Background
Only a minority of children and adolescents in Denmark fulfil the Danish Health Authority’s recommendation of at least 60 minutes of daily moderate- to high-intensity physical activity. For example, new data show that only 26% of children 11–15 years old carry out the 60 minutes of daily activity at the specified intensity. In addition, children and adolescents are sedentary for many hours – often in front of a screen – both during weekdays and at weekends.
Improving the level of activity among children and adolescents has been associated with several important parameters, including waist circumference, bone and muscle strength, motor development, positive mental health outcomes and, to some extent, improved academic performance in subjects such as mathematics. Interventions that stimulate movement and physical activity therefore not only probably drive the achievement of healthy weight trends but may also lead to other positive outcomes relating to health and development in childhood.
Project fields
Applicants may apply for grants for projects that focus on reducing sedentary activity among 10- to 15-year-olds by increasing movement and physical activity. For example, the projects may focus on exploring and testing new initiatives and innovative approaches that can lead to a more physically active daily life among children and adolescents or that otherwise increase their physical activity.
Applicants may apply for grants for developing methods and interventions, for materials and the like and for resources to support municipal and local initiatives (schools, after-school clubs, associations, etc.) that focus on promoting an active lifestyle among children and adolescents.
The projects can target the general group of 10- to 15-year-olds or selected parts of it – including those at high risk of having a low level of activity, such as ethnic minority groups, teenage girls or socially disadvantaged children and adolescents.
Funding
The Foundation is making a total of DKK 60 million available in spring 2020. Applications may be submitted for two types of grants.
- Grants for testing or continuing knowledge-based initiatives in municipal, private or voluntary programmes. Applicants may apply for between DKK 500,000 and DKK 3 million for such initiatives, which must be thoroughly evaluated. At least 10% of the budget should be allocated for this purpose.
- Research grants to develop, test and implement initiatives and/or evaluate them through research. Applicants may apply for between DKK 3 million and DKK 10 million for such projects.
Both types of projects may last for up to 5 years.
Applications that do not meet these financial and time criteria will not be considered.
The project may be an independent, delimited project or part of a larger project that other partners support. The Foundation seeks to have several applicants interested in this field apply jointly to create the basis for comprehensive and sustainable solutions. For example, municipal institutions may apply jointly with local associations, or municipalities can apply for projects across administrative units.
Eligibility
During the period for which the grant is awarded, the applicant must be a leader or project manager at a public institution and/or charitable organization, including educational institutions, knowledge institutions, associations or municipalities in Denmark.
Private companies cannot apply for grants under this call for applications. Any co-applicants or collaborating partners must be listed in the application (see Application Guidelines).
- Applicants may apply for a grant to pay for the following project expenses:
- Salaries for employees or affiliated personnel at all staffing levels, including project management
- Funding to cover substitute personnel or the salary of professional staff involved in developing and/or participating in the project
- Operating expenses such as direct expenses for developing, implementing and operating the project, including materials and equipment
- Professional outreach or knowledge sharing in the form of conferences, books, articles and other outreach directly related to the project
- Administrative support of up to 5% of and included in the applicant’s overall budget to cover administrative expenses that are directly related to the host institution
- Project evaluation
The Foundation will not award funding for:
- Commercial activities
- Buildings
- Overheads (such as rent, electricity, water and maintenance)
Applicants who have applied for or been awarded other co-funding must state this in the budget.
Application process
Applications must be submitted electronically to the Foundation through NORMA, the Foundation’s application and grant management system. The application system is in English, but applications may be submitted in either Danish or English. The choice of language will not influence the assessment of the application.
Applicants should read these guidelines thoroughly since they contain detailed information about the application process. Read the guidelines here.
Assessment criteria
The Foundation’s Committee on Children, Health and Movement will assess the applications based on:
Whether the project fulfils the purpose of the call for applications
- The relevance and importance of the proposed project, including the extent to which the project is based on existing knowledge in this field
- The scientific quality, originality, sustainability and scalability of the project
- The project plan’s overall sustainability and ability to be implemented – including a plan for evaluation and knowledge sharing
- The qualifications and capacity of the applicant and the applicant’s institution