1. How much money should we request?
Funding requests can be made for any amount. The typical funding grant we envisage is anywhere between $100,000 to $250,000 per annum - but it will vary with each project. Remember we do expect you to employ a suitably qualified full time staff member (FTE) to manage your project so consider this expenditure in your request.
2. Is VicHealth looking for new innovative approaches or expanding proven programs to engage one of the life stages?
The primary purpose of this participation funding is to get less active females from the VicHealth identified life stages more active.
If your sport is considering developing a new program/competition/product we will need to see that it can be both delivered and have a strong potential to scale and grow within the 3 year period. VicHealth have a strong expectation that a new program/competition/product will be up and running well within the first year of funding in order to expand its reach into the second and third year.
Where your sport has a proven program/product (that may be currently aimed at a more general audience) you will need to demonstrate that it can be effectively repurposed or tailored to reach and engage one of the female life stages.
3. What is VicHealth looking for when they say to provide ‘new participation opportunities’?
A new opportunity is one that is not currently tailored or available to less active females in one of the four female life stage/s. This could be achieved through engaging less active females who haven't been involved in your sport before, or reengage past participants who are no longer involved in your sport. Opportunities to provide a new participation opportunity could be:
- A brand new product, program or competition developed specifically for the audience, e.g. new social competition or a new league for novices, specific program targeting mothers.
- An existing NSO or international program that could be trialled and rolled out in Victoria for the first time targeted for and tailored to one of the target female life stages.
- Repurposing or modifying an existing program, product or competition for one of the four female life stages. It might be a program designed for males that could be tweaked or a program that has been targeted to a different age group previously, e.g. adapting your cardio blitz program to become a lower intensity for women 25+ with no children.
- Building on one of your sports existing competition or program opportunities to accommodate the chosen female group, e.g. adding a social D grade competition level to your existing pathway to engage women 18-24.
4. If a sporting organisation is funded by VicHealth under another program (eg State Sport Program or Innovation Challenge: Sport) is there an opportunity to re-purpose this program to create new participation opportunities for one of the four female life stages?
Yes, however your sport would need to clearly be able to demonstrate:
- The changes that will be made to the program to uniquely tailor it to one of the four female life stages (e.g. how will the program differ to your existing program and how will it add significant value beyond your existing program outcomes)
- Need for the program: clear evidence that the funded program is not currently offered to women from one of these life stages (e.g. it’s a men’s program) or females from this life stage are not participating in high numbers
- How the funding would enable your sport to achieve accelerated reach and growth to one of the four female markets with this proven product
- How is what your seeking funding for under this program distinctly different to what has been previously/currently funded by VicHealth under another program
5. What does VicHealth’s mean by 1 EFT?
VicHealth expects that sports funded under this program will allocate a project manager whose sole responsibility is to deliver the funded project. This role will be the equivalent of 38 hrs per week dedicated to the project.
VicHealth’s preference is to have one person in the role with the appropriate skills, experience and expertise to deliver the project. However, VicHealth will be open to discuss alternate options where there may be a split of the full time EFT across 2 people e.g. One staff member working operationally on the project 4 days per week with a second staff member providing the strategic support to the project 1 day a week. VicHealth will not support an arrangement where the role would be split across more than 2 people.
6. Can we put in more than one application for the participation funding?
VicHealth’s preference is that sports focus on one participation opportunity in order to submit the best proposal possible.
We encourage sports to spend the time needed to plan and scope in detail one participation opportunity that best fits the female life stage you have chosen. It will need to demonstrate you have clearly considered the physical activity life stage insights, identified a participation offering that is well tailored to address the needs, motivations and barriers for that group of females as well as the strategic fit for your organisation.
As a significant amount of time is required to consult, plan and develop a robust proposal, submitting more than one proposal may undermine the quality of one or both given the funding submission deadlines are approaching.
7. Can we put in an application that targets more than one female life stage?
VicHealth’s preference is that sports focus on one primary female life stage and that your new opportunity is specifically tailored to engage the chosen female segment and tap into their motivations.
The physical activity life stages snapshots demonstrate there are clear differences across the four female life stages in respect to lifestyle, demands, needs, motivations, barriers and opportunities. Therefore the detail of the participation opportunity, when it is offered, how it is communicated and how women are engaged would need to clearly align with the insights relevant to that female life stage.
Given the nuances of each female life stage, focusing on more than life stage may dilute the quality and specificity of your offering and its ability to effectively engage with the target life stage.
A one size fits all approach is not what is VicHealth is looking for.
8. Will VicHealth fund the geographic expansion of an existing program already engaging females?
No, just extending the geographic reach of an existing women’s program/product will not be considered a strong proposal (e.g. if you currently have a program in a particular location targeting 18-24 year olds and want to take it to new regions, this would not be suitable to apply for under this program).
