Employment and
Social Development Canada
Emploi et
Développement social Canada
Protected B When Completed
For Official Use Only:
CSGC # _____________________ RC No. ____________________
Program: Social Development Partnerships Program - Children and Families
(name of program to which you are applying for funding)
Application for Funding
The funding program under which your organization is applying has specific eligibility requirements. The
Application for Funding should clearly show how the proposed project meets these requirements. Also, if
applying in the context of a Call for Proposal or another time-sensitive process Employment and Social
Development Canada (ESDC) must receive the Application for Funding by the closing date. Documentation
received after a posted closing date will not be accepted.
In order to complete this application for funding, please read both of the following thoroughly:
• Applicant’s Guide to the Application for Funding. It contains information on how to complete and
submit this form;
• The funding program’s information on the Web site
All parts of the application must be complete.
Thank you for your interest in our program.
Notice to Applicants:
The information collected in this application will be used, and may be disclosed, for the purposes of
assessing the merits of your application. As part of the assessment process, the information may be shared
with external consultants, review committee members, officials in other departments, federal, provincial and/
or territorial governments or Members of Parliament.
It may also be used and/or disclosed for policy analysis, research, and/or evaluation purposes. In order to
conduct these activities, various sources of information under the custody and control of ESDC may be
linked. However, these additional uses and/or disclosures of information will not impact on your project.
In the event that the application contains personal information, the personal information will be administered
in accordance with the Privacy Act and the provisions governing the protection of personal information that
are set out in the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, as applicable.
The application is also subject to the Access to Information Act (“ATIA”). The ATIA provides every person
with a right of access to information under the control of the department, subject to a limited set of
exemptions. Instructions for obtaining access to this information are outlined in the government publication
entitled Info Source, which is available at the following website address: infosource.gc.ca. Info Source may
also be accessed on-line at any Service Canada Centre.
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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PART 1 - ORGANIZATION
A. ORGANIZATION IDENTIFICATION
1. Legal Name *
2. Operating (Common) Name (if different from
legal name *)
3. Business or Registration
Number *
Dalhousie University
886806561RR0001
4. Organization Type *
5. Organization Category *
6. Year Established
University
Educational Institution
1821
7. Organization Address *
6299 South Street
8. City or Town *
9. Province or Territory *
Halifax
12. Telephone Number *
10. Country (if not Canada *)
11. Postal Code *
NS
Ext.
(902) 494-2211
B3H4R2
13. Fax Number
14. E-mail Address *
(902) 494-3594
www.hpi@dal.ca
15. Mailing Address * (if different from Organization Address)
16. City or Town *
20. Telephone Number *
17. Province or Territory *
Ext.
18. Country (if not Canada *)
19. Postal Code *
21. Fax Number
22. Organization's Mandate *
Dalhousie is a leading innovative, research-intensive University; it's mission is to foster an
environment of teaching and learning excellence built on innovation, collaboration and respect.
The Healthy Populations Institute (HPI) is a senate-approved institute within Dalhousie
University, bringing together researchers, policy makers and practitioners in transdisciplinary
and intersectoral collaboration to inform policies and programs aimed at improving the health
of Canadians. Through excellence in research, capacity building, and knowledge translation, HPI
has been a leader in health promotion research in Atlantic Canada and beyond. A key theme is
"Youth and Healthy Aging": creating supportive environments for chronic disease prevention, and
conditions for people to "start healthy, and stay healthy". HPI has been coordinating the
evaluation of the provincial government's early years centres model, and has strong ties with
the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Mount Saint Vincent
University, and the Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood Education. HPI has facilitated the
Physical Literacy in the Early Years (PLEY) Project, led by Drs. Stone and Kirk (Co-PI's) and
funded by the Lawson Foundation, a multi-site, quasi-experimental, randomized control trial
that integrated loose parts into early years centres' outdoor spaces to enhance preschoolers'
physical literacy development through unstructured, active, outdoor, risky play.
B. ORGANIZATION CONTACT This should be our primary contact person in respect to this application for funding.
23. Given Name *
Surname *
Michelle
Stone
24. Position Title
25. Preferred language of communication *
Assistant Professor
Written:
✔ English
French
Spoken:
English
French
26. ORGANIZATION CONTACT - ADDRESS *
Same as Organization Address
Same as Organization Mailing Address
✔ Different (include below)
27. Contact Address *
6230 South Street, PO Box 15000
28. City or Town *
29. Province or Territory *
Halifax
NS
32. Telephone Number *
Ext.
(902) 494-1167
30. Country (if not Canada *)
B3H4R2
33. Fax Number
34. E-mail Address
(902) 494-5120
michelle.stone@dal.ca
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
31. Postal Code *
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C. ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY
35. How many employees does your organization currently have?
36. Has your organization undergone any important transformations in the past two (2) years? *
Yes
No
If ‘Yes’ please provide a description of the changes:
37. Please describe how your organization has the experience and expertise to carry out the proposed project activities. If applicable, please include any past
experience with ESDC and the results of the project *
38. Does your organization owe any amounts to the Government of Canada? *
If 'Yes', please complete the fields below for each amount owing:
Amount
Owing
Nature of the amount owing
(e.g. taxes, penalties, overpayments)
Yes
No
Department or agency
to which amount is owed
39. If an amount is
owing, is a payment
plan in place?
A.
Yes
No
B.
Yes
No
C.
Yes
No
D.
Yes
No
PART 2 - PROJECT
A. PROJECT IDENTIFICATION
40. Project Title *
Scaling and sustaining an outdoor loose parts intervention in Nova Scotia early years settings
41. Planned Project Start Date (yyyy-mm-dd) *
42. Planned Project End Date (yyyy-mm-dd) *
2019-01-01
2020-03-31
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
43. Project Objectives (must be clearly linked to the objectives of the program to which you are applying). *
Over the past several years through scholarly work within our interdisciplinary team (Dalhousie
University, Mount Saint Vincent University, St. Francis Xavier University, Cape Breton
University, Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood Education) and outreach with community
partners (Department of Education (Early Years Branch), Department of Communities, Culture and
Heritage, Nova Scotia Childcare Association), our research team at the Healthy Populations
Institute has been gaining a deeper understanding of how Canadian, and particularly Nova
Scotian, young children, 1) are not meeting physical activity guidelines; 2) have low levels of
physical literacy; 3) are being given fewer opportunities to play independently and explore,
experiment, and master new skills within their outdoor environments; all of which is
compromising their health and development. In 2015, ParticipACTION released a Position
Statement on Active Outdoor Play1, recommending increased opportunities for self-directed
outdoor play in all settings (at home, at school, in childcare, in the community, and in
nature), and has sparked an international movement to do just that. This Position Statement was
supported by the growing body of research showing how crucial outdoor play is to children’s
learning and development2. The facilitation of play experiences, indoors and outdoors, is
embedded within Nova Scotia’s early learning curriculum framework. Early childhood educators
will use this framework to create stimulating environments (indoors and outdoors) and
facilitate play experiences that are responsive to a child’s emergent interests, strengths and
competencies. Play is the foundation on which the early learning curriculum is built. Despite
the growing awareness of the importance of play (particularly in the outdoors) to children’s
development, and its focus within early learning curriculum, many early childhood educators are
not equipped with the understanding of how to support quality outdoor play experiences for
young children3. Moreover, many outdoor early learning environments continue to embed
predominantly fixed, plastic equipment, which inhibits children’s free exploration and selfdirected, creative play, which is critical to their growth and development.
This understanding, and the clear gap in early learning and childcare service delivery with
respect to promoting quality outdoor play experiences, led our team to explore funding
opportunities to respond to this need. In 2015, the Lawson Foundation introduced a funding call
through their Outdoor Play Strategy to identify projects that would help inform communities how
to improve opportunities for unstructured outdoor play. Our team submitted a proposal, and was
successful, receiving $200,000 in funding (2016-2019) to facilitate unstructured, active, risky
play among Nova Scotia preschoolers, through the integration of loose parts into the outdoor
spaces of 19 geographically-dispersed (urban, suburban and rural) childcare centres. Loose
parts are open-ended natural/synthetic materials that can be moved, manipulated, stacked,
carried or combined in various ways4. Loose parts provide unlimited opportunities to enrich
children’s outdoor experiences through experimentation and unscripted play. In engaging with
loose parts, all dimensions of children’s health and development are enhanced. The process of
introducing and playing with them involves collaboration, problem solving, decision-making, and
creative thinking. Loose parts encourage fine and gross motor skill development, balance, and
coordination, by manipulating, pushing, pulling, lifting and rolling objects; and as such, an
opportunity to develop physical literacy. Loose parts play introduces an element of risk taking
in play, which is important for assessing competency, and developing confidence and
resilience5.
Our earlier project (Physical Literacy in the Early Years (PLEY)), focused on helping educators
understand the value of loose parts to enhance children’s opportunities for physical literacy
development and risk taking in outdoor play. Many childcare centres are introducing loose parts
into their indoor classrooms but the use of loose parts in outdoor environments is still
limited and inconsistent. In the PLEY project, educators received training from our team on
embedding loose parts into their outdoor spaces as a way to enhance children’s opportunities
for physical literacy development and risk taking in play. They were provided with a loose
parts kit (wooden planks, tree cookies, milk crates, balls, ropes, pulleys, funnels, PVC
tubing)5,6 that was sourced through donations from individuals, local organizations, and/or
purchased. Throughout the project, educators took photos of children's play with loose parts
and documented how this play has contributed to children's physical development (physical
literacy and physical activity), as well as other areas of development (cognitive, language,
psychological and socio-emotional). Continued in Appendix A (Page 1).
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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44. Project Activities (must be broken down into clear steps). *
Objective 1: To build the capacity of educators who have participated in the PLEY project to
engage with and mentor new educators in embedding loose parts into outdoor play environments
1. Educator knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) meeting: March 2019
Our research team will recruit educators from at least five participating PLEY childcare
centres to act as “mentors” to educators from at least five new childcare centres as
“trainees”. Our goal is that at least 50% of new/existing centres will serve vulnerable
populations (e.g. low income, newcomer families and/or children with special needs), to ensure
our program of research is inclusive. Once centres are confirmed, we will hold a KTE meeting
with educators from existing PLEY centres (n=5) and new centres (n=5) across the Province to
share PLEY project findings (note: existing and new centres will be recruited from January to
February 2019). We will introduce our new, innovative model for scaling up and sustaining this
loose parts intervention: the “train the trainer” model. Existing PLEY educators will act as
mentors to educators from new centres across the Province (1 to 1 mentorship). PLEY mentors
will share their experience with PLEY, with focus placed on how they embedded loose parts into
outdoor spaces (and stored them); how they sourced additional loose parts/replaced loose parts;
how children’s engagement with loose parts contributed to their physical, psychological and
socio-emotional development; how their attitudes towards risk taking was positively impacted.
Mentors will also share their experiences engaging parents in PLEY. Benefits and challenges of
PLEY will be discussed. Time will be allotted for participants to problem solve and come up
with realistic and creative strategies to address known challenges. This facilitated KTE
meeting will address a gap that the PLEY project did not adequately fill, and in doing so, will
be the first step to scaling up the important work accomplished with our PLEY project.
2. Training session with PLEY educators: April 2019
PLEY educators will be trained on how to mentor new educators to support children’s outdoor
loose parts play. They will also be trained on how to communicate with parents the value of
loose parts for enhancing children’s outdoor play experiences and overall development
(including physical literacy), how to talk with parents about risk taking during play, and how
to best support risk taking with loose parts while also avoiding injury. Our team will continue
to provide “train the trainer” sessions for this group to enable them to become mentors to
educators at new childcare centres throughout Nova Scotia.
3. Sourcing and delivery of loose parts and storage containers to centres: January to May 2019
Our research team will work with existing partners (Assemblage, Kent Building Supplies, Home
Depot, Canadian Tire, Dollarama, Walmart), and new partners introduced to us by Divert NS and
Dalhousie’s Industry Liaison and Innovation (ILI), to source loose parts in an environmentally
sustainable way. Examples of new partners could include Enviro Depots, tire recycling programs,
arborists, and independent home/building companies. We will also work with partners to secure
funding/in-kind donations for loose parts storage containers to deliver to new and existing
childcare centres. Once loose parts and storage containers have been sourced, they will be
delivered to participating centres. Focus will be on building strong relationships, so that we
can access reusable loose parts, and replace these in centres as needed (due to breakage/wear).
Some partners will be approached to determine their interest in providing additional funding to
further support the scalability and sustainability of our work, Provincially, and Nationally.
4. On-site mentorship visits: June to November 2019
Once loose parts and storage containers have been distributed (May 2019), each PLEY educator
will take part in several on-site visits to their partner educator’s centre, observing and
documenting children’s engagement with loose parts and educators’ facilitation of loose parts
play. Pairs will discuss the various domains of children’s development with a focus on physical
literacy. Through the intervention, educators will be asked to photo document/video-record
children’s loose parts play. Children’s physical literacy8 and physical activity9 will be
assessed prior to loose parts distribution (April 2019), and at 3 months (August 2019) and 6
months (November 2019) post distribution. The childcare environment will be assessed at
baseline (April 2019) and 6 months post-distribution10. The learning teams will create
communication plans to disseminate the children’s development and learning to families. This
could be achieved through a combination of strategies (e.g. photos, video-taping, infographics,
parent meetings, and parent/child "play" events). Continued in Appendix A (page 2).
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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45. Expected Results of the Project (must be clearly linked to the project objectives and be specific, concrete and measurable). *
The funding mandate of Employment and Social Development Canada’s Social Development
Partnerships Program (Children and Families) is to support innovative approaches that improve
the quality of early learning and child care service delivery, which are more effective than
traditional or currently used approaches, and that respond to emerging early learning and child
care issues. Our PLEY project has demonstrated that while educators see the value of embedding
loose parts into childcare centre outdoor spaces as a way to enrich children’s play
experiences, they struggle with how to best encourage loose parts play among children.
Educators also grapple with the best approach to supporting risk taking during loose parts play
despite realizing the benefits (e.g. due to fears around child injury). Through our PLEY
project, we learned that we need to better support educator-parent communication around risk
taking during play, the value of loose parts play to children’s physical literacy development,
and how to support and encourage loose parts play in multiple outdoor settings (childcare
centres and the home environment).
Our proposed innovative, interdisciplinary, and multi-partnership intervention builds upon an
existing proven model (PLEY) by taking “lessons learned” and addressing these to scale up and
sustain our loose parts intervention. We strongly believe that the following expected results
will significantly improve the quality of early learning and childcare service delivery.
1. Our proposed “train the trainer” model offers a mechanism for sustaining loose parts play in
outdoor childcare centres;
2. Our proposed partnerships with existing and new organizations offers a mechanism for
sourcing, storing, and replacing of loose parts, and supports the scalability and
sustainability of this work;
3. We want to uncover the lived experiences of children engaging with loose parts materials in
the outdoors, which adds another innovative element to our project. As such, we will be able to
provide compelling, “first-hand” accounts of how these materials are enhancing their play
experiences and contributing to their overall health and development;
4. We plan on engaging more closely with parents, to get them as invested as our educators, in
understanding the value of loose parts play in the outdoors to children’s health and
development. In doing so, we will enable them to consider how to embed loose parts in their
home outdoor spaces;
5. Finally, by building a website dedicated to sharing knowledge about our work, and how to
source/replace/store/embed loose parts materials, we will equip educators, families,
researchers, practitioners, government and policy-makers with the knowledge needed to
facilitate children’s outdoor loose parts play in multiple settings.
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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C. PROJECT DETAILS
46. Does the project include Results Measurement indicators? *
✔ Yes
No
If ‘Yes’, please describe how you will meet and track the expected results of the project:
We will use an internationally-recognized framework (RE-AIM: Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption,
Implementation, Maintenance)12 to measure outcomes across multiple levels (child, parent,
educator, environment, policy). Changes to the physical environment to support outdoor loose
parts play will be evaluated. A process evaluation will examine fidelity, dose, quality of
delivery, responsiveness of participants, and adaptations during implementation. We will
evaluate the cost of delivering the project to guide decision making on further scaling up of
this work Provincially. A mixed-methods research design (qualitative and quantitative data)
will be used, incorporating the following methodologies to ensure that result indicators are
specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-based, and targeted:
a) Focus groups will be used during the KTE meeting (Objective 1) to qualify: mentors’
experience with PLEY; how loose parts were embedded/stored in outdoor spaces; how additional
loose parts were sourced/replaced; how children’s engagement with loose parts contributed to
their development; experiences engaging parents in PLEY; benefits and challenges of PLEY. Focus
groups will be used during educator and parent workshops (Objective 3) to qualify perspectives
on supporting loose parts play in multiple settings and its value to children’s development.
b) End-of-event surveys will be used in the KTE meeting (Objective 1), knowledge mobilization
to educators (Objective 4), and workshop (Objective 3) to determine the effectiveness of these
activities, and topics that were well understood/require further support. Continued in Appendix
47. Does this proposed project fit with your organization's other activities? *
✔ Yes
No
If ‘Yes’, please describe how:
The Healthy Populations Institute has received funding from multiple organizations to build
research capacity in Nova Scotia early years environments. As mentioned, funding from the
Lawson Foundation ($200,000; 2016-2019) was granted to Stone/Kirk (Co-PIs) and colleagues to
develop and implement a quasi-experimental, randomized control trial loose parts intervention
(PLEY project) in 19 childcare centres across Nova Scotia, focused on improving children’s
physical literacy, physical activity, and outdoor play. Other objectives were to determine
whether the intervention increased educators’ attitudes, perceived competency, and intentions
towards incorporating the intervention into practice; and whether it increased parents’ and
educators’ understanding of play in children’s health and development. Lawson Foundation
funding was granted to Maher ($12,000; 2018) to examine the development of outdoor play and
early childhood education in Nova Scotia, through interviews and focus groups with a variety of
stakeholders. Both Stone and Maher will be attending the Lawson Foundation’s Outdoor Play and
Learning Policy Research Symposium (October 24-26 2018, Toronto, ON), which will provide a
forum for researchers, government officials, educators, service providers, and others
interested in sharing new research in the field of outdoor play and early learning as it
relates to policy development in regulated early childhood education and care (ECEC) and
publicly-funded elementary school contexts in Canada. This will be an important meeting towards
the Lawson Foundation’s goal of building a pan-Canadian community of practice in supporting
quality outdoor play experiences for Canadian children. Kirk, McIsaac and Turner are leading an
evaluation of early years centres in Nova Scotia with funding from the Margaret and Wallace
McCain family Foundation ($399,925; 2015-2019). Continued in Appendix A (page 3).
48. Will any of the project activities be delivered in a different location than where your organization is located? *
Yes
No
If ‘Yes’, please include your main address and an address for every other location where project activities will occur:
Main Address
City or Town
Province or Territory
Postal Code
City or Town
Province or Territory
Postal Code
A.
Secondary Address
B.
C.
D.
E.
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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49. Is your project designed to benefit or involve people in English or French-language minority communities? *
Yes
No
If ‘Yes', please provide an explanation and any details on whether consultations will take place with these communities:
50. Will any other organizations, networks or partners be involved in carrying out the project? *
✔ Yes
No
If ‘Yes’, please clearly identify the role(s) and expertise they will bring to the project:
1. Academic Partners: We have an established interdisciplinary, multi-institutional partnership
of researchers with considerable experience supporting early learning and childcare service
delivery in Nova Scotia:
1.1 Dr. Stone (PI; Dalhousie University) is an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Physical
Activity and Health, whose research focuses on supporting children's physical activity and
physical literacy development. She is Co-PI of the PLEY project, and has experience working
with early years educators, children, and families. She will lead the proposed work.
1.2 Dr. Sara Kirk (Co-I; Dalhousie University) is the Scientific Director of HPI, and has
supported early learning and childcare service delivery in NS through multiple funded
initiatives (see #47). Dr. Kirk's role will be to to assist with evaluating the proposed
project; she will be a liaison between established partners (NS Department of Education (Early
Years)) to ensure the project and findings are widely disseminated to support the
sustainability of outdoor loose parts play in NS early years environments. Continued (Appendix)
51. Does the project address the program’s national, regional or local priorities? *
If ‘Yes’, please select all that apply:
Yes
✔ No
National
Regional
Local
52. Does your project include activities that are listed in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s (CEAA) Regulations Designating Physical Activities
established under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012? *
NB: Applicants need to verify if their proposed activities are listed under the above Act - Please visit http://ceaa.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=9EC7CAD2-1
to access the list of Regulations Designating Physical Activities.
No If, ‘no’, an Environmental Assessment is not required.
Yes
If ‘yes’, then, as per the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, you must submit your project description electronically to the CEAA
(http://ceaa.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=63D3D025-1) for further review. The CEAA will determine if an Environmental Assessment (EA) is
required based on your project description. ESDC funding will be conditional upon receipt by ESDC of, as the case may be, CEAA confirmation
that an EA is not required, or, a copy of the completed EA and confirmation that your organization is equipped to appropriately address the EA
findings.
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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PART 3 - FUNDING
A. ANTICIPATED SOURCES OF FUNDING
53. Source Name*
53. Source Name*
ESDC
54. Source Type*
54. Source Type*
55. Cash
55. Cash
56. In-kind
($ value)
57. Confirmed*
Cash
In-kind
ESDC
Total Funding for the Project
B. BUDGET (PLEASE REFER TO QUESTION 64 TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL BUDGET INFORMATION)
58. Cost Category*
Expenditure Category*
59. ESDC
Planned Expenditures ($)
60. Other - Cash
61. Other - In kind
Total Planned Expenditures
C. BUDGET DETAILS
62. Associated Businesses or Individuals: Please check all statements below that apply to your planned expenditures of ESDC funding:
Contracts valued at $25,000 or more are part of the planned expenditures
Contracts with businesses or individuals legally associated with the applicant organization are among the planned expenditures
Contracts with outside providers to manage all or part of the project activities on behalf of the applicant organization are among the planned expenditures
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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63. Capital Assets: Will capital assets be among your planned expenditures with ESDC funding? *
Yes
No
If yes, please explain the benefit of the purchase that are necessary to carry out the project activities:
64. Further Budget Details:
Estimated Total Cost of Project: $285,000.00
Jan 1 2019 to Mar 31 2019: $69,393.00; Apr 1 2019 to Mar 31 2020: $215,607.00
1. Personnel: Jan 1 2019 to Mar 31 2019: $41,168.00; Apr 1 2019 to Mar 31 2020: $161,207.00
1.1 Early Childhood Education Consultant (1 FT or 2 PT): $80,000.00
1.2 Research Project Coordinator (1 FT Graduate Student (PhD)): $37,120.00
1.3 Research Project Coordinator (1 FT Graduate Student (MSc)): $22,273.00
1.4 Website Development (2 PT Research Assistants): $22,500.00
1.5 Financial Administrator (33.3 FTE; $25/hr + benefits @ 37.5 hr/wk): $22,300.00
1.6 Statistical Research Assistant ($17/hr + benefits @ 10 hr/wk for 8 months): $6,092.60
1.7 Research Assistant (data collection) ($16/hr + benefits @ 10 hr/wk for 8 months): $5,734.40
1.8 Early childhood educator substitutes($17/hr, 7.5 hr/day x 10 days x 5 educators): $6,355.00
2. Activities/Travel: Jan 1 2019 to Mar 31 2019: $1,100.00; Apr 1 2019 to Mar 31 2020:$4,000.00
2.1 Travel (physical activity/physical literacy data collection): $2,500.00
2.2 Travel (educator training, focus groups and parent interviews): $2,600.00
3. Materials: Jan 1 2019 to Mar 31 2019: $4,500.00; Apr 1 2019 to Mar 31 2020: $6,875.00
3.1 Loose parts & storage containers (in anticipation not accessed through partners): $4,500.00
3.2 Office supplies, postage, photocopying, photo printing, and infographics printing: $875.00
3.3 Data collection (Go Pro Cameras, audio recorders, physical literacy assessment): $2,500.00
3.4 Website Development (e.g. domain fees, copy-right licenses):$3,500.00
4. Communications/KT: Jan 1 2019 to Mar 31 2019: $500.00; Apr 1 2019 to Mar 31 2020: $20,950.00
4.1 Conference attendance, presentations, and open access publications: $10,000.00
4.2 Site packages/family resources: $1,000.00; 4.3 Spring 2020 KTE Event: $10,450.00
5. Meeting/catering costs: Jan 1 2019-Mar 31 2019: $750.00; Apr 1 2019-Mar 31 2020: $1,200.00
6. Administration(Dalhousie University):
Jan 1 2019 to Mar 31 2019: $21,375.00; Apr 1 2019 to Mar 31, 2020: $21,375.00
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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PART 4 - DECLARATION
In order for your application to be eligible for funding, it must be completed and signed by the official representative(s) of the applicant organization in accordance
with the organization’s by-laws or other constituting documents. The person(s) signing this form certify(ies) the following:
A. I certify that I have the capacity and that I am authorized to sign and submit this Application on behalf of the Organization named in Part 1;
B. I certify that the information provided in this Application and supporting documentation is true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge; and
C. I certify that the Organization and any person lobbying on its behalf is in compliance with the Lobbying Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. 44 (4th Supp.) and that no
commissions or contingency fees have or will be paid directly or indirectly to any person for negotiating or securing this request for funding.
Signatory Name (please print)
Title (please print)
Signature
Signatory Name (please print)
Date (yyyy-mm-dd)
Title (please print)
Signature
Signatory Name (please print)
Date (yyyy-mm-dd)
Title (please print)
Signature
Date (yyyy-mm-dd)
* denotes mandatory field
ESDC EMP5523 (2013-04-003) E
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APPENDIX A
Instructions: For each block of text you include below (if any), please specify the section it is meant to continue.
e.g. Part 1, Section 1C, Question 36 – continued: insert the rest of your answer here.
Part 2, Section B, Question 43 (Project Objectives) - Continued:
As the PLEY Project unfolded, we were able to document through focus groups, photovoice
documentation of loose parts play, and observations at participating centres' outdoor play
spaces, how the introduction of loose parts with focused educator mentoring in place changed
not only the way children played, but also how the educators understood and supported that
play. These photos and accompanying stories are providing a compelling account of how
instrumental our project has been to transforming the outdoor play experiences of children
through loose parts play. Through parent interviews, we have been acquiring a better
understanding of the barriers parents face to supporting outdoor play experiences for their
children. We are discovering that parents grapple with understanding the concept of physical
literacy and how to best support children’s physical literacy development. The diversity of
opinions around risk taking during play, sometimes between partners (i.e. parent/guardians),
has reinforced the value of facilitating a deeper discussion around “risks vs. hazards”, in the
context of children’s play, and the value of risk taking during play to children’s confidence
and motivation, key hallmarks of physical literacy, among parents, and also among educators. We
have been inspired by the enthusiasm and support from educators and families to sustain this
loose parts movement and scale it up into new settings. Importantly, we have learned many
lessons from our key informants (educators and parents) and research team on what’s needed to
address some of the challenges encountered with the PLEY project, which we see as opportunities
to move this innovative outdoor play with loose parts movement forward.
One gap, and identified need, is the lack of preparedness from trained educators about physical
literacy and the connection with healthy outcomes for children. Through informal discussions
and focus groups with educators, and delivering a workshop at the Provincial Early Childhood
Education conference this year7, we learned that there is insufficient focus on physical
literacy and its role in children’s healthy development, how to support risk taking during play
while avoiding injury, and the value of loose parts to children’s play experiences and overall
development. This is a huge gap in early learning service delivery that our work has been
progressively filling; there is still considerable work to be done. Another need identified
through our PLEY project is to support communication between educators and parents on the value
of loose parts for enhancing children’s outdoor play experiences. Educators are unsure how to
talk to parents about risk taking during play, and how to best support risk taking with loose
parts while also avoiding injury. Importantly, we realize that we could have better involved
parents in the PLEY project, so that they were more aware of how their children’s outdoor play
experiences were improving, and benefiting their physical, psychological and socio-emotional
development. These are identified needs that we plan to address in the proposed project.
Our overall mission is to build on the Lawson Foundation investment in our innovate loose parts
intervention work in Nova Scotia childcare centres, and taking lessons learned, scale up and
add sustainability to this work in Nova Scotia childcare centres. Our research objectives are:
1) To build the capacity of educators who have participated in the PLEY project to engage with
and mentor new educators in embedding loose parts into childcare centre outdoor play
environments; 2) To capture children’s “lived” experiences during loose parts play through
observation, documentation and discussion; 3) To create opportunities for educators and parents
to engage in dialogue around loose parts play in the outdoors, how to best support this play in
early years and home environments, and understand the value of this play to children’s
physical, psychological and socio-emotional health; 4) To create a website dedicated to
knowledge translation and exchange around the PLEY project and extension of this work (proposed
study), including how to source/replace loose parts and embed/store them in multiple settings.
Our target populations will be educators, children, and families. We will include Nova Scotia
childcare centres that have selected based on identified early childhood vulnerabilities to
ensure diverse/marginalized populations are included. Participating childcare centres will also
be geographically diverse (urban, suburban, and rural communities).
* denotes mandatory field
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Part 2, Section B, Question 44 (Project Activities) - Continued:
Objective 2: To capture children’s lived experiences during loose parts play through
observation, documentation, and discussion
Go along interviews: June to November 2019
Children’s “lived experiences” while engaging with loose parts in centre outdoor play settings
will be captured using go-along interviews (audio and video-recording)11. Data will be shared
with parents/guardians to facilitate dialogue around the value of loose parts play to
children’s physical literacy development, and risk taking in play. Parents will be engaged in
dialogue surrounding opportunities to embed loose parts into the home environment as a way of
scaling up this work and sustaining loose parts play in multiple outdoor settings.
Objective 3: To create opportunities for educators and parents to engage in dialogue around
loose parts play in the outdoors, how to best support this type of play in multiple early years
environments, and understand the value of this play to children’s physical, psychological and
socio-emotional health
Educator and parent workshops: September/October 2019
Our research team (in combination with educators), will facilitate a workshop at each
participating new childcare centre (n=5), to facilitate the conversation around loose parts
play in the outdoors, how to best support this play in multiple settings, and the value of this
play to children’s overall health and development. Parents will witness their children’s play
with loose parts in centre outdoor play spaces. Photographs/videos of children engaging with
loose parts in centre outdoor environments will be shared, along with infographics presenting
information on the value of loose parts play to children’s health and development (based on
study findings/other literature).
Objective 4: Knowledge mobilization to pre-service and in-service early years educators
Pre-service and In-Service: January to March 2020
Our research team will share findings (from PLEY and the proposed project) to the Provincial
training institutions, with the goal of integration of this knowledge into their programs of
study (e.g. course curriculum/practicum opportunities). One of our key collaborators, Jane
Cawley, has been revising curriculum as part of her teaching affiliation with the Nova Scotia
College of Early Childhood Education, to include more of a focus on supporting children’s
physical literacy development and risk taking with loose parts in outdoor environments.
Therefore, we are well positioned to expand this work to the other Colleges and Universities.
To meet the needs of early childhood educators who have already acquired training, we will
create a professional development module to offer to practicing educators through collaboration
with our partners at the early years support sites of the Department of Education and Early
Childhood Development.
Objective 5: To create a hub dedicated to knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) around the
PLEY project and the extension of this work (proposed study)
Loose parts intervention website development: January 2019 to March 2020
Our research team will develop a website focused on sharing information about the PLEY project
and the extension of this work (proposed study). Our PLEY project team will be starting to work
on the development of this website as part of our end-of-project KTE plan with current funding
(September 2018 to March 2019). Our goal is to secure funding through the ESDC that would
enable our research team to expand this website beyond our Lawson Foundation funding (ends
March 2019), and maximize reach of the research findings that emerge from PLEY and the proposed
intervention, to educators, families, researchers, practitioners, government and policy-makers.
Part of our focus will be to share information on how to source/replace loose parts materials,
and embed/store them in multiple settings (early years and home environments). The intention is
that this website becomes a source for sharing information and facilitating dialogue between
our key stakeholders, on how to support, scale up, and sustain this work in early years
settings across the Province. Our vision for the future (note: not within the proposed scope of
this project) will be to transition outdoors loose parts play into other Provincial settings
(e.g. Pre-Primary program/Schools), and eventually, expand this work Nationally.
* denotes mandatory field
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Part 2, Section B, Question 46 (Results Measurement Indicators) - Continued:
c) Photovoice will be used to provide quantitative and qualitative data on children’s outdoor
play experiences using loose parts (Objectives 1 and 3) to educators and parents, with a focus
on how this play contributes to physical literacy and risk taking; other aspects of children’s
development (cognitive and socio-emotional) will be discussed.
d) Go-along interviews will be used to provide quantitative and qualitative data (audio and
video-recorded)11 on children’s “lived outdoor play experiences” using loose parts (Objective
2) and shared with parents to facilitate dialogue on the value of loose parts play to
children’s physical literacy development and risk taking during play.
e) Structured interviews will be used, along with go-along interview data, to capture parents’
thoughts on the value of loose parts play to children’s physical literacy development and risk
taking during play; and opportunities to embed loose parts into the home outdoor environment to
sustain this type of play in multiple settings. Structured interviews will also be used with
educator mentors and new trainees to learn more about their experiences with the mentorship
model.
f) A process evaluation will be conducted to determine our sourcing of loose parts and storage
containers through interactions with new and existing industry/non-for-profit partners
(Objective 1), including the level of support provided (donations/funding). We will also use
the RE-AIM framework and a process evaluation to evaluate the train-the-trainer sessions, onsite mentorship and professional development of existing (mentor) and new (trainee) educators
(Objective 1). Photo-documentation and video-recording will be used by educators throughout onsite mentorship visits to capture children’s loose parts play. The learning teams will create
communication plans to disseminate the children’s development and learning to the families
(e.g. photographs, video-taping, infographics, parent meetings and parent/child “play” events).
g) Children’s physical activity and physical literacy will be captured at new sites preintervention (baseline), and at 3- and 6-month intervals, using validated tools (ActiGraph GT3X
+ accelerometers, Test for Gross Motor Control-3)8,9. The childcare environment will be
objectively assessed using the validated Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation
(EPAO) instrument10.
h) Our loose parts intervention website (Objective 5) will be evaluated using the RE-AIM
framework12.
Part 2, Section B, Question 47 (Fit within organization's other activities) - Continued:
Support from the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF) and LesLois Shaw Foundation
($10,000; 2016) was granted to Kirk and McIsaac to build research capacity in NS through the
early years evaluation, and support was acquired by NSHRF ($9,968; 2016) to develop a research
agenda for early childhood development in NS. This work clearly indicates that our team is
well positioned to continue to support quality outdoor play experiences through early learning
and childcare service delivery.
As discussed previously, our proposed project builds upon the established relationships and
work generated through the PLEY project, taking “lessons learned” and addressing these novel
needs in the proposed project, through an innovative, multifaceted, and interdisciplinary
research proposal. By addressing and meeting these needs, we have an opportunity to scale up
and sustain loose parts play in multiple early years environments throughout the Province. We
have strong interdisciplinary partnerships whose focus is on supporting health and development
in Nova Scotia early years environments, and are therefore well positioned to lead this
important and innovative proposed work.
Part 2, Section B, Question 50 (Organizations/Partners) - Continued:
1.3 Dr. Laurene Rehman (Co-I; Dalhousie University) is a Professor in Leisure Studies with
expertise in qualitative research and family active leisure. She will assist with the
collection, analysis and KTE of educator and parent focus group and interview data.
Continued (next page).
* denotes mandatory field
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Part 2, Section B, Question 50 (Organizations/Partners) - Continued:
1.4 Dr. Daniel Rainham (Co-I; Dalhousie University) is an Elizabeth May Chair in Sustainability
and Environmental Health, with expertise in children's outdoor play and nature exposure and
relationships with health. Dr. Rainham will provide expertise on project methodology and
evaluation, and contribute to data analysis and KTE.
1.5 Dr. Angie Kolen (Co-I; St. FX University) has expertise in the physical growth and
development of children in relationship to physical literacy, particularly in the early years;
she will contribute to project methodology, recruitment of childcare centres, and KTE.
1.6 Dr. Jessie-Lee McIsaac (Co-I; Mount St. Vincent University) is a Tier II CRC in Early
Childhood: Diversity and Transitions. Her research enhances well-being during early childhood
by ensuring policy and practice supports families as they transition across early learning
environments. Dr. McIsacc will assist with the mobilization of knowledge produced by the
project to stakeholders (educators, families, researchers, government, and policy-makers).
1.7 Dr. Joan Turner (Co-I; Mount St. Vincent University) is a Professor of Child and Youth
Study, with experience with children in health care/early childhood settings. She will provide
expertise on working with children as active contributors to research, and contribute to KTE.
1.8 Jane Cawley (Co-I; former Executive Director of the Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood
Education) is committed to excellence in the education of young children and to the education
and professional development of those who teach them. She has been a critical member of our
PLEY team, leading all phases of work, and our key liaison with educators. Her role in the
proposed project will be, 1) to lead and support our "train the trainer" model (including onsite visits), 2) to support educator-parent communication (including our proposed workshop),
and knowledge mobilization activities to pre-service and in-service educators, and 3) to liaise
with non-for-profit groups and industry partners to source loose parts and storage containers.
1.9 Dr. Pat Maher (Co-I; Cape Breton University) is an Associate Professor in Community Studies
and Outdoor Leadership. Dr. Maher is examining outdoor play and early childhood education
across NS and will bring those contacts to this work (and linkages to Cape Breton).
1.10. Dalhousie University's Industry Liaison and Innovation (ILI) facilitates collaborations
between industry and University researchers. Our research team has already sought support from
ILA to connect us with interested industry partners (Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Kent, RONA,
Walmart) who could support the proposed work. ILI’s role will be to continue provide support
for our team to connect with industry partners, to donate/fund loose parts and storage
containers, and to support this program of research beyond the capacity of ESDC funding.
2. Non-for-profit partners:
2.1 Lawson Foundation: Christine Alden is the Program Director of Early Childhood Learning and
Active Living, including the Outdoor Play Strategy, which funded the PLEY project. Our team
will work with Alden to disseminate knowledge about the proposed project through her
established early years networks. Her well-established connections with researchers, government
officials, educators, service providers, and others with an interest in outdoor play and early
learning policy, will be instrumental in helping our team establish an even wider
interdisciplinary network that would support the sustainability of this work, and contribute to
the Lawson Foundation’s goal of creating a pan-Canadian community of practice in supporting
quality outdoor play experiences for children.
2.2 Divert NS: Our team has established a connection with Divert NS, a non-for-profit
organization focused on diverting materials destined for landfills. Divert NS manages 75
Enviro-Depots Provincially, and works with government, industry and academia, to divert waste
resources. Divert NS’s role will be to provide support for connecting with industry partners
(listed above) and Enviro-Depots to access loose parts and storage containers.
2.3 Assemblage: Assemblage is a non-for-profit Halifax-based organization focused on providing
low-cost/free loose parts. We have an established connection with Assemblage through our PLEY
project, and will continue working with them to access loose parts for the proposed project.
* denotes mandatory field
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APPENDIX(B:(References(
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1. Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group. Position statement on active outdoor play.
Ottawa: Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group; 2015. URL:
www.haloresearch.ca/outdoorplay
2. Brussoni M, Gibbons R, Gray C, Ishikawa T, Sandseter EB, Bienenstock A, Chabot G, Fuselli P,
Herrington S, Janssen I, Pickett W, Power M, Stanger N, Sampson M, Tremblay MS. What is the
relationship between risky outdoor play and health in children? A systematic review. Int J Environ Res
Public Health. 2015;12(6):6423-6454.
3. Bento G, Dias G. (2017). The importance of outdoor play for young children’s healthy development.
Porto Biomedical Journal, 2(5):157-160.
4. Nicholson, S. (1972). The theory of loose parts, an important principle for design methodology.
Studies in Design Education Craft & Technology, 4(2).
5. Inspiring Scotland. Loose Parts Play: a toolkit. Retrieved from:
https://www.inspiringscotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Loose-Parts-Play-web.pdf
6. Let the Children Play. Theory of Loose Parts. Retrieved from:
http://www.letthechildrenplay.net/2010/01/how-children-use-outdoor-play-spaces.html
7. Stone, M, Cawley, J. (2018). “The PLEY Project”. Presented at the Nova Scotia Child
Care Association 2018 Conference and Trade Show (Exploring Risk in Outdoor Play),
June 1-2, 2018, Dartmouth, NS. Retrieved from:
https://nschildcareassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Spring-Conference-2018-v2.pdf
8. Ulrich, D. A. (2016). Test of gross motor development (3rd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
http://www.kines.umich.edu/tgmd3.
9. ActiGraph accelerometers. Retrieved from: https://www.actigraphcorp.com/
10. Ward (2008). An instrument to assess the Obesogenic environment of child care centers. Am. J.
Health Behav., 32(4):380-386.
11. Lloyd A, Gray T, Truong S (2018). Seeing what children see: Enhancing
understanding of outdoor learning experiences through body-worn cameras. Journal of
Outdoor Recreation, Education and Leadership, 10(1):52-66.
12. Austin G, Bell T, Caperchione C, Mummery K. (2011). Translating research into practice: using the
RE-AIM framework to examine an evidence-based physical activity intervention in primary school
settings. Health Promot Pract, 12(6): 932-41.&
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