name of your project in the subject line. Enquiries Send any enquiries to education@abc.net.au. Ensure you include your preferred contact details and we will respond to you as soon as possible.