Improvement Fund

Between 2012 and 2017, the Improvement Fund will invest £45m of National Lottery funding into medium-sized projects that will improve the quality and experience of sport. This is being distributed via five funding rounds of £9m per annum.

It is part of Sport England’s strategy which is focused on helping more people acquire lifelong sporting habits.

The Improvement Fund will award grants worth £150,000 to £500,000 into sustainable projects with a clear local need.

It bridges the gap between our Iconic Facilities fund which invest in large-scale, multi-sport facilities and our Inspired Fund which supports small-scale community projects.
The Fund will support projects that deliver capital improvements through new build, modernisation or refurbishment.

For Round 2, priority will be given to projects that can clearly demonstrate a significant reduction in the use of energy and/or water, and reduce waste in the construction and operation of the facility. In particular we will seek to support projects that can address one or more of the following themes and issues:

• Mitigating the impact of climate change
• Supporting the creation of and viability of multi-sport environments
• Providing an exemplar for future projects by the selective use of new technologies and improvements to the building fabric

Successful projects may be required to submit baseline data for energy costs and then undertake comparative assessments for up to two years post completion. We may select projects to provide data over a longer period of time to our ongoing research.

To ensure the Improvement Fund can support as many projects as possible, we will require a minimum of 25 per cent cash partnership funding towards the total project costs. This can come from either the applicant body and/or third parties.

Expressions of Interest to the second round of the fund are now invited. We will work with selected partners to develop the project before soliciting grant applications which will then be presented to the Sport England Project Committee for consideration.