Once the fund is available to access, the guidance document for accessing the SEF, and the form you will need to complete to make a bid, will be available in here. In 2023/24, the SEF opened on Monday 4^th September and closed on Monday 3^rd June.

The SEED Hub team are more than happy to answer any specific questions you may have about making a bid when filling out the application form. We can also provide you with general information about ordering if the below FAQs don’t answer your query. In addition, we can also help you to pay for any goods/services you have already booked or purchased.

Please just email us on seed.hub@manchester.ac.uk and one of the team will get back to you.

It is preferred for you to order from one of our registered suppliers; this ensures the payment process is efficient, and that we are using suppliers with good health and safety standards. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a full list of suppliers as this is information held by the finance department. However, if you have a specific supplier in mind, the SEED Hub team can check whether they are on the system for you.

If you are still deciding which supplier you would like to use, please find the names of our most frequently used suppliers below:

• Hyatt Hotel
• Midland Hotel
• Impact Catering
• I Knead Pizza
• Brewdog
• Kro Bar
• Whitworth Café

It is possible to order from any external supplier in theory. However, you must consider how the payment will be made for this.

It is possible to pay many suppliers via credit card payment. However, you must bear in mind that these payments can take a couple of weeks to make because of the financial approval process. This process is managed by the SEED School Office, please see this website for further information:

• Payment types and approvals

If you need to pay a non-registered supplier within a short time frame, you may wish to consider paying the supplier yourself and then claiming this back via expenses. This can all be done via MyView. Please find more information about this process here

• Payment types and approvals under the ‘Staff Expense Claims’ dropdown.

You must also consider the safety of the supplier and factor this into the risk assessment for your event. Risk Assessments are processed by Estates so if you have any specific questions regarding this please contact SEEDestates@manchester.ac.uk.

If you require a room booking for an activity which must appear on student timetables (e.g., lecture, seminar, mandatory guest speaker), please contact seed.programmes@manchester.ac.uk.

If you need help booking a room for an activity which doesn’t need to appear on student timetables (e.g., dissertation supervision session, optional guest speaker session), please contact seed.hub@manchester.ac.uk.

In your email, please include the following:

• A brief description of the activity
• Number of attendees
• Whether you need the room to be suitable for catering
• Any details about preferred rooms

Staff should have access to Resource Booker to be able to make their own bookings. Use the search bar at the top of the page to find a room if you are unsure which tile your desired room comes under. If you would like to request access to be able to book a certain room via Resource Booker, please email resourcebooker@manchester.ac.uk.

The SEED Hub team can support you to book the following spaces:

• Most teaching and meeting rooms in the Arthur Lewis Building, the Humanities Bridgeford Street Building and Ellen Wilkinson.
• The Arthur Lewis Building Common Room.
• SEED Hub Study spaces.
• The Humanities Bridgeford Street Building foyer and quad.
• Some central teaching spaces rooms – please enquire for further details.