Networks Centres of Excellence tele-learning initiative loses funding

A high-profile national e-learning initiative has failed in its bid to win second-round funding from the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program. The TeleLearning Centre of Excellence learned in April that its funding would end, but has made no public announcement as of yet on whether the network will attempt to secure other money or shut down. The network’s current funding will expire next June. The NCE officially announced the two winning networks in May, but not the two losers – TeleLearning and HEALnet. Under new policy, the NCE no longer releases any information on unsuccessful networks or the reasons for their failure to obtain renewed funding. Contacted by telephone, NCE officials would only say that those applicants which don’t succeed have failed to meet at least one of the five criteria set out by the funding body. TeleLearning network manager Joanne Curry and director Linda Harasim were unavailable for comment at press time. The TeleLearning initiative is an impressive network of 41 universities and 103 government departments, agencies and other bodies. In the years 1999/2000-2001/2002, it will have disbursed $10,968,000 on projects which build on the body’s mandate to "research, develop and demonstrate effective knowledge building pedagogies, implemented through telelearning; to support the development of a knowledge economy and learning society in Canada; and to transfer the resulting knowledge into Canadian organizations, institutions of learning and Canadian companies for world-wide exploitation." Last year (1999/2000) it spent over $3.4 million at 50 universities and other research institutions to fund 384 graduate students and other researchers in the field. Representative projects included the development of collaboration software, learning games, modeling tools, and other networking technologies. At least eight private sector partners were involved with the NCE TeleLearning organization as sustaining members, collaborating on over 30 projects in the distance learning sphere. In evaluating the applications for second round funding the committee looked at the excellence of the research program, the development of highly qualified personnel, success at creating networking and partnerships, the potential for knowledge exchange and technology exploitation and, finally, management for the network. The expert panels assigned to each application were also asked to place an emphasis on planning for the future of the network past the second round. Only two of four applicants for second-round, seven-year funding were successful – the Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures Network (ISIS Canada), and the Sustainable Forest Management Network. Both Telelearning and HEALNet are not precluded from applying for funding in future competitions. In its selection committee report, the NCE also "encourages all researchers and partners involved in these two networks to continue to seek funding for their research program through the appropriate granting agencies and other sources of funds." Established in 1989, the NCE program is overseen by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). There are currently 22 NCE networks operating across Canada.

Networks Centres of Excellence tele-learning initiative loses funding

News | 07/12/2001 4:00 am EDT

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