Trust Seeks Innovative Technology Projects

A publicly-funded Trust, set up by a former Victorian Labor Government in 1987 to promote the use of technology, has launched its 2014 funding round.

The Telematics Trust is calling for applications to support innovative educational and training projects that use technology offering grants of up to $30,000 or loans of up to $100,000 to Victorian organisations for projects that benefit the State.

The Telematics Trust, a public charitable trust, was established in 1987 by then Victorian Premier John Cain. The State Government initially funded the Trust with $3 million in grant funding over two years, with its corpus now grown to over $11 million.

The Trust provides funding opportunities to individuals, educational institutions, government, business and Not for Profit organisations that are exploring the possibilities of using ICT for educational purposes.

The Trust says it is particularly interested in targeting and funding the application of ICT to learning projects that:

• are in need of special attention;

• would be assisted by seeding grants; and

• are not within the province of other funding bodies.

In its annual report, published in 2013, the Trust said that it had distributed just over $9.2 million in grants and loans to 358 applicants over the past 26 years.

“While the need for and use of technology has grown exponentially since the establishment of the Telematics Trust, the Trust often remains the sole source of funds available to many applicants,” the report said.

An analysis of grant value by type of recipient over the past 26 years shows that 43 per cent of the $9.2 million has been distributed to community organisations, 22 per cent has gone to universities, and 19 per cent granted to business enterprises, with the balance distributed to government, TAFE institutes, high schools and primary schools.

The Trust received 134 grant applications in 2013, requesting a total of $3.7 million, but said that despite the high quality of applications it was able to fund only 27 projects.

Examples of projects funded in the 2013 grant rounds include:

PilchConnect: Not for Profit Launchpad

The Trust granted $27,000 to PilchConnect (now Justice Connect’s Not-for-Profit Law service) to develop an online education program – known as the ‘Not-for-Profit Launchpad’ that guides new NFPs through key legal concepts and processes. The online portal will contain general legal information and interactive design, and offer regular webinars and interactive Q&As with qualified lawyers.

In particular, the Launchpad will support organisations that are geographically isolated or unable to pay for specialist legal advice.

Social Firms Australia

A grant of $30,000 was provided for the development of an interactive online learning and planning guide about the disclosure of mental illness in the workplace.

Stride Foundation

A grant of $16,750 was provided for Stride to develop and introduce an ICT platform tht will help it to measure the outcomes, or social impact, of its future programs.

Youthlaw Young People’s Legal Rights Centre

The Trust provided $30,000 to for the development of a mobile website for young people that provides clear and simple legal information about their rights and responsibilities on the street, particularly their interaction with authorities such as police officers, security guards, protective service officers and authorised officers.

The Telematics Trust grants and the application form can be obtained here. The closing date for applications is 5pm on 31 March 2014.