Funding Criteria

The TDF (Teaching Development Fund) has a Seed Fund to enable members or students (in collaboration with at least one academic member of staff) to support smaller-scale innovation projects and the initial development of larger-scale ideas, with no cross-departmental collaboration necessary.

Please note that the TDF Seed supports activities that relate to learning and teaching, not content or curriculum.

To ensure fair allocation, the maximum amount an individual may claim is £1000.

How to apply for funding

Seed funding for 2025/26 is an a one-stage application form, and will be considered by the panel three times a year, the application deadlines this year are:

• Friday 27th February 2026
• Friday 24th April 2026
• Friday 19th June 2026

Applications for AY25/26 are open, if you would like to apply please completed the Seed Application form

Example of the application form questions can be found here

This academic year (2025/26) preference will be given to applications that address:

• Inclusive teaching and assessment
• Postgraduate Taught
  
• Generative AI
• Assessment & Feedback
• Student Engagement

However other excellent and innovative learning and teaching proposals can also be considered.

Funding applications will be considered and approved by the TDF Panel.

Receiving payment

If your application is successful, the agreed amount will be made as a lump sum into a project K account.

Reporting back about your funding

Following the funding being given, outcomes will need to be made available to share more widely with University colleagues. This could be in the form of a blog post or a short talk at a forthcoming CLT Lunchtime Hub and/or EduFest, the University's annual learning and teaching conference. In the first instance, please email a brief synopsis to clt@bath.ac.uk.

Long-term project planning

Projects demonstrating a long-term sustainable plan will be given priority. Should your TDF project prove successful and you want to keep delivering it, you will need to consider where resource for this will come from. For instance, if ongoing funding or resource is needed to extend the project, or additional licenses need to be paid for, this will likely need to be included in the University’s annual financial planning round which is submitted for consideration in March. If the project is relevant to your department it is worth speaking to your Head of Department about this ahead of March. If the project is of benefit to the University more generally, please reach out to your finance office to initiate discussions. If you think your project may require further financial resource after the life of the TDF, consider the timing of your project from the outset to ensure you have sufficient evidence of success in time for the March deadline. We expect that projects completed in Semester two will be finished in time for evaluation during the annual planning phase for the following year.