Thanks Tom for the writing up. Clear and a good boost for SchoolTool in the developing world.
Gaël On 28 January 2010 21:46, Tom Hoffman <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Here's a draft description of our big upcoming grant program. A draft >> of the actual application will follow. >> >> Hopefully it is otherwise self-explanatory. If not, that's a bug. >> >> Your feedback is very welcome. >> >> --Tom >> >> >> Background >> ========== >> >> What is SchoolTool? >> ------------------- >> >> SchoolTool is a project to create free and administrative software for >> schools around the world, particularly in the developing countries. >> SchoolTool was conceived by South African entrepreneur Mark >> Shuttleworth, who remains the primary funder of the project. Much >> more information about SchoolTool is available at >> http://schooltool.org >> >> SchoolTool is also a testbed for using free and open source software >> as a vehicle for philanthropy which empowers it users and leverages >> the combined investments of donors, local government and businesses, >> open source hackers, and NGO's. >> >> SchoolTool was originally a project of the Shuttleworth Foundation but >> is now independently managed with a separate budget. >> >> Current Situation >> ----------------- >> >> SchoolTool 1.0 was released in April of 2009, as a school-level >> student information system. That is, each instance of SchoolTool >> tracks the school and class enrolment, attendance, grading, various >> report generation and calendaring for one school. See schooltool.org >> for a much more detailed description of SchoolTool's current >> functionality. >> >> As of January 2010, the primary deployments of SchoolTool have been in >> the US, the largest being an installation of SchoolTool and a >> competency tracking module called CanDo in several career and >> technical centers supported by the state of Virginia. >> >> This work has established a solid base for SchoolTool's next phase -- >> deployments in the developing world. >> >> While SchoolTool has no costs associated with licensing, school >> administration is a complicated task, and even mature systems often >> require substantial customization, particularly if being adapted to >> the requirements of a new country or school design. At this stage in >> SchoolTool's development, any substantial deployment in a new context >> will require some up front costs to ensure SchoolTool meets local >> requirements. >> >> SchoolTool Development Grants >> ============================= >> >> Goal of the Grant Program >> ------------------------- >> >> The purpose of this grant program is to provide in-kind developer >> support to defray the cost of additional development necessary to >> deploy SchoolTool in target markets. >> >> What are the target markets? >> ---------------------------- >> >> Anyplace outside the US, Canada, Western Europe, Japan and Australia. >> >> Grant Value >> ----------- >> >> Up to EUR 50,000 for the 2010 calendar year, probably divided between >> two sites, but the number of sites may vary depending on the scope of >> accepted proposals. >> >> The majority of the award will be in the form of in-kind development >> by experienced SchoolTool contractors. We currently have three full >> time developers working on SchoolTool. From May 2010 through the end >> of the year, the project's top priority will be supporting the grant >> sites. >> >> Grant proposals can include funds to be used locally to support >> requirements gathering, testing, feedback and focus groups with local >> teachers, administrators, parents, students and other stakeholders. >> Also some funds can be allocated for training local developers to >> create and maintain further work and maintenance to SchoolTool. >> >> Additionally, SchoolTool will fund an independent review of both the >> development and deployment at each grant site. >> >> Scope of "Development" >> ---------------------- >> >> With a few exceptions noted below applicants may propose any type of >> additions or modifications to SchoolTool's programming to make it >> suitable for local use. One of the reasons for this grant program is >> to get a clear idea of what actual users require, so we don't want to >> pre-emptively limit the scope. Typically, however, this would include >> import and export scripts to work with existing data systems, reports, >> both printed and electronics and routines for delivering them to >> higher authorities, and custom data fields for local requirements. >> >> In particular, we expect governments to require more data tracking >> about the school as a whole, for example, more detailed tracking of >> information about a school's physical plant, and perhaps more detailed >> information about staff such as level of training, years of >> experience, etc. But again, we would rather have potential users tell >> us their specific requirements than try to guess. >> >> What this Grant Does NOT Cover >> ------------------------------ >> >> This program is for software development and some closely related >> expenses. It is not for hardware, translation, user training, or the >> ongoing cost of deployment. These are the responsibility of the grant >> recipient. >> >> The purpose of the grant is to defray startup and customization costs. >> Once that is done the site will handle ongoing costs and requirements >> in the same way they would any other deployment of open source >> software. >> >> Three Facets of a Proposal >> -------------------------- >> >> There are three facets of an proposal for this grant: >> >> - scope of user sites; >> - scope of functionality; >> - breadth and depth of support. >> >> Proposals will be evaluated on a holistic rubric that emphasizes a >> balance between the scope of sites and functionality, and support >> resources. Bigger is not better if the necessary supports are not in >> place. A smaller, successful deployment that can serve as the >> foundation for further growth is more desirable than a big deployment >> with mixed results. >> >> Scope of Sites >> ++++++++++++++ >> >> The one hard requirement is that the grant should include a pilot >> deployment of more than one site. Bigger is not necessarily better, >> if size outstrips local support capacity. If we select one large >> scale project, we might keep the second one smaller to avoid swamping >> our own resources. In many cases a first year pilot will proceed >> plans for a wider deployment. Whether or not this is necessary >> depends on local circumstances. >> >> Sites should serve primary and/or secondary aged students. They do >> not have to be schools per se. Other educational programs such as >> enrichment programs are acceptable. >> >> Scope of Functionality >> ++++++++++++++++++++++ >> >> SchoolTool has a range of functionality across several modules, >> including grading, attendance, competency tracking, and calendaring. >> It is expected that most deployments will focus on a relatively narrow >> scope. This might include an entirely new, if fairly simple, module. >> >> In most cases, unless the capacity of local support is very high, the >> scope of sites and functionality should be inversely proportional. >> That is, a small number of sites using a relatively wide scope of >> functionality, or a deployment aiming at an eventually large >> deployment focusing on relatively few tasks. >> >> Depth and Breadth of Support >> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ >> >> The amount of local support the applicant has at its disposal must be >> congruent with the scope of sites and functionality. Do not, for >> example, propose a deployment with a broad geographic span if all your >> support staff is in a central city. >> >> "Support" encompasses the experience and expertise of the primary >> applicant for the grant, local training and technical capacity, >> including potential developers, and local government commitment to ICT >> in general and FOSS in particular. >> >> Timeline >> -------- >> >> - February 5: Final version of RFP and application. >> >> - March 5: Recommended date for preliminary proposal. This will be a >> short form to help us and the applicant determine an feasible scope of >> development for their proposal; e.g., we need to track education and >> years of employment for teachers, import from this spreadsheet, track >> this demographic data for students and generate these 12 reports, >> what's the estimated cost of that work? >> >> - April 1: Final proposal deadline. >> >> - Mid-April: Winners announced. >> >> - May 1: Development work begins. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~schooltoolers >> Post to : [email protected] >> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~schooltoolers >> More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp >> > > > > -- > Blog in http://elgaelo.blogspot.com > Pictures in http://www.flickr.com/photos/elgaelo > > Por favor, evite enviarme adjuntos de Word, Excel o PowerPoint. > Vea http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.es.html > -- Blog in http://elgaelo.blogspot.com Pictures in http://www.flickr.com/photos/elgaelo Por favor, evite enviarme adjuntos de Word, Excel o PowerPoint. Vea http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.es.html
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