Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Director Matt Favier today invited national sporting organisations (NSOs) to apply for a share of a new $1.5 million annual fund that encourages innovation in high performance sport.

Favier said the Australian Institute of Sport NSO Competitive Innovation Fund would support bids from NSOs and other organisations through an NSO (which includes state institutes and academies) over the next four years.

“The focus of this fund is to encourage sports to enhance collaboration and integrate with world’s best practice methods across sporting bodies, the corporate sector, researchers and key support industries to assist as many sports as possible,” Favier said.

“The projects that will be considered highly for support, will demonstrate an impact across two or more sports.

“Applications which show a commitment to investment in coaching related activities, sport specific projects and technology initiatives will be encouraged.”

Favier said selected projects will also need to show they will produce something new for Australian sport that will significantly contribute to the goals set out in the blueprint for high performance sport, Australia’s Winning Edge.

“This is not about funding a one-off project to help one sport for a short period of time. A cornerstone of the Winning Edge was the idea that sports needed to enhance collaboration to gain an advantage in an increasingly competitive global sporting landscape,” Favier said.

The focus of the funding will be on new proposals and is in addition to a sport’s existing investment in coaching, sport specific projects and technology initiatives.

A total of $6 million (up to $1.5 million per annum) has been set aside for the fund from within existing Australian Sports Commission resources. Applications for this year close on May 31.