Over the past 20 years, sport for development projects have flourished all around the world. However, whilst the use of sport as a tool for social change is often seen as a relatively new innovation in itself and only partially understood by the wider development sector, most funders still place emphasis on proven interventions that follow a number of similar models, thus not allowing for creative and innovative solutions to the most challenging issues that our world faces
THE INNOVATION FUND
To address this issue and drive ongoing invention and improvement, The SOL Foundation and Laureus Sport for Good have partnered to create Sport for Development’s first ‘Innovation Fund’ – designed to identify the most innovative work in the sector and allow it to flourish. The Innovation Fund will support truly innovative work and solutions at a stage before traditional funders would be able to justify involvement – i.e. before impact of the given initiative has been proven.
The fund will provide a number of smaller grants to the most innovative work in the sector, and its champions will be able to utilise this funding to prove their innovative ideas and secure larger-scale or continuous funding from more traditional sources.
Innovative ideas should be different from past endeavours and uncover new territories and new ways of thinking about sport for development, thus challenging the traditional ways of doing development. Employing well known ways of working in unknown settings is not seen as innovation.
Innovation involves a high amount of risk and uncertainty. Perhaps even more than 90% of investments in Innovation are not likely going to result in any significant steps forward for the Sport for Development sector. Still, it is only by supporting Innovation that they identify the ideas from where they create the future of the sector.
Applicants must employ a sport for development approach, ideally to address issues related to Health, Education, Women & Girls, Employability, Social Inclusion, or Peacebuilding.
The proposed activity should integrate an equality perspective (gender, disability, ethnicity, etc) when appropriate, although the project does not have to be focused on equality.
Applicants must address issues affecting the most vulnerable and disempowered parts of the population, and with a focus on children and youth.
DEADLINE: 31 MAY 2018
To be part of the initial 2018/2019 cycle your application must be submitted by 31 May 2018.
More information: https://www.laureus.com/innovationfund
