Funding Announcement: The Province of Ontario's Reinvestment in its Virtual Learning Strategy

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

UPDATE: Here's a recording of a 45-minute session presented by CEL's Aldo Caputo, in which he provides useful information about the application process.

A message from our colleagues in the Centre for Extended Learning (CEL):

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The Ontario government recently announced an additional $8 million of (VLS) funding that builds on the previous $50 million investment that will again be administered through eCampusOntario. 

Funding will focus on four priority areas: 

  1. digital content
  2. digital content – extended reality
  3. digital capacity – targeted supports
  4. digital capacity – international marketing

As with the previous VLS funding opportunity, CEL will be coordinating the submission process for all Waterloo proposals.

Timelines

  • Monday,November 22, 2021, 12:00 pm to 1:00 PM – CEL information session (TEAMS), please register via extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca by November 19, 2021.
  • December 3, 2021 – deadline for ideas to be submitted to CEL via extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca for feedback
  • December 10, 2021 – deadline to request CEL development support (e.g., project management, learning design, multimedia, quality assurance, accessibility, copyright, copyediting) if desired for the project and receive input on budget, roles, etc.
  • December 17, 2021 – deadline to share your written proposal with CEL if you desire feedback
  • January 10, 2022 (Monday) – Internal deadline to submit proposals to CEL for Provost signatures (required)
  • January  14, 2022 (Friday) noon ET – eCampusOntario deadline for submission of Expressions of Interest(EOIs) to their portal (CEL will submit) 
  • March – successful applicants notified (no date specified)

Please consider the following if you’re interested: 

  • successful projects would commence work March 2022 and must be completed by February 2023
  • the resulting assets of funded projects must be shared through the eCampusOntario website as open educational resources (OERs) under an Ontario Commons license
  • there are budget incentives for microcredentials; sector wide impact; learner engagement; employer partnerships; remote access; and translations
  • EOIs cannot duplicate any previously funded project (see Database) but building on a previous project is encouraged

Priority will be given to applications that best align with the criteria for each funding category. We encourage applications that intersect with the Developing Talent Theme of the University’s 2020-2025 Strategic plan. Anyone thinking of submitting a proposal is strongly encouraged to email a brief description of the idea (or interest) to extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca as early as possible.  

This will allow CEL to:  

  • provide feedback on the idea itself 
  • advise you on its eligibility and chances of success 
  • tally what institutional supports may be required 
  • identify duplicates or like-minded proposals within the institution and possible collaboration
  • help identify possible external collaborators within Ontario
  • add you to a contact list to share further information

Please feel free to share this message with colleagues. If you’re interested, please sign up for our information session scheduled for November 22, 2021. Requests to register or further questions can be directed to extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca.   

For more information, consult the eCampusOntario orientation briefings and the VLS Technical Briefing presentation (PDF).