Call for Proposals to Support the Development of Online learning courses in fish welfare

The Institute of Aquaculture is seeking partners in Thailand and Vietnam to help with the development of online learning materials and courses covering farmed fish welfare in Asia. The project is seeking to make short courses available in English, Thai and Vietnamese, with materials also licensed under Creative Commons so they can be used within other educational contexts.

IMPORTANT DATES

23 May 2024 – Opening of Call for Training Support Proposals

20-21 June 2024 – Sandpit workshop in Bangkok for potential applicants

24-25 June 2024 - Sandpit workshop in Can Tho for potential applicants

5 July 2024 – Confirmation of intention to submit requested

12 July 2024   – Deadline for submission of applications (Call now closed)

12 August 2024   – Preliminary notification of outcome to applicants

September 2024   – Target date for finalisation of contract documents and start of activities

January 2025 – Expected completion date of activities

February  2025 – Deadline for submission of final report and expense statements

March  2025 – Expected final payments

With financial support from Open Philanthropy, the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling is conducting a two-year project to research and support interventions to the farming, transport and slaughter of fish and other aquatic animals* in Asia. As part of this, it is inviting collaborative proposals from academics and others (e.g. NGOs, companies, public and private research institutions, retailers, associations) located in Thailand and Vietnam, to support the development of online training materials.

The Institute of Aquaculture is currently preparing an online course in Farmed Fish Welfare in Asia in English to be delivered via the UK Open University “Open Learn Create” platform. This involves 5 modules as follows:

1. Introduction to Aquatic Farmed Animal Welfare

2. Best practices for hatcheries and farms

3. Best practices for humane harvesting and slaughter

4. Best practices for live transport and holding systems

5. Welfare dimension in research on farmed aquatic animals

Proposals are requested that include one or more of the following activities:

1) Translation of Institute of Aquaculture materials into Thai or Vietnamese

2) Co-development with Institute of Aquaculture staff of localised materials through the collection and generation of appropriate video, photographs, data/charts and other media

3) Co-development of appropriate materials with specific target groups including farmers, traders, processors, retailers, researchers and students, including testing of modules

4) Hosting of an appropriate version of the course in Thai or Vietnamese to be freely available for a period of at least 5 years.

Applications are invited from academic or other organisations with experience in the development and delivery of training courses and materials to one or more of the target stakeholder groups in Thailand or Vietnam. Organisations are welcome to collaborate and form a consortium, but one organisation should act as lead for contracting purposes and financial management.

Applications should set out the clearly:

• The activities that will be undertaken

• The outputs that will be produced

• The people who will be involved and their responsibilities and expected time inputs

• A proposed budget for the activities

 Eligible costs will include the following:

• Directly employed staff in Thailand or Vietnam

• Sub-contracted specialist services (e.g. video production)

• Necessary travel and subsistence costs in Thailand or Vietnam

• Consumables and other minor cost that may be incurred

• Administrative overhead to a maximum of 10% of budget

The total budget available is £30,000 for both Thailand and Vietnam. It is anticipated that this will fund several different organisations and activities, so modest contributions with smaller budgets are welcome alongside more comprehensive contributions with larger budgets.

 Completed proposals will be evaluated by University of Stirling Project Team with oversight from our independent Project Advisory Board. Approval of funding will depend on a satisfactory due diligence review of the project participants (particularly the lead applicant) by the University of Stirling.

 Any materials produced must be licensed under an appropriate Creative Commons license that allows for their further distribution free of charge.

Please note that the University of Stirling will conduct due diligence on all contracted partners. As this is a time-consuming process, as part of the application process we will require lead and international organisations to complete and submit a due diligence questionnaire with the application form. Potential applicants can prepare for this immediately as the University uses a slightly modified version of the UKRI due diligence form:

• Due diligence questionnaire (Standard)

• Due diligence guidance for research organisations

The full call details, application form, budget template, draft contract and financial identification form is available as a zip-file package via the button below. A due diligence questionnaire will be provided to applicants who complete and return the included notification of intention to submit form.