Sport & Physical Activity Grants in Northern Ireland

Align your application with Sport England's Uniting the Movement framework, which prioritises connecting communities, positive experiences for children, active environments, and tackling health inequalities through movement. Reference Active Lives Survey data to demonstrate participation levels and inactivity rates in your target community, showing the specific gap your project addresses. Focus your application on engaging inactive populations rather than serving those who already participate in sport — funders in this space are shifting resources toward the people who face the greatest barriers to being active. Describe your behaviour change approach, referencing models such as COM-B or the transtheoretical model to show that your programme is designed around how people actually change habits rather than assuming that providing activities is sufficient. Address safeguarding in sport explicitly, detailing your policies, training, and culture around protecting participants, particularly children and vulnerable adults. Present sustainability plans that show how participation will continue beyond the funded period — through volunteer coaching capacity, club development, or integration with existing community sport infrastructure. Strong applications demonstrate that your project creates lasting behavioural change rather than short-term participation spikes, and show how you will measure physical activity levels alongside broader social outcomes.