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Sport for Change

  1. Why Sport for Change?

    Sport for Change, often referred to as ‘sport-for-development’, is a relatively young, yet rapidly growing field. Sport has long been recognised as having the potential to play a role in society with intrinsic benefits in terms of physical health and emotional well being, and the ability to contribute to issues such as crime prevention and increased educational attainment. Since the late 1990s governments, UN agencies and NGOs have started to employ sport more systematically in order to achieve social development outcomes. Now participation in sport is defined as a human right and it is increasingly used as a tool in programmes addressing issues such as HIV and AIDS, women and girls’ empowerment and conflict resolution.

    Sport for Change is an integral part of our overall Sport Relief strategy. We want to support organisations to use sports in a variety of ways to help achieve positive change in poor and disadvantaged people’s lives. We also acknowledge that, being a young field, there is a great amount of learning and development required within the sector and we believe that we can add value as an experienced and knowledgeable grant maker by working with a range of ‘sport-for-development’ and ‘development’ partners, bridging the gap between the two sectors, investing in learning and ultimately increasing the quality and effectiveness of sport-based development programmes.

    2. Our Goal

    Our goal is to enable organisations to use sport effectively as tool for bringing about a lasting positive change in the lives of children and young people.

    How we can best support change

    Comic Relief believes that it is not ‘sport’ itself that brings about change, instead it is the set of processes and relationships used to deliver and support the sporting intervention that are fundamental to achieving development goals.

    We also believe that when planning, implementing and reviewing, Sport for Change projects need to take account of the following in order to bring about the desired changes:

    • Using sport as part of a wider programme of development that focuses on long term solutions.
    • Targeting specific groups of children and young people and producing a differentiated use of sport to address their particular needs and priorities.
    • Starting with research from the development sector about what works and what doesn’t.
    • Recruiting staff, coaches and volunteers who act as relevant and positive role models and ensuring they develop the necessary range of skills to not only deliver quality sport activity but also to respond to the emotional and health needs of participants.
    • Working with local partners to ensure a holistic and integrated approach.
    • Building relationships with community level duty-bearers to ensure a protective and enabling environment.

    Outcomes

    Comic Relief wants to know that the projects we fund are bringing about changes in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people. We call these changes programme level outcomes, and define them as the ‘intended or unintended effects or changes to people’s lives that happen as a result of the project or organisation’s activities’.

    During the period covered by this strategy, we anticipate that the lives of children and young people will be transformed as follows:

    • Children and young people have increased self-efficacy, resulting in the desire, willingness and ability to make the best personal life choices, take advantage of education and other opportunities and participate in the decision making process that affect their lives.
    • Children and young people’s uptake of services (particularly health and education services) is increased and results in improved health and educational attainment.
    • Marginalised groups experience a measurable reduction in stigma and discrimination resulting in increased understanding and their inclusion into family and community life.
    • Children and young people employ and experience less violent behaviour leading to safer environments for themselves, their families and their communities.
    • Organisations use sport more effectively in their work and are measurably more effective in demonstrating lasting positive changes in the lives of vulnerable children and young people.

    Where we will fund

    The Sport for Change Strategy will have a strong focus on Africa and Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras) but will also fund projects in the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka). We will consider work supporting outside of these named regions and countries if they are particularly innovative or represent an opportunity to inform our learning across the grants portfolio.

    Who we will fund

    The focus of the Sport for Change programme is children and young people, linking directly with target groups across the six existing Comic Relief programme areas, in particular those affected by conflict, street and working children, women and girls and people affected by HIV. We will also encourage applications that aim to work with the hardest to reach marginalised groups such as girls and disabled children and young people.

    Types of grants

    ‘Project’ grants. These may be up to £300,000 over 3 years. Organisations are strongly advised to submit applications that are commensurate with their size and capacity, the size and capacity of their local partners, and their track record to date.

    ‘Tactical planning’ grants. (Live from cycle 4 only) These may be of up to £25,000 over 1 year for baseline studies, needs analysis, piloting work, action research and related work that enables applicant organisations to develop a well thought through proposal. Based on experience and learning, we recognise that certain gaps exist in terms of planning and monitoring Sport for Change programmes and would encourage organisations to focus on the following when applying for these grants:

    • Understanding the context, identifying specific target groups and programming according to their particular needs and priorities
    • Support in the design and development of appropriate sporting interventions, particularly for organisations who wish to use sport as one of a range of approaches
    • The development of appropriate monitoring systems that will demonstrate the change brought about through the sporting intervention and its contribution to wider organisational goals

    We may employ other grant models in exceptional circumstances and on an invitation only basis.

    Download the full Sport for Change programme strategy document