The Harnessing Technology Fund

Now that Curriculum Online no longer exists, schools will be looking for alternative funding streams with which to purchase their assistive technology. The most obvious source is the Harnessing Technology Grant, but many people feel unsure about this as it is for capital costs only. There are two criteria for qualification: the amount of expenditure (which we assume – correctly? – will vary from organisation to organisation depending on the threshold set by its finance department), and the type of product.

The fact that higher-cost items stand a better chance of receiving funding suggests that budget-holders would be better off buying site licences, multi-user licences, bundles and hardware. We will bear this in mind when putting our product lists together. Customers, for their part, should be aware that not all licence combinations and variations are displayed on this website (nor in our Buyer’s Guides). If the product you are considering is attractive but does not make the capital cost threshold, call us and see what other purchase options there are.

The good news is that certain items of educational software are eligible, and Becta are examining the status of digital subscriptions. Here is our summary of the interpretation BESA (in conjunction with Becta and Becta’s leagal advisers) have come up with so far:

The Harnessing Technology Grant can pay for subscription services provided that either the school has outright ownership of the assett at the end of the payment period or the licence allows use of the software for a period of more than one year. (Formerly, Becta’s guidance was that the grant could not be used to pay for annual subscriptions to digital content services, and that sources of revenue funding, such as the School Development Grant, should be used to cover the cost of such subscriptions.)

For more information on this go to the Becta website, which aims to provide further guidance whenever it can.

The main advice at the moment is to get guidance from your local authority finance team.

We will also update this article as we get more information. And we hope to expand our knowledge base so we can inform you about other options such as the School Development Grant, which is for revenue costs.

Watch this space!

Updated 10 October 2008