What is the purpose of the additional pathway investment?
The purpose of the funding is to enable Scottish Governing Bodies (SGBs) to strengthen the effectiveness of their sporting pathways so athletes can experience inclusive, consistent, and high‑quality development environments that support progression toward world‑class performance.
How much funding is available for pathways?
£2 million has been allocated specifically for pathway investment as part of the wider additional £18 million sportscotland budget settlement for 2026.
Who can apply for this funding?
Invested Scottish Governing Bodies (SGBs) are eligible to apply for pathway investment through sportscotland’s application portal.
What types of activity can the funding support?
Funding can support investment in people and athlete development programmes and learning and development for pathway staff and coaches.
How will investment decisions be made?
Applications will be assessed against agreed criteria and guidance principles to ensure consistency, impact, and value. Investment decisions will be made by sportscotland following an assessment process.
What is meant by Athlete Development Environments (ADEs)?
ADEs describe the collective components of athlete development across sports, including SGB‑led programmes, club‑led activity, and individual athlete‑led training and competition experiences.
Why is there a focus on pathways rather than medals?
While medal success remains important, evidence indicates that stronger, better‑resourced pathways are required to improve long‑term athlete development, progression, and sustainability across sports.
How does the funding support inclusion and para‑athlete development?
The investment emphasises inclusive and equitable pathways, addressing barriers such as access, affordability, classification processes, bespoke support needs, and alignment with frameworks such as the Activity Inclusion Model.
What principles underpin effective pathway design?
The briefing outlines athlete development principles including rigorous development, meaningful experiences, coherent learning and programming, and inclusive, balanced, and focused development environments.
What is the athlete–environment–system model?
This model recognises that pathway health depends on interconnected factors at the athlete level, the development environment, and the wider system, each requiring different forms of insight and evidence.
What is the application timeline?
SGBs are invited to apply via the application portal by 31 May. sportscotland will review applications and make investment decisions in June, with funding distributed in July through the supplementary investment process.
How will delivery and impact be monitored?
sportscotland staff will support delivery throughout the year, with progress monitored and outcomes reviewed and refined annually to support continuous improvement.
Is this funding a one‑off or ongoing?
Initial funding is provided through a supplementary investment process. Pathway investment will then be incorporated into the 2027 investment, with ongoing investment and associated targets embedded in standard business-as-usual investment review processes. Some flexibility is available after funding is agreed, particularly where changes are needed to respond to the operating environment, delivery context, or emerging evidence of impact. Any changes must remain aligned with the agreed strategic intent and investment outcomes.
Where adjustments are required, they should be documented and agreed through established governance and investment review channels and communicated to relevant stakeholders as part of routine performance and investment monitoring.
Can an SGB apply for investment for various limitations/opportunities they have identified in their pathway with various solutions?
Yes, SGBs should consider the athlete development principles (see Pathways Brief), to analyse and design effective pathways, which can include various limitations / opportunities to improve pathways.
What specific areas of investment are covered by pathway monies?
Investment can be used for any solution that leads to optimised athlete development.
Can SGBs apply for pathway investment if they don’t have a proven track record in performance?
Yes, SGB’s can apply if they can deliver progression and achievement outcomes.
What questions will I be asked within the application for pathway investment?
SGB’s will be asked to offer insight into the following, offering perspective from both system and environment(s) and athletes. SGBs should note the word count that will be applied to each area.
Pathway context
Limitations and/or opportunities of current pathway
Proposed development(s) and/or solution(s) to pathway improvement
Risks, barriers and mitigations to successfully implementing change
Provide the success metrics, monitoring and evaluation they would expect to see
How any new pathway investment would align with sportscotland core investment currently awarded and other new monies applications (Club Support Programme and Growth & Innovation Fund)
The amount of the investment request (£)
Any additional context that may be appropriate to the application
What is meant by ‘system’ and ‘environment and athlete’?
System: Relating to processes, principles, and documentation that guide athlete development. Systems that create effective flow of information, connectedness and use of performance and training information to support decision-making. Systems that attend to quality, quantity and diversity of athletes and the development environments in which they learn.
Environment and athlete: Relating to the quality of training environment(s) in which athletes develop. Environments that consistently use development principles to curate effective developmental experiences; rigour, meaningfulness, coherence, balance-&-focus, and inclusivity of training opportunities that promote long-term, holistic development.
Are there any application limits/amounts within the pathway fund?
There isn’t a fixed cap as such within the pathway fund. The emphasis is on aligning with pathway priorities and demonstrating clear impact, rather than working to a predefined funding threshold. We recommend continuing to engage with your HPM/PM to sense-check the scope and scale of your proposal. They’ll be best placed to guide what is realistic and appropriate within the current context.
Is there any flexibility for SGBs who may not be able to meet the 31 May deadline due to extenuating circumstances?
Ideally, we would like all applications to be submitted by 31 May. However, if there are extenuating circumstances that will stop you from submitting a well-considered application by this date, please discuss with your High-Performance Manager in the first instance
If my SGB does not have a High-Performance Manager as a point of contact to support with our application, what should I do?
Please email newmonies@sportscotland.org.uk requesting assistance with your application and someone will be assigned to support you. Please also liaise with your sportscotland Partnership Manager, who can work collaboratively with High Performance Manager colleagues to provide further support.
The application requires SGBs to prioritise their investment request. What is meant by this?
A total of £2 million has been allocated specifically for pathway investment. It is anticipated that the combined ambitions of the Scottish system may exceed the funding available. As a result, not all investable applications, or all elements within an application, may be supported in full (or part). SGBs are therefore required to clearly prioritise the proposed areas of investment within their application. This means identifying which elements are most critical to achieving meaningful pathway impact, and which should be progressed first if full funding cannot be awarded. SGBs should discuss their proposed priorities with their High-Performance Manager. Clear prioritisation will support robust assessment and help ensure available funding is directed to areas of greatest strategic value and impact.
How does the pathway investment link to project work within discipline services e.g. education? Should sports consider this as part of their application?
Pathway funding applications should stand on their own merits. The core proposal should clearly set out the intended outcomes, delivery plan, and rationale for investment, and should not rely on additional support service delivery from SIS.
If there are relevant linkages to wider project work within discipline services (e.g., education or applied support functions), these can be referenced as contextual or complementary activity. However, they should not be a required component of the application, so the proposal remains clear, robust, and deliverable regardless of additional system inputs.
Any more detailed discussion about how pathway investment could interface with discipline-service projects can be explored after the application process, to identify alignment and integration opportunities without compromising the independence of the initial bid.
How will success and impact of the investment be defined, evidenced, and evaluated across athlete progression, environment quality, and wider system outcomes?
Success will be defined through clear, outcome focused measures that describe what will change at three levels: athlete progression, environment quality, and wider system impact.
At an athlete level, success will be evidenced through observable improvements such as enhanced performance standards, results, rankings, or appropriate proxy measures including skill based assessments and physical preparation markers. At an environment level, success will be reflected in improved coaching practice, more consistent and higher quality training programmes, and stronger alignment to agreed athlete development principles. At a system level, impact will be demonstrated through an increased number and/or greater diversity of athletes reaching defined performance benchmarks, clearer targeting of investment into priority environments, and improved accessibility across the pathway.
These outcomes will be underpinned by a clear and proportionate measurement approach that explains how change will be tracked over time. This will include identifying what data will be collected (for example, progression tracking, testing data, coach and environment assessments, and engagement metrics), how and when it will be gathered (such as through ongoing monitoring, seasonal reviews, and annual evaluation cycles), and who is responsible for collecting and interpreting the data. Crucially, there will be a direct and explicit link between the success measures defined and the evidence used to demonstrate them, creating a continuous feedback loop that supports learning and ongoing improvement across athletes, environments, and the wider system.
