How to apply

The application process for all of our Themed Rounds of funding will be two-stage and competitive.

By competitive we mean that we will be assessing a group of projects addressing a particular theme – in this case sport in rural communities – and identifying those which score highest against our assessment criteria, as opposed to working on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

This approach is being 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 24 April 2009, we welcome initial applications from organisations looking to receive funding from our Rural Communities Themed Round. This first stage of application closed at 5pm on 30 June 2009.

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 mid September 2009.

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

• Progression to development of full bid
• Rejection
• Conditional offer made (for small and/or 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.

Stage Two

Final bids must be received by Sport England by 5pm on 11 December 2009. 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 the local authority’s sports strategies, 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.

Timescales

Action	Timeline
Opening of Rural Communities Themed Round for initial applications	24 April 2009
Deadline for initial applications	5pm on 30 June 2009
Completion of initial assessment by Sport England	14 September 2009
Applicants develop full bids	21 September - 11 December 2009
Deadline for receipt of full bids	5pm on 11 December 2009
Sport England final assessment	14 December - January 2010
Notification of decisions	February 2010

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

We have allowed a relatively short time to assess bids – one month for initial applications and a further month for final 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.

A Project Board, under delegated authority from the Sport England Board, will assess both stage one and stage two applications, and take final decisions.

For any very large projects which are above the level of the Project Board’s delegated authority (£1 million), the final decision will be made by the Sport England Board.

The Project Board will include senior representatives from Sport England, national governing bodies of sport and organisations with specific knowledge of rural communities.

Further information

For further information please check our Frequently Asked Questions.

If you have a query on the Rural Communities Themed Round please contact Sport England on 08458 508 508.