There are two grants of £20,000 available. Non-financial support will be provided by Nesta and Tata depending on the needs of the funded projects.

1. We recommend that you attend our webinar. The slides from the webinar will be available on this page after.
2. Submit your application form by the 24th June 2019 at 9am.
3. Applications will be shortlisted and shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an interview. It is likely to be a virtual interview with Nesta staff.
4. A panel of experts will give advice to Nesta on which applicants best meet the selection criteria
5. Grantees will be finalised in late July 2019.

This fund is a grant funding programme funded by Nesta and Tata as part of Maths Mission. Maths Mission is a partnership set up by Tata and Nesta in 2017 aiming to find innovative new ways to increase young people’s interest in maths, and improve their maths and collaborative problem-solving skills.

Nesta is launching the Solving Together Fund to support two high-potential, early-stage interventions which use digital technology and have the aim of improving parental engagement in maths and maths outcomes for secondary students (11-16).

More details can be found on the slides from a webinar held in May on the fund.

Each grantee will receive £20,000 and will benefit from Nesta’s direct support and advice. They will be able to access non-financial support from Nesta or Tata. Non-financial support could include advice on business modelling, measuring of impact or marketing.

The fund will target a range of organisations including social enterprises, charities and private enterprises. Interventions can be delivered within the school curriculum, in non-curriculum time or outside of/separate from school. The projects should be delivered in the UK.

Grant offers will be made in late July 2019.

Applications close on the Monday 24th June 2019 at 9am

• Direct project costs
• Related staff costs
• Evaluation
• Limited amount of project-related marketing costs (this will be considered individually for each project)
• Programme and business development

Please note that Nesta can only fund projects that advance our charitable objects for public benefit.

We are looking for projects that aim to have a positive impact on parental engagement in maths and maths outcomes for secondary age students (11-16). Interventions can be tested in school/college curriculum time or as an extracurricular activity within schools/colleges, or be delivered outside of school/college entirely.

We are open to the model that interventions use, however digital technology should be one of the primary means of delivery. We are particularly interested in interventions that promote meaningful parental engagement, beyond sharing information with parents, and which are accessible to all parents.

We are particularly interested in approaches which use evidence in the design and delivery of their intervention and are keen to develop and refine their approach to measuring their impact. See the full selection criteria for applications.

We are open to supporting organisations that are in the early-stages of developing their intervention e.g they have tested it in one school/location and have received some initial positive results and would like to test it further. We are also open to supporting organisations who have tested their intervention in many schools but would like to pilot the intervention in a new context e.g they have implemented it in primary schools and would now like to test it in a secondary school setting.

Interventions could be aiming to have an impact on a number of different outcomes relating to maths including improving a young person's confidence in maths, improving attitudes and interest in maths and improving attainment in maths.

Desired outcomes for funded teams/grantees are:

1. Funded teams have developed an improved understanding of how to implement their intervention and are ready to test or expand their work further
2. Funded teams are able to gather insights into the effectiveness of their intervention and utilise these to develop their work
3. Funded teams contribute insights to the EdTech sector and schools on what works in this field

Desired outcomes from projects:

1. Increased parental engagement in maths
2. Improvement in maths outcomes for young people

Insights and recommendations will be collated and published by Nesta to inform the sector.

We are open to funding additional activities within an existing project/s that receive funding from another source, as long as the proposals clearly demonstrate the added value of Nesta funds and explicitly show what the Nesta-funded component of the project is.

Yes, organisations that meet the selection criteria for the Solving Together Fund can also apply for that funding round. Applicants should carefully read the criteria and FAQs for both funds before applying. Applications to each fund will be considered separately.

The Solving Together Fund is specifically for work on parental engagement in the field of maths. The grant funding and non-financial support period is six months and the fund is open to organisations implementing their work with UK schools. This fund is part of Maths Mission a broader programme tackling challenges in maths. There are two grants available of £20,000 and the grants are open to early-stage interventions as detailed above.

The EdTech Innovation Fund is open to technology products across four challenge areas - formative assessment, essay marking, parental engagement and timetabling. Products can be early or later-stage and can be applicable to any area of the curriculum (where applicable). The grant funding will be for up to £100,000 and the funding and non-financial support period is for up to 18 months. Organisations can be from outside the UK, but products must be applicable to the English education system. This is part of a partnership between Nesta and the Department for Education to support technology in schools.

Please note organisations are able to apply for both funds if they meet both selection/eligibility criterias. There is a separate application process for each fund detailed on the fund page.

Organisations must have delivered the full intervention in at least one school or location, and have a clear model that can be replicated. Organisations will also need to be able to demonstrate how they meet at least level 1 on the Nesta standards of evidence and are committed to growing and further understanding their impact. Find out more in the selection criteria.

We are open to receiving applications from applicants who work in parental engagement broadly or in the context of another subject and who would like to trial how their intervention could improve parental engagement in maths and maths outcomes for young people.

Applicants will have a clear and accurate sense of where their intervention is on the Nesta Standards of Evidence and a clear plan for how they want to improve their impact measurement procedures (if applicable). Interventions should reach level 1 as a minimum on the Nesta Standards of Evidence.

• You must demonstrate your experience of utilising digital technology effectively to improve student outcomes, and are passionate about the potential benefits of digital technology in the education system.
• You must keep accurate records of your expenditure of the grant and comply with Nesta’s monitoring requirements.
• You must be committed to taking part in non-financial support.
• Nesta is committed to evaluating the impact of its grant-making processes over the medium-term, so you should be willing to participate in a follow-up survey or informal conversation about the progress of your initiative up to three years after your application.