The budget for school projects for the prevention of bullying and violence: what do we need to know?
Until December 15, all schools have the opportunity to submit projects for the competition “Prevention and prevention of bullying and violence and reduction of aggression in schools”, announced by the Education Program. What is important for colleagues who prepare projects to know about the budget and costing of the necessary expenses?
It is unlikely that anyone needs to be convinced how acute the topic of aggression in schools and among adolescents in general is. The Education Program provides a very good opportunity for school projects that are aimed at stopping this problem. The chance that your school’s project will be approved is very high – the budget of the operation (35 million leva) assumes that hundreds of schools will be approved. In a previous article, we described what activities you can include and gave practical guidelines.
Below we have attached answers to important questions related to the budgeting of project activities. Keep in mind that this operation also uses the so-called “simplified costs”, which you are familiar with from “Success for You”, “Strengthening Intercultural Education”, “Municipal Desegregation Programs…” and others. This allows for a significant reduction in the burden of preparing and reporting on projects – today it is much easier to report projects under the Education Program than it was years ago. Do not miss this opportunity!
A very important principle that is applied in the latest operations announced by the Education Program is that the total budget is formed on the basis of:
- Labor costs (experts, trainers, activity leaders, mediators, etc.)
- 40% is added to the labor costs for other direct and indirect costs, from which all other costs are covered, including the payment of the project management team
What can our project cost?
Up to 350 thousand leva. Of course, the project budget is not an end in itself: it depends on the activities you plan, the number of teachers, students and parents you will involve. It goes without saying that smaller schools will apply with smaller amounts.
How to allocate the budget by activities?
The operation involves filling out an Excel spreadsheet, which you can also see here.
The budget is allocated for each of the activities you have planned in your project. Keep in mind that labor costs are estimated, which are based on an academic or astronomical hour. The operation applies fixed rates for one hour. They differ only depending on whether you engage your teacher (PS – pedagogical specialist) or an external expert for the school (EOD – educational activities expert). At the moment, the rates are 38 BGN for PS and 44 BGN for EOD, with the budget table automatically calculating an amount for indexation of these costs.
Your task is to estimate how many hours your colleagues will need for each of the specific activities. The operation allows for multiple sub-activities for each activity. For example, Activity 1 provides the opportunity for four types of sub-activities: participation in conferences, development of a school program for bullying prevention, participation in the “Mediation” unit, study visits to other schools. Assess which sub-activities you want to include – not necessarily all of them. Also assess how many colleagues will be involved in which sub-activities and how many hours their commitment will be. Then value it in accordance with the rates. Do not forget that activity 1 is mandatory!
After you determine (the table calculates) what amount you will have for labor costs, you will see what amount you will have for the remaining 40%. Then make a working budget for expenses outside of labor (travel expenses, overnight stays, if any, materials, etc.) to make sure that you will fit into this 40%, including administrative costs.
Does it matter for the budget how long the project will be implemented in our school?
Of course. The duration of the project can be a maximum 36 months, no later than 31.12.2029. It is realistic to cover five full terms and our advice is to provide a maximum of five terms.
When budgeting in the sheet for each activity, you should set how many hours you plan for one term and then indicate how long the activity will be performed.
To perform the activities, we need materials, transport, consumables. Does the project cover them?
Yes, of course. 40% “other direct and indirect costs” are charged to each activity. They are the ones that cover this type of necessary costs – comply with this framework. They are not described in a separate place, but are calculated automatically.
What can the project team be and where is its payment covered?
The operation assumes a team of a manager, coordinator and accountant. The team’s salaries are also included in the 40% “other direct and indirect costs”. There is no requirement as to what the ratio of the pay for individual team positions should be to other direct costs. Of course, you can add other positions to the management team, for example, a coordinator.
See more:
Terms and documents for applying for the project
Information meeting on the project and video from the meeting
Author: Deyan Kolev
Image: https://unsplash.com/@lafadeso