Have my say

This is your opportunity to get people interested in your proposal. You should attempt to include the following details:

• The background – What motivated you to develop this application? What examples can you provide? What 'need' will be addressed by approving this proposal? How have you identified this 'need'?
• The proposal – Briefly outline what you want to achieve. Include the best time of year to schedule your project and reasons for these dates.
• The benefits – What do you see as the positive outcomes of the project? Do you have any evidence to support your conclusions? Are there other universities or areas of Western Sydney University that are benefiting from similar projects? How will your project/proposal positively impact students and will this impact be short term, long term or both?

Make sure your points are easy to understand, explain technical jargon and make your writing clear and concise.

There are nineteen (19) service and amenity categories that the Commonwealth Government has agreed SSAF funds can be spent on. Select the category that most applies to your proposal. If your proposal doesn't apply to a category, it will not be considered.

For a full list of the service and amenities that SSAF funds can be used towards, please visit the allowable uses of SSAF webpage.

The University will report on expended SSAF funds, so it is important that you justify how your proposal applies to the acceptable uses of SSAF funds and how it will benefit students. You can also reference the Western Sydney University strategic directions.

What do you hope to achieve if your proposal is approved? What are the goals? Are they measurable, attainable and timely? How many students will benefit?

Your goals should reference the assessment criteria, how your proposal is:

• Based on evidence, good practice elsewhere (like at other universities or in the sector) and Western Sydney University strategic directions
• Considerate of a fair spread of services and facilities on each campus, taking into account current services, quality and numbers of students or types of students needing that service
• Based on the principle of the most good for the most number of students.

If you are a student and your proposal is successful, it will be assigned to the relevant unit of the University to complete. At this point evaluation strategies will be discussed; therefore, this question is not included in the student funding proposal.

If you are a staff member, you will need to consider evaluation strategies for your proposal. If your proposal is successful, you will be required to provide progress reports based around these evaluation strategies.

In your reporting you will need to be able to demonstrate:

• how many students have been positively affected by the introduction of the project
• how have these students benefited?
• what the outcome was, how have behaviours changed?

Do you have evidence that your proposal addresses a 'need' at Western Sydney University? Have other universities or institutions successfully implemented a service or project similar to the one you are proposing? Do you have evidence of this?

If you are a student you are not expected to evaluate the costs associated with your proposal; therefore, this question is not included in the student funding proposal form. The SRC will complete this section when they evaluate your application.

If you are a staff member you will need to provide the expected financial costs of your proposal. If the project/program is supported, you will be asked to provide further information.

If you are a student you are not expected to evaluate potential risks associated with your proposal; therefore, this question is not included in the student funding proposal.

If you are a staff member you will need to consider the risks and identify risk mitigation strategies.

The student proposal is designed to give students an opportunity to put forward their ideas in a simple, time efficient manner.

A higher level of detail is expected from a staff proposal including identification of risks, a deeper understanding of financial requirements and a clearer understanding of positive outcomes for students.

Proposals will be assessed on:

• Evidence, good practice elsewhere (like at other universities or in the sector) and Western Sydney University strategic directions
• How the proposal takes into account the SSAF Governance Framework.
• The principle of the most good for the most number of students.

Staff proposals will need to be endorsed by the nominated Executive sponsor before being evaluated.

The SSAF Advisory Group will consider student and staff proposals.

The Senior Executive Group will determine funding allocation.

The Office of Student and University Planning will notify proposers regarding the outcome of their bids once the evaluation process is complete.