Stage 1

Potential CATE teams are invited to submit expressions of interest to NTFS-CATE

Teams will be required to prepare and submit the following documentation:

1. 2025 CATE Stage 1 Template against the criteria detailed in the Award Criteria tab, up to 2500 words - please see the CATE 2024 Guidance Notes.(2025 Guidance notes will be made available when published by Advance HE)
2. A list of all team members with their job titles and an indication of their active role in the team.

In writing against each criterion, it is important to demonstrate direct engagement with students. Although there is no requirement for students to be members of the team, a team should clearly demonstrate how students are directly engaged in their work. Teams should also highlight how they work together as a team and what innovative, inclusive, and excellent practices they have led within their own organisational setting and potentially beyond.

You may find it helpful to review previous winners on the Advance HE website in thinking about your own team’s approach and impact.

Claims will be assessed by the panel on the evidence provided in the application in relation to each of the two criteria below. These criteria are identical to those used by the national award process.

Teams need to submit their draft for consideration by the Lancaster selection panel. An internal selection panel, chaired by our PVC in Education, will review all eligible CATE proposals and agree on the institutional nomination. The selection panel can include senior academics, Associate Deans for Teaching, previous NTFS and CATE winners and CEDA. Only one team per institution, per year may be put forward for a CATE award.

Stage 2

Preparation and submission of full CATE claim to Advance HE

Please note that the process and dates for 2025 award claims will be subject to the national awards scheme and timetable. The information below is based on the Advanced HE 2024 application round and is provided to give an indication of the requirements, but might be subject to change.

The Lancaster CATE team selected for nomination by the institution will be asked to submit a final version of their claim, in line with Advance HE formatting guidance. A final version of the application and all additional submission requirements must be completed in advance of the national deadline.

The team will be required to complete:

• Claim: A statement of how the nominated team demonstrates outstanding impact in relation to the award criteria (maximum total of 3500) plus an overarching Context Statement (up to 300 words) and a Reference List.

• Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form: an online form completed by the team leader.

Claims are also accompanied by a signed Institutional Statement of Support.

Support from CEDA is available to Lancaster nominees throughout the process. Additionally, external peer support and critical friendship will be made available for nominees in the development of their claim.

CATE claims are judged rigorously by a national panel of peers from across the sector, and evaluated on the strength of evidence in meeting the set criteria.

Award Criteria

Criterion 1: Excellence in the team’s collaborative approach

Evidence of excellence in the team’s approach to working collaboratively; commensurate with their context and the opportunities afforded by it. This may, for example, be demonstrated by providing evidence of excellence in terms of:

• having a clear set of aims, objectives and rationale for the team’s approach and how the group constitutes a team and developed as a team;
• demonstrating direct engagement of students within or with the team;
• illustrating how the team has contributed to wider thematic and sector priorities, for example, assessment and feedback; retention, employability, staff development; students as partners; technology and social media;
• working collaboratively with a range of stakeholder groups;
• embedding practices across different programmes, disciplines, campuses or institutions;
• being flexible and creative in working to address unanticipated situations or events;
• measuring the impact or outcomes of collaborative work.

Criterion 2: Excellence in the impact of collaborative working

Evidence of the team having a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning beyond their immediate academic or professional area. This may, for example, be demonstrated by providing evidence of the:

• reach of the team’s work;
• benefit or value derived from working as a team;
• impact of supporting colleagues and/or influencing support for student learning;
• impact on student learning or outcomes;
• impact of any outcomes/outputs of collaborative work.

Value, reach and impact 

Reviewers will be looking for evidence of value, reach and impact to be demonstrated in the evidence within the narrative presented by the team. Please note that the two award criteria above are given equal consideration in the assessment process and weighted equally in the overall score.