FAQs

About WorldWise

1. What is WorldWise?

WorldWise is a development education programme that provides funding to support learning partnerships between post-primary Irish schools and their partner schools in developing countries. WorldWise aims to raise awareness of development issues among Irish students, teachers and the wider community, and to heighten the interest in and relevance of development education within the post-primary curriculum. We see school partnerships as a very effective way of introducing students and teachers to global issues, and of increasing mutual understanding and learning between partner schools in different parts of the world.

WorldWise is funded by Irish Aid and managed by Léargas. 2010-11 will be our fourth year of operation, having started as a pilot programme in July 2007. The support we provide takes a number of forms including grants for partnership project work and reciprocal teacher visits, professional development for teachers, fora for students and teachers to share ideas and learning, and advice and guidance on good practice in linking.

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2. What are the objectives of WorldWise?

WorldWise aims to:

• raise the profile of development education in post-primary Irish schools
• provide advice and guidance on the principles of school linking
• have a positive impact on existing school partnership projects and encourage the building of new school links that are equitable, educational and sustainable.

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3. When did WorldWise start?

WorldWise was officially launched by Minister Conor Lenihan in April 2007, and programme activities commenced in the summer of 2007. The scheme is currently in its third year and is funding 34 school projects and five network projects. Our next application deadline was held in March 2010, and funding for the 2010/11 academic year will be announced shortly.

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4. How long will the scheme run for?

At present, WorldWise is expected to run until September 2011.

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5. What is the role of Irish Aid in WorldWise?

Irish Aid has overall responsibility for WorldWise while the implementation (i.e. administration) is outsourced to Léargas in the form of a three-year contract following a competitive tendering process. All decisions regarding policy rest with Irish Aid. These include:

• Aim and objectives of the scheme
• Areas of intervention (i.e. second level schools/colleges in Ireland)
• Eligible partner countries
• Funding conditions
• Publicity and educational materials

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6. What is the role of Léargas in WorldWise?

Léargas is responsible for the administration of the scheme. This includes:

• Publicising and promoting the scheme
• Managing each funding round through its whole life-cycle (application through final reporting)
• Providing advice and support to potential applicants and funded projects
• Providing training and fora for sharing learning for funded projects
• Developing education resources and guidelines for school partnerships
• Monitoring and evaluating the scheme and making written recommendations to Irish Aid in relation to the current running of WorldWise and/or the future of the programme.

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About Partners and Countries

7. What countries are eligible to link with under WorldWise?

Eligibility is restricted to developing countries; please see our Eligible Countries list for more details. Irish Aid particularly welcomes projects that have a partner based in a country benefiting from Irish Aid support. If the developing country in which your partner school or organisation is based is not listed please contact the WorldWise team for clarification of its eligibility under the programme.

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8. Can you find us a partner school to link with?

We do not currently provide a partner-finding service to schools. However, we can offer advice on how to go about finding a partner in our Partner-Finding Guide. If you would like to talk to a member of the team about finding a partner school please contact us.

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About Funding

9. Who can apply for funding under WorldWise?

The scheme is for Irish second-level schools and colleges, including colleges of further education, and also networks of schools. Institutions and NGOs may not apply for funding under WorldWise. Please note that applications cannot be accepted from individuals, but must be made by the schools in which they work. Only schools which have identified and agreed on a partner school to link with may apply for funding, as we do not currently provide a partner-finding service for schools (for further details on partner finding see question 8). Partner schools must be from one of our eligible countries.

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10. What types of funding are available?

Project Funding

• up to €2500 maximum for project costs that include project resources and implementation in both schools, communication costs, development education workshops, themed days, etc.

Teacher Visit Funding (Irish Teacher and Partner Teacher Visits)

• up to €2500 per Irish school where two or more teachers are travelling
• up to €3000 per partner school where two or more teachers are travelling

Network Funding

• specific funding is also available for networks of schools, up to a maximum of €2000 per school in each network (up to a maximum of 20 schools)

Disadvantaged schools

• where schools that are members of the DEIS School Support Scheme require additional funding to enable student travel, a maximum of €5500, based on travel costs, is available for 3/4 students for a 7 day visit. Contact the WorldWise team for more details.

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11. Our school is very new to linking and to development education. Can we also apply for funding?

Only those schools that already have partner schools may apply for funding. However, if your school is at this stage, there are steps you can take to set the stage for your partnership project. To find out more about development education have a look at the What is development education section of the website, and another good starting point is to check out some of the WorldWise case studies for ideas.

Here are some tips on how to get your school linking project started:

• Find out how much support and enthusiasm there is in your school for establishing a link with a school in a developing country. Successful school partnerships require long-term commitment from both schools involved, not only from teachers; if the project is to be successful, it will also require the full support of the students, principals and school management teams from both schools.
• Examine the reasons why you want to form a link with a school in a developing country. It is important to discuss your motivations and expectations with your partner school so that you are both clear on what you want to achieve, and that you both have joint input into the project. This is particularly important in global North-South links where charitable models are often the norm for relationships, as such models usually does not provide a useful starting point in forming an equitable partnership that is based on learning.
• Think about the practical problems you will need to overcome in order for the link to be successful, and whether you have the necessary support and resources to make that happen e.g. establishing regular and reliable channels of communication
• Ask yourself how such a project would be of mutual benefit to both schools involved and how you will avoid an unequal power relationship.
• Consider the opportunities in your school curriculum for introducing development education, which will help in raising awareness of development issues among staff and students.
• Think of strategies that will help to embed the linking project in your school's curriculum and ethos.
• Consider the themes or topics you would like to study with your students, and what would be most relevant to them and your partner school.
• In short, ask yourself lots of difficult questions!

Have a look at the Good Practice Guidelines for North/South Linking (PDF | 569 KB) , which highlights the principles of linking that WorldWise promotes. Use our website as a starting point to look at the wealth of development education resources that are available for schools to use, and to find out more about development education organisations working in Ireland.

Check out other resources. A very helpful resource can be found at Ukowla's (UK One World Linking Association) website, which examines in detail the challenges and opportunities of school linking. Other articles that can help you think through the pros and cons of linking include Margaret Burr's thinkingpiece http://www.dea.org.uk/resources/item.asp?d=910. Further ideas on building school partnerships and embedding a global dimension in your school can be found on the British Council Global Schools Partnership website.

Look for a partner school. There are organisations in Ireland that link schools here to partner schools in developing countries. Alternatively there are online resources where you can look for an appropriate partner school. See question 8 for more details.Use our Partner-Finding Guide as a starting point.

Finally, get in touch with us if you would like to talk through any aspect of your planned linking project.

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12. How do we apply for funding?

Have a look at our funding page for application forms and guidelines.

Our most recent round of funding for the 2010/11 academic year was held in March 2010:

Electronic versions of applications must be received by email by 17.30 on Monday 22 March 2010

Identical signed hard copies must be received by 17:30 on Friday 26 March 2010

Applications must be:

• made on behalf of a school or college
• signed by the legal representative of the institution making the application
• filled out completely, providing the required details on all participants, aims and objectives, activity plans, etc.

Note: After you have submitted your application by email it must be followed up by an identical signed hard copy within five days. Without original signatures from the legal representative of your institution your application will be considered ineligible.

No application for backdated funding will be considered under any circumstances.

If you would like assistance during the application process, please contact a member of the WorldWise team. We will be available to answer questions and will be happy to give feedback on draft applications.

Send completed applications to: WorldWise, Léargas, 189 Parnell St, Dublin 1. Tel. (01) 873 1411; Email: worldwise@leargas.ie. Application forms and guidelines will be available in advance of the deadline on the website. You will need to read the guidelines fully before filling in your application form.

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13. Can we apply for backdated funding?

No. Funding is awarded to schools on the basis of their applications and proposed activities for a specific academic year. Schools cannot apply for funding to pay for linking or immersion activities that have taken place in previous years.

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14. What can project funding be spent on?

Project funding received under the scheme may be used for the following activities in both schools, and should benefit both schools equally:

• Development education workshops (details of workshops designed by WorldWise and IDEA for students are available here)
• Project materials and resources for both schools
• Project-related communications e.g. mobile telephone, fax, email, postage and other related costs
• Development education resources for both schools
• Paper, art materials and other resources used during the classroom-level implementation of project activities in both schools
• Purchase or hire of equipment relevant to project activities up to a maximum of €200 for Irish schools and up to a maximum of approximately one third of the grant for partner schools
• Production of project-related materials (e.g. photocopying, publishing costs)
• Dissemination costs in both schools e.g. newsletter, open/themed days in school, website updates, project exhibition
• Small items of hardware for the partner school (not the Irish school) that are necessary for the success of the project e.g. web cam, camera, fax machine, telephone (or mobile phone), modem, CD-writer; again, up to approximately a third of the grant may be used for the partner school under this heading.

Note: If you propose using a percentage of your grant to purchase small items of hardware, you must fully justify this in your application and demonstrate how it will contribute to the development of the project.

Note: for details of how network funding can be spent, see network guidelines.

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15. Can we use the funding to buy materials for our partner school?

Yes, but these materials must be used directly to meet your jointly established linking aims. Funding for linking projects is intended for use by both schools on activities and resources that will strengthen their link and provide a development education context. It is to benefit all students and teachers involved, both in the Irish school and its partner school. Any materials purchased with WorldWise funding should be presented as project costs and not gifts.

Any materials purchased must be directly related to your project and not for general school improvement. There must also be a balance of costs in your grant expenditure i.e. not all of your grant should be spent on materials for your partner school.

If specific items are purchased with your grant to further project aims, evidence must be given in your final report of how these materials have benefitted the project, and all receipts must be submitted.

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16. What can we spend reciprocal teacher visit funding on?

Teacher visit funding may be used for travel and accommodation during the visit by teachers to their partner school. If your school is hosting colleagues from your partner school, we recommend that a hosting model be used for the duration of their stay in Ireland. This means that the partner teachers would be hosted by a member of your school community. Much of the value of teacher visits is for the visitors to see how their partner school, community and colleagues live and work. Staying in a hotel means that visiting teachers would miss out on a key part of this experience, and we feel strongly that hosting partner teachers is a far more beneficial and enriching experience for all involved, and will have a positive impact on your project as a whole. Per diems for visiting teachers are awarded on the basis of this hosting model.

Note: The outcome of a successful teacher visit should be a partnership agreement or similar document--created and agreed on by both schools--that sets out a framework for how the project will progress and a timeline for joint activities for the coming year. A Partnership Agreement Template is available here.

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17. What criteria are used to assess WorldWise applications?

1. Evidence of strong development education dimension e.g. including relevant themes, values, goals, learner-centred and action-based methodologies, local-global links etc.
2. Degree of collaboration between the two partners e.g. evidence that both partners have contributed to the completion of the application form and that there will be a shared input into the development of the project
3. Sustainability i.e. is there evidence of good past/future communications between both schools?
4. Evidence of strong evaluation and dissemination skills
5. Degree of whole-school involvement
6. Degree to which the project involves and engages the wider community
7. Contribution to teachers' professional development

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18. Do you fund travel costs for students and teachers travelling to developing countries on immersion visits?

Project funding does not provide for teachers' or students' travel on immersion visits. DEIS Student travel funding is available in the case of a small number of disadvantaged schools, where a contribution to student travel of 3/4 students up to a maximum of €5500 is available. See details of all WorldWise funding, including DEIS Student Travel, under question 10

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19. Our school is designated disadvantaged (DEIS). Is there separate funding available for designated disadvantaged schools?

Yes. Where schools that are members of the DEIS School Support Scheme require additional funding to enable student travel, this may be available, based on travel costs for 3/4 students up to 7 days; contact the WorldWise team for more details.

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20. Can networks of schools apply for funding?

Yes. Specific funding was made available on a trial basis for networks of schools in September 2008, and is now a permanent part of the WorldWise programme. Five networks involved in development education and school linking are currently being funded, with the aim of establishing a common approach to school partnerships in a wide range of schools in both Ireland and partner countries. See our funding page or question 10 for more details of network funding.

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About WorldWise Projects

21. What is the difference between linking and immersion?

Linking Projects, also called twinning or partnership projects, involve the establishment of learning partnerships between schools in Ireland and in developing countries. The main aim of these partnerships is to increase mutual understanding and collaboration between schools. Through building up a relationship and getting to know each other better, students and teachers in both schools gain greater insight and understanding of their partner school and country, as well as about global issues more broadly. Once this relationship has been established, it can then be a very effective vehicle for both schools to learn more about specific development issues of their choice.

These projects may include an element of student travel or exchange, but may also work well without any travel by students. To work best, linking involves a relatively long-term commitment. Important elements of a successful school link are:

• jointly agreed project aims, learning objectives and communication methods
• realistic expectations
• thorough preparation
• full support from the schools' management
• built-in evaluation so that the partnership improves with time
• long-term commitment
• focus on student and teacher learning

Immersion projects typically involve students travelling to a host school, organisation or community in a developing country to experience at first hand the realities of the developing world. Immersion visits may take place as part of a school-to-school link or, more usually, they may arise from other links the school has with an organisation or community in a developing country. WorldWise supports those schools that wish to broaden immersion projects to become two-way partnership learning projects between linked schools.

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22. How will WorldWise support school partnership projects?

WorldWise funding for school partnership projects will:

• support communication and joint project work between partner schools to facilitate mutual learning for students and teachers in both schools
• enable Irish schools to access development education providers in Ireland to set a context for their project and to help them build a sustainable learning relationship with their partner schools. Development education workshops for students have been created by WorldWise with IDEA, details of which can be found here.
• provide opportunities to attend WorldWise training events for students and teachers, as well as fora for sharing learning and discussing best practice in linking. Details of some of our events can be seen under WorldWise news and photos in our gallery section.
• allow teachers from both schools to plan project activities through face-to-face meetings; this will be accomplished through reciprocal teacher visits (see details under Funding).

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23. Can we fundraise for our partner school?

It is very likely that there will be financial disparities between Irish schools and their partner schools and organisations. There may well be expectations from both sides that fundraising for facilities and equipment in the partner school will be the main purpose of the linking project. However, we recommend that Irish and partner schools think carefully before they decide to embark on fundraising, and discuss the issue carefully together. Fundraising can promote stereotypical views and create barriers to mutual learning and understanding. It is difficult for students to view each other as equals in a link where one partner 'has' and the other partner 'has not'.

We envisage WorldWise providing schools in Ireland and their partner schools with the support needed to establish and sustain long-lasting learning partnerships, where students and teachers from both schools learn from each other in a two-way relationship. Fundraising can transform an equal partnership into an unequal donor-beneficiary relationship, and once this pattern has been established it can be very difficult to have the same level of honesty, mutual learning and respect that existed before.

Naturally, many schools that are planning a student visit (either by Irish or partner students) will need to fundraise to finance it. There are also many school partnerships in which fundraising does play a role, but is not the main focus of the project. It can be used successfully to support partnership activities rather than improving facilities in partner schools. Where fundraising does happen, we strongly recommend that all partners should be involved in planning a strategy and in agreeing on how funds will be spent, and that the funds would act as an enabler of partnership activities in both schools.

For further information we recommend reading Linking between Ireland and the South: Good Practice Guidelines for North/South Linking (PDF | 569 KB), which provides practical guidelines. Other useful advice can be found at www.ukowla.org.uk/main/toolkit.asp and www.britishcouncil.org/globalschools-partners-in-learning.

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About The WorldWise Project Lifecycle

24. What is the procedure once we have submitted an application for WorldWise?

On receipt of an application, the WorldWise team in Léargas will assess it for eligibility and, if it is eligible, will prepare it for review by the Grants Committee. All eligible applications will be acknowledged within 14 days of receipt by Léargas.

When the round has closed, all eligible applications will be forwarded to the Grants Committee for assessment. The criteria that the committee will use are listed above. The Grants Committee will meet to review all the applications and will make agreed decisions on which applications will receive funding. The decisions of the Grants Committee are final.

Assuming a successful application, the funding will be supplied within 30 days of a signed contract between Léargas and the successful applicant school. The funding will be supplied in two stages: 80% up front and the remaining 20% on receipt of a satisfactory final report and all receipts for project expenditure (for more details see question 25).

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25. Once we receive funding, will our school be monitored during the course of the scheme?

Your school may receive a monitoring visit from WorldWise staff during the course of the year. This will be part of our on-going monitoring and evaluation of the scheme. All schools hosting a partner teacher visit will be visited by a WorldWise team member while their partner colleagues are in Ireland.

We also ask that you keep track of expenditure and receipts during the year.  All receipts must be submitted in your final report on your project activities in order to receive the balance of the funding allocated to your school.

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26. What do we need to include in our final report?

Project Funding: evidence of the project activities that have taken place within the school during the year (for example student essays, guest speakers, details and outcomes of workshops, transition year modules, school exhibits etc.), in accordance with the application. If a student visit has taken place as part of the project, you should include evidence such as photographs/video footage, student and teacher journals, partner school feedback, etc. All receipts of expenditure must be submitted with your final report.

Teacher Visit Funding: proof of the visit (e.g. boarding cards, ticket and accommodation receipts) and evidence of the teacher visit activities (e.g., photos, summary of meetings, agreed aims of linking or immersion project, Partnership Agreement drawn up between partner teachers, etc.), and receipts for all items of grant expenditure. The Partnership Agreement is the most important outcome of any WorldWise Teacher Visit.

The Final Report for current WorldWise participants is due on June 15th 2010. Final report templates for schools are available here, and for networks here.

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27. How is WorldWise being evaluated?

Throughout the pilot year, an external evaluator worked with the WorldWise team in Léargas to set up procedures to evaluate the effectiveness of WorldWise. These procedures included baseline surveys of a selection of schools. The evaluation will continue throughout the lifetime of the scheme, building on the baseline surveys and examining how attitudes to development issues change over time. WorldWise will also undertake monitoring and evaluation visits to schools taking part in the scheme. In addition, WorldWise has agreed a set of performance indicators with Irish Aid, and reports on these formally twice a year to Irish Aid.

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About Development Education and WorldWise

28. What is development education?

"Development education is an educational process that aims to deepen understanding of global poverty and injustice and to encourage people towards action for a more just and equal world."

(Irish Aid Development Education Strategy 2007)

Development education enables people to understand the links between their own lives and those of people throughout the world. As well as examining certain key concepts such as global citizenship and social justice, it also promotes key values of respect and social responsibility, and places a strong emphasis on action-based, learner-centred methodologies.

For more details please go to: What is development education? on our resources page. Or have a look at www.developmenteducation.ie

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29. Do you provide guidelines on linking that we can access?

Yes. Linking between Ireland and the South: Good Practice Guidelines for North/South Linking (PDF | 569 KB)

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30. Where can we find materials/resources to get started on our linking project?

The Resources section of this website is a good place to start. Here you will find a list of useful organisations and resources that will give you ideas for themes and materials for your project (for example www.developmenteducation.ie). You will also find a list of development education organisations and NGOs, which are very good sources of information and expertise on many aspects of development. We will be continually updating this list. Our list of WorldWise case studies is updated regularly and will give you a good idea of what's happening in WorldWise projects around the country.

Any questions or enquiries can be sent to a member of the WorldWise team who will be happy to assist you and give you advice on getting your project started.

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