How to apply

The deadline for Active Universities stage one applications is 5pm on 23 June 2010.  

The application process for all of our themed rounds of funding is two-stage and competitive.

By competitive we mean that we assess a group of projects addressing a particular theme – in this case students enrolled at universities in England – and identifying those which score highest against our assessment criteria, as opposed to working on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

This approach has been adopted because we have limited funds available, and are seeking to achieve specific sporting outcomes with our Lottery funding, as explained in our strategy.

This is a new and exciting approach for Sport England, and one which we believe will deliver maximum impact and value for community sport in this country.

Stage one

From 29 March 2010, we welcome initial applications from organisations looking to receive funding from our Active Universities themed round. This first stage of applications will close at 5pm on 23 June 2010.

To ensure that the stage one process is effective and efficient, all eligible applications will be considered at a single Project Board meeting, and applicants will be notified of the outcome by September 2010.

Applications will be assessed, and classified as one of the following:

• Progression to development of full bid
• Rejection
• Conditional offer made (for exceptional bids).*

*This will be the exception, and will be confined to small projects which are already fully developed. Certain conditions may be attached to any offer of funding, for example confirmation of funding from partners.

If you are asked to develop a full bid, it means that, on the basis of the information you have supplied, you have demonstrated the project meets the basic eligibility criteria, and is likely to score well against our assessment criteria.

However, it does not mean that you are guaranteed funding, and final bids are developed at the applicant’s own risk.

If your application is rejected, you will receive formal notification of this decision, together with an explanation.

Applicants are entitled to appeal the decision made. The criteria and details of the appeals process are available from Sport England on request.

Essential documents for universities

HEFCE will provide financial and governance assurance on all universities applying to this programme. Therefore, where the applicant organisation is a university, the following essential documents are not required to be submitted with the application: governance document, audited annual accounts and bank statements.

Please note that all applications must provide a completed Additional Questions document.

Stage 2

Final bids must be received by Sport England by 5pm on 5 January 2011. Bids received after this deadline will not be assessed.

Guidance and support is available from Sport England on the development of a final bid.

The documentation required at this stage will depend on the nature of your project, but is likely to include:

• A detailed sports development plan outlining how the sporting opportunities will be delivered and how the project will deliver against Sport England’s strategic outcomes
• A detailed business plan including projected income and expenditure plans. It should be appropriate to the size of your project, and demonstrate the financial viability and sustainability of the project
• A marketing plan outlining how the proposed project will be publicised
• A schedule of milestones and deliverables to enable us to track the progress of your project
• Confirmation, where appropriate, that the design complies with Sport England’s Design Guidance Notes is also required
• A description of how the project fits with your organisation’s sports strategies and other partners such as a local authority, if appropriate
• A risk register identifying the main risks your project will face and how you will deal with them.

Projects will be assessed against the criteria for the programme, and successful bids will be those with the highest overall aggregate score.

Interviews may also be used as part of this stage of the assessment process.

The timetable above is based on our expectation of the likely number of applications.

We have allowed a relatively short time to assess bids. If we receive a much larger number of applications than we anticipate, we may need to extend the assessment periods to ensure all applicants are treated fairly. If this happens, we will notify all applicants as soon as possible.

Decision making

The administration of this grant process will be undertaken by Sport England.

Stage one and stage 2 applications will be assessed internally based on the criteria that have been developed in consultation with identified national partners with expertise in this field. The assessment of stage 2 applications will result in recommendations for funding with the final decisions to be made under delegated authority from the Sport England Board.

An expert advisory panel, including both senior representatives from Sport England and organisations with specific knowledge of the themes applicable to this round, will provide advice to inform the assessment process.

For any very large projects which are above the level of the relevant delegated authority, the final decision will be made by the Sport England Board.

Further information

For further information please check our Frequently Asked Questions.

If you have a query on the Active Universities themed round, please contact Sport England on 08458 508 508.