COVID-19 also highlighted the many innovative practices already happening in Pacific communities to ensure Pacific learners and families are engaged, safe and well in education.

The Pacific Education Innovation Fund specifically targets innovative practices that support Pacific learners’ wellbeing and curriculum needs, which have been affected by COVID-19, including in Pacific bilingual and immersion education.

The Innovation fund is distributed to early learning services, schools, tertiary providers, community groups, providers and researchers to:

• Respond to local wellbeing and curriculum needs of Pacific learners and families arising from and/or exacerbated by COVID-19, including in Pacific bilingual and immersion education
• Support delivery of Pacific Bilingual and Immersion Education in a COVID-19 response and recovery context
• Resource innovative education practices and learn what works for Pacific learners.

Round 3

Round 3 funding will be distributed by:

1. working with existing providers and projects to continue or expand their provision in each fund or
2. looking to support new projects and may ask for proposals for new projects.

Our regional offices are currently looking at those successful providers and projects, from previous funding rounds, to determine which contracts are likely to be extended for Round 3. Information about the outcome of this process will be available in July 2022.

We expect that bilingual and immersion education projects clearly demonstrate links to Te Whāriki and the New Zealand Curriculum, where appropriate.

For Round 3, funding will be distributed to existing providers so they can continue to deliver services and activities and/ or extend their services into other locations and recipients. Distribution will be based on the evidence and data gathered by the regional offices that confirms that each provider is:

• Meeting or exceeding delivery of outputs in funding agreements.
• Working effectively within and among diverse Pacific families.
• Providing evidence on the impact their services and activities have on Pacific learners’ engagement in education
• Enabling feedback to be given from learners and their families, and the communities they live in.
• Evidence identifying any success factors.

Budget and Regional allocations

The Pacific Education Innovation Fund is distributed to locally-based places of learning, educators, researchers and academics, and community groups and providers. This fund is used to respond to well-being and curriculum needs of Pacific learners and families arising from and/or exacerbated by COVID-19. Within the Innovation Fund there are two pools of funding:

1. $2.5m for innovative practices in Pacific bilingual and immersion education provision in early learning services and schools; or
2. $3.5m for innovative practices to meet wellbeing and curriculum needs relating to Pacific education.

A total of $6m is available each year up to 30 June 2024.

Regional Allocation of funding

There is $6m available across 10 regions in 2022/23. The funding has been distributed as follows:

*Note that:

• Regional Funding allocations are based on the distribution of the total Pacific learner population.
• Funding within the Pacific bilingual and immersion education pool is weighted towards Auckland to recognise the concentration of bilingual and immersion education in that region.
• In the bilingual and immersion stream, priority is given to providers who have an existing relationship with an early learning centre or school with existing Pacific bilingual and immersion education programmes, including community applicants.

Monitoring and reporting

All providers must report on the progress of their initiative.

Timeframes

All funds are expected to be committed in agreements by 1 November 2022.

FAQ

What requirements do service providers need to meet?

• All organisations funded for this work must be legal entities and registered with the companies office.
• All organisations funded for this work must have satisfactory processes in place to complete police checks and vetting prior to commencing work particularly if working with children covered under the Children Act 2014.
• All organisations funded for this work must have a written policy in place which meets the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
• Organisations must be a Pacific health or social sector provider, community organisation or community group providing services in the region covered by the service provision.
• The group includes a person of 18 years of age or older.
• All organisations funded for this work must also have policies and processes in place for any personal client information being held which meets the requirements of the Privacy Act 1993.
• All material risks must be identified to the Ministry of Educationg. pending litigation.
• All suppliers must declare any convictions that could compromise the contract.
• Members of your group are New Zealand citizens or permanent residents and reside in New Zealand.
• The innovation will be designed and delivered in New Zealand and will support learners and families of Pacific heritage.
• The innovation meets the education-related curriculum and/or wellbeing needs of learners.
• Any products or resources developed using the funding will be made freely available to Pacific learners and their families.
• The group has no outstanding financial, legal or other issues (i.e. bankruptcy, legal challenges etc.).

What types of providers can be funded for this work?

1. A Community group or organisation, including churches.
2. Researchers and academics affiliated to a tertiary institution or research institute.
3. Education and social sector providers.
4. A group or representative group of early learning centres, schools and/or tertiary providers and their learners. This can include:
   • Groups of students connected to a school, tertiary provider, or community group/organisation
   • Groups of parents and families connected to an early learning centre, school, tertiary provider, or community group/organisation.
   • A Kāhui Ako representing a cluster of schools, early learning settings and/or tertiary institutions.

What Projects are eligible for funding?

Innovation Fund

We are always looking for creative, collaborative and different ways of delivering education for Pacific learners and families that reduce the impacts of COVID-1 on their education, including:

• Unique and specialised Pacific teaching and learning models for Pacific learners and families to implement or scale up
• Creating or expanding unique curriculum resources for groups of Pacific learners and families
• Programmes or projects that meet unmet education and wellbeing needs by Pacific for Pacific.

Funding used to support Innovative practices to meet wellbeing and curriculum needs relating to Pacific education could include projects that focus on:

• Embedding and expanding innovative models of curriculum delivery
• Developing new, innovative curriculum resources, including multimedia, online and audio resources
• Developing new programmes and delivery models to support re- engagement in education in a service, school, or tertiary provider
• Delivering programmes or projects to meet wellbeing needs.

Pacific bilingual and immersion education

Bilingual and immersion education is where learners and families accessing education and learning are aligned to the national curricula through a Pacific language. It does not include learning a Pacific language as a second language.

• Bilingual education is where a Pacific language is used as the language of instruction or delivery of learning at least 50% of the time.
• Immersion education is where a Pacific language is used as the language of instruction or delivery of learning at least 80% of the time.
• Pacific languages are the indigenous languages of the Pacific region.

What is not funded by the Innovation Fund?

• Direct activities already run by early learning services, schools, and tertiary providers
• Direct service provision to meet material or welfare needs i.e. food provision
• For-profit activities and/or any fundraising activities
• Initiatives not aligned with the priorities of this fund
• Programmes and activities occurring overseas, including in the NZ realm countries
• Infrastructure
• Capital equipment must not be purchased with this funding. The Ministry of Education may allow for appropriate leasing of essential (e.g. of laptops) items at its discretion
• Overseas travel

Contact

If you have questions that are not answered in the information provided, email Pacific.Innovationfund@education.govt.nz