A NEW partnership is being launched with a £1m injection of cash to create the Changing Lives Through Sport and Physical Activity (CLTSPA) Fund.
Community-based sport and physical activity projects across Scotland will share in the cash investment thanks to the new programme, which aims to change lives and create a more inclusive and healthier nation.
CLTSPA is being launched as a partnership between the Scottish Government, national sports agency sportscotland, the Robertson Trust and Spirit of 2012.
The partners will support organisations to deliver positive change in communities across the country as part of a wider £1.8m programme that provides additional resource into the sporting and community sector. The aim is to “better address individual and community needs through sport and physical activity” and also to support them to become and stay active.
Two-year grants ranging from £30,000 up to £70,000 will be available to partnerships meeting key criteria and delivering on the four CLTSPA themes: sport for inclusion; sport for health and wellbeing; sport for skills; and sport for communities.
CLTSPA said their wider programme “has a specific aim of increasing capacity and skills within the sporting sector to meet the needs of the community and to deliver positive change for participants.”
Sport minister Aileen Campbell said: “This programme will provide vital support and funding and is a great example of organisations working in partnership.
“The barriers to taking part in sport and physical activity are complex and varied, and through programmes like this we can help people overcome these issues and enjoy the clear benefits that sport and physical activity bring.
“We know that being active not only helps people with their own health and wellbeing, but also develops skills and brings communities together. I am keen, through this programme, to see both sporting and non-sporting organisations use sport and physical activity to get more people taking part.”
Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, said: “The positive power of sport and physical activity can be seen every day in communities across the country thanks to the fantastic work of community sport hubs, clubs and the wider sporting system.
“It is clear from this work that sport and physical activity is having a significant impact on the lives of those taking part. But it is not just about participation, it is also about improving health and wellbeing and increasing wider opportunities, and we are determined to build on that.
“This fund and the wider Changing Lives Through Sport and Physical Activity programme is an important step on that journey, as we strive to build a more inclusive and healthier nation.”
Kenneth Ferguson, director of The Robertson Trust, said: “The Robertson Trust has a long history of championing and funding sports and physical activity where it delivers wider outcomes for individuals and communities.
“Our learning from this work is that positive change is most likely to happen when organisations understand their communities, have a focus on the change they want to deliver and have the right mix of internal skills and capacity to make it happen.”
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