£400,000 Innovation Fund launches to encourage healthy and active communities

A new fund to encourage and enable more people and communities to get active to improve health and wellbeing has been launched by regional physical activity and sports partnership, Actif North Wales.

£400,000 has been made available by the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity, Sport Wales.

Available to local authorities, education institutions, social enterprises, community interest companies, charities, leisure trusts and public sector organisations, it aims to test and pilot new ways of improving health and wellbeing through initiatives to promote, encourage and widen access to opportunities to be active.

The first round of the Innovation Fund will focus on projects, initiatives and partnerships targeted at children and young people who share protected characteristics/face inequalities including girls up to the age of 25, disabled children and young people or those with an impairment, children and young people from ethnically diverse backgrounds and those living in poverty.

Applications are open until 27 September.

Manon Rees-O’Brien, Regional Director of Actif North Wales, said: “The launch of the North Wales Innovation Fund is a significant milestone for the region and the delivery of our ten-year strategy for a more active North Wales.

“This is a bold ambition, and we can only bring about this change by working collaboratively with a wide range of partners to join up work, learn from successes and challenges and ensure that we are targeting resources where they will have the greatest impact.

“The Fund will be crucial in enabling these ways of working and support real innovation and creativity in testing approaches to promoting opportunities to be active.

“We’re excited to start receiving applications!”

The Fund is part of Actif North Wales’ new ten-year strategy and vision to achieve a more active North Wales by celebrating and promoting opportunities for everyone to be active, working collaboratively with partners to make the best use of local places and spaces, listening, supporting and working with communities to make ‘being active’ the norm.

You can find out more about the Fund and how to apply here.