K-12-PSE Administrative Data Linkages Expressions of Interest

Overview

Improving data infrastructure and reporting capacity is key to the development of a more robust and seamless transfer system. ONCAT is providing funding to groups of postsecondary institutions and school boards to explore the feasibility of linking their administrative records. This will help the sector better understand patterns of transfer flows, student characteristics, and precursors to transfer.
 
This funding will support partner recruitment, an assessment of data sharing opportunities and challenges, and overall project feasibility. If at the completion of this process data-sharing between applicants is determined to be feasible, additional funding to support implementation and analysis for transfer-related research would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

 

Eligibility

  • Publicly assisted postsecondary institutions in Ontario (colleges, universities and Indigenous Institutes) with school board(s) interested in exploring data linkages are eligible to apply.
  • At a minimum, one postsecondary institution and one school board must confirm their interest in exploring data linkages at the time of application. Additional institutional partners are strongly encouraged but are not required at the time of application.
     

Funding

  • Grants will generally range from $10,000 to $30,000 for this stage.
  • Larger requests will be considered based on the number of institutions involved, the complexity of the proposed data sharing partnerships, and resources required.
     

Project Deliverables

  • This funding supports feasibility and exploratory activities to establish the viability of data-sharing and data linkages among the participating institutions. If data linkages are deemed viable at the end of this stage, the final deliverable can be a proposal to implement the data linkages.
     

How to Apply

  • Please submit a brief expression of interest through our online portal.
  • For more information, and if you would like to discuss this Data Linkage Opportunity,  please reach out to Roger Pizarro Milian, Senior Researcher, at rpizarromilian@oncat.ca.
     
APPLY


Reports and Check-ins

ONCAT is committed to learning with its partners and values open and ongoing communication. If you are successful in receiving a grant, the following check-ins and reporting are required:

  • An interim update and financial report.
  • Check-ins on the project as needed (via email and/or in person).
  • A final report and detailed financial statement.
  • Presentations (if needed) during knowledge mobilization events.
     

ONCAT Project Budget Guidelines

Please refer to the following guidelines when developing your budget.

Personnel
  • Includes salaries, honoraria, and stipends, specified by rate and time.
  • In cases where a faculty member’s time on the project will affect workload, and/or a teaching release is required to provide backfill for the faculty member or academic administrator involved in this project, ONCAT will fund the hiring of a part-time instructor at the college/university/Indigenous institute at the institution’s per semester rate. Please be clear in the workplan and ‘core team’ sections of your application of the anticipated time commitment of each person, especially where support for backfill is being requested.
  • Senior academic administration (decanal or above) and full-time administration with responsibilities including academic partnerships, program development, and/or transfer credit should be considered in-kind contributions. 
Project Costs
  • Includes direct costs for materials and supplies related to this project.
  • ONCAT will not pay for permanent fixtures (for example: laptops, computers, permanent software purchases, and so forth). ONCAT will pay for costs specifically and solely related to the project, such as temporary software licenses (i.e., fluid survey). 
Travel and Accommodation
  • If applicable, this includes any travel and accommodations necessary to conducting project activities. Please be clear in the workplan where travel is needed and include in the budget a breakdown of number of trips and duration. Use of teleconferencing or other cost-effective means to reduce travel-related costs are highly encouraged.
  • For travel-related expenses, ONCAT abides by the Government of Ontario Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive. Please see the following link: https://dr6j45jk9xcmk.cloudfront.net/documents/5019/ontario-travel-directive-effective-january-1.pdf 
Overhead/Administration
  • This is generally calculated at no more than 20% of the request for funding to ONCAT and is intended to cover activities such as overall project administration by the project lead institution, use of space and resources, and so forth. 
Ineligible Expenses
  • ONCAT will not duplicate any funding received from the Credit Transfer Innovation Grant. If you have sought and received funding through the CTIG for this project or any positions requested for funding, this project will be deemed ineligible for funding. Please note: ONCAT may request revisions to project budgets subject to CTIG funding decisions.
  • ONCAT will not cover expenses related to academic program or transfer pathway delivery.
  • For applications that include an online component, the online development will not be eligible for ONCAT funding and will be at the expense of the institution(s). Please refer to eCampusOntario for possible support.
  • ONCAT will not cover expenses not directly and clearly related to the project activities and goals as outlined in the application and workplan.