The GetPRO Professional Grassroots Sports Nutrition Grant, hosted in partnership with The Nutrition Society, funds early career sports nutritionists in assisting their local grassroots adult sports clubs and teams. GetPRO Professional aims to make sports nutrition support and expert advice accessible to ALL by putting evidence-based sports nutrition at the heart of community sport.
The closing date for applications is 31 August 2024 and winners will be announced by 27 September 2024. The project will need to start within 6 weeks of receiving the grant and be completed within 6 months.
Learn more about how GetPRO Professional is supporting nutritionists in making sports nutrition available to all, no matter their level, see here.
The GetPRO Professional Grassroots Sports Nutrition Grant is open to early career sports nutritionists in the UK whose last graduation (bachelor’s or master’s degree) in sports nutrition, exercise science, dietetics, or a related field was completed within the past 10 years. The Grant is available to early career sports nutritionists who are supporting or wish to support grassroots sports clubs and teams with evidence-based expert support and advice.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Applications will be judged against:
• You – your qualifications, personal profile and qualities
• Impact in grassroots sports – how much impact your project proposal will have in supporting nutrition in community/grassroots sports settings
• Outcomes – how you identify, define and propose to measure outcomes/impact
• Plan– how you set out the rationale and evidence for your approach
• Objectives – the robustness of your plan
Applicants will not be judged on the level of the club they wish to support, i.e. there is no advantage to supporting a 1st vs a 3rd team.
Applications will be anonymised by The Nutrition Society before being shared with a selection panel, who will shortlist all entries and select the winners, based on the funding available and the quality of the applications.
PROJECT DETAILS
Please provide a summary of your entry (maximum 700 words) in a Word Document.
This project summary must be structured using the following six headings in sequence:
· Background and unmet need: The name and location of the sports club(s)/team(s) you are supporting or wish to support. Type and number of amateur athletes / sports enthusiasts involved. What nutritional need you will look to support and why.
· Objectives and rationale. What are you trying to achieve through your support? For example: improved dietary intakes, greater awareness of healthy diets, specific performance related outcomes, improved health and wellbeing, improved sports nutrition knowledge?
· Methodology/approach: How do you propose making this change? What specifically will you do to achieve this? Why are you recommending this approach (what is the evidence behind it)? What education will you provide for the club members, what resources will you give them, how will you motivate them?
· Planned measurement of outcomes: How will you measure the effectiveness/success of your support? How will you assess the baseline?
· Why you should be granted this award: Benefit to the community / community sport?
· A breakdown of costs for the grant you are applying for
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Details |
Cost (£) |
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Estimated no of hours you will spend on the project |
------- hours |
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Your fee per hour* |
*£/hour |
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Total fees for the project |
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£ |
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Travel costs |
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£ |
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Equipment/resource costs (please outline what these are for) |
(e.g. dietary analysis software, scales, tape measures) |
£ |
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TOTAL Funding requested |
£ |
*We will consider your usual rate, but would advise as a guidance between £20-30 per hour as norm, depending on your level of experience.
The successful applicant will be expected to:
· Provide written confirmation from the proposed club they intend to work with, prior to any funds being released.
· Provide some basic evidence (e.g. photos/documents/videos) that the grant has funded delivery of sport nutrition support in local grassroots sports.
· Write up a short (300-500 word) evidence-based case study of the nutrition support provided, which will be used in both GetPRO Professional communication and The Nutrition Society’s media to highlight the impact of sports nutrition support in community sport. Please note: 30% of the award will be withheld until after this final case study is received by The Nutrition Society.
Who can apply ?
The GetPRO Professional Grassroots Sports Nutrition Grant is open to early career sports nutritionists in the UK whose last graduation (Bachelor’s or Master’s degree) in sports nutrition, exercise science, dietetics, or a related field was completed within the past 10 years. The Grant is available to early career sports nutritionists who are supporting or wish to support grassroots sports clubs and teams with evidence-based expert support and advice.
How will application forms be judged?
Applications will be judged against:
• You – your qualifications, personal profile and qualities
• Impact in grassroots sports – how much impact your project proposal will have in supporting nutrition in community/grassroots sports settings
• Outcomes – how you identify, define and propose to measure outcomes/impact
• Plan– how you set out the rationale and evidence for your approach
• Objectives – the robustness of your plan
Applicants will not be judged on the level of the club they wish to support, i.e. there is no advantage to supporting a 1st vs a 3rd team.
Applications will be anonymised by The Nutrition Society before being shared with a selection panel, who will shortlist all entries and select the winners, based on the funding available and the quality of the applications.
Do I have to be a member of The Nutrition Society to apply?
No.
What kind of projects will be funded?
The GetPRO Professional Grassroots Sports Nutrition Grant funds the provision of nutrition support to grassroots athletes or clubs by sports nutritionists. Examples of how this nutrition support could be delivered to athletes include undertaking dietary analysis for an amateur rugby team, providing nutrition education sessions for a local running club or even providing more extensive nutrition advice and support to a hockey team over the course of a season. The club or team will need to be affiliated by a governing body as a minimum standard. The funding cannot be used to work with professional athletes.
When is the closing date?
The closing date for applications is 31 August 2024 and winners will be announced by 27 September 2024. The project will need to start within 6 weeks of receiving the grant and be completed within 6 months.
How much funding will I receive?
Sports nutritionists can apply for a grant of up to £2,000, depending on the scale of the project. For example, a short series of 3-5 lectures at a local sports club will be awarded less than funding to provide more comprehensive support to a sports team over an entire season.
The grant will be paid in stages: 40% at the start of the project; 30% at the mid-way point, and 30% on completion of the project on receipt of a case study write up.
The fund will cover the sports nutritionist’s working hours, travel costs and any necessary expenses (e.g. equipment, dietary analysis tools), to facilitate delivery of sports nutrition support with local grassroots clubs and athletes.