Prime Minister’s Scholarship
Programme
Application Template – Coach and Support Team
Statement:
As the programme coordinator I observe all PM’s Scholarships decisions. It’s my role to ensure
PM’s Scholarships decisions are fair, transparent and consistent with the Programme
Guidelines. Observing the panels make their decisions I’ve picked up a few tips which should
help you complete your application. My comments are in blue throughout this form.
What you need:
 A professional development plan. This is often the most important attachment. Attaching a
robustly developed PD plan enhances your application. The learning outcomes and
scholarship activity applied for in your PM’s Scholarship application should be identifiable in
your PD plan which has been signed off by your HP Director, Line Manager, Coach
Consultant, Discipline lead etc. In many instances, HPSNZ can provide specialist HR resource
to help your NSO develop PD plans.
 Endorsement from your National Sport Organisation (NSO) and/or the New Zealand Academy
of Sport (HPSNZ).
 Details of what performance-related NSO query or issue you are intending to address with
your professional development.
 An outline of your overall learning objectives as well as the specific details of what you are
trying to learn.
 The costs of each part of your professional development.
 Confirmation from relevant organisations/individuals that they have agreed to planned
contacts or visits.
Step 1: Agree to Terms and conditions
The full conditions upon which the Scholarship is awarded are set out in the Prime Minister's
Scholarship Guide. The latest version of the Guide with the date upon which it took effect can
be accessed from the Prime Minister's Coach Scholarships or the Prime Minister's Support
Team Scholarships webpages. By submitting this application, you accept the full conditions
outlined in the Guide. Please note that the latest Guide applies to you whether you have read it
or not.
It is therefore very important that you read and understand the Guide. The latest version of
the Guide can be downloaded from SPARC's webpage for Prime Minister's Coach/Support
Team Scholarships.
If you have any questions about how the Guide applies to you, please contact your NSO,
HPSNZ Coach Performance Advisor or Performance Services Consultant.
Please ensure you have received written confirmation from relevant organisations/individuals
that they have agreed to any planned contact or visits. For example, if contact with a specific
overseas expert is planned, then an email or letter of confirmation from that individual is
required. Confirmation documents and other documents to support your application may be
uploaded with this application.
Step 2: Personal Details
First name
Last name
Gender
Date of Birth
Organisation
Discipline
Email address
Home phone
Work phone
Mobile phone
Step 3: Address Details
Street Address
Suburb
City / Town
Postcode
Country
Region
Step 4: Group application
If this is a group application, you will need to provide or attach a list of all applicants.
Step 5: Biography details
High Performance Sport New Zealand will host a Certificate Presentation Function for Prime
Minister's Scholarship Recipients. Please note information you provide in this section may be
used to compile a brief biography. This will be read for each recipient at the function.
In my opinion, applicants spend too much time on this section and run out of steam later in
the application (Step 7 is the most important). NZ’s High Performance community is small,
well connected and achievements are generally well known.
This section really provides a
quick refresher to the panel on your current role, what athletes you currently work with and
your achievements. The best answers in this section are brief and to the point.
Please limit your answer to 1400 characters or fewer
Current role or job title with

Job title
Outline the most senior role (as

What was the role (one liner)
coach or support team member)

What did you do (one or two sentences)
your NSO or within high
performance sport
you have held
Describe your greatest
This question is about having ‘runs on the board’. It also
contribution to an NSO High
helps with writing your bio for PM Scholarships ceremony:
Performance programme and/or

What athlete results have you directly contributed to
High Performance Sport:

What are you most proud of
List the key athletes you

Name your key athletes
currently coach or support:
Nb. the panel already know who athletes are, what level
they’re carded, their best performances etc. No need to
repeat here.
What specific performance-

What specific answer do you want to learn from this
related NSO query or issue are
scholarship in reference to:
you intending to answer
a.
Improving athletes or campaign performance
b.
Meeting NSO need / requirement
Identify who you will circulate

NSO, other coaches, service providers (keep it brief)
your new knowledge, skills and
findings to in YOUR sport and
how will you achieve
How will your new knowledge
An easy answer is:
benefit OTHER sports?
My Final Report will be posted on:
http://www.hpsport.co.nz/
Are there any other funds being
Yes (how much)
put forward towards the
Or
activities related to this
No
scholarship, e.g. from your NSO,
other scholarship, gaming trusts,
international federations or personal
contributions?
Step 7: Project details
Please limit your answer to 1400 characters or fewer.
Tip: This is the most important section of the application.
Successful applications demonstrate the following 3 things:
1.
Link to the professional development needs of the applicant (backed up by a PD plan)
2.
How this scholarship will be practically applied and lead to improved athlete performance
3.
How this scholarship meets NSO need e.g. why this is activity important to NSO, what
benefits will it create.
Aim / Purpose
Aim:
What is your anticipated outcome from your scholarship
activity e.g. what do you want to achieve
Purpose:
What are the reasons you’re applying for this scholarship:

Is it to improve athlete performance

Is it to meet an NSO need or requirement

How it will help your professional development
Specific learning objective 1:
I would answer this section in 2 parts:
What exactly are you trying to
1.
Describe what your learning objective is?
achieve?

What will you learn and

Why is this learning objective important to you and how
will it make a difference to your athlete, sport and
discipline?
2.
How will you practically apply your learning’s?

How do you intend to implement what you learn on this
scholarship to help your athletes win?

How do you intend to apply what you learn to benefit
your NSO?

How this will this scholarship make you a better coach or
service provider (provide specific details)
Specific learning objective 2:
Same as above
What exactly are you trying to
achieve?
Outline how this objective will
Be really specific how you will achieve your above learning
be achieved: What are you
objectives e.g.
planning to do?

Where will you go

How will your scholarship be completed e.g. it’s a 6
week course run by Auckland University, I will spend
4xtwo hour sessions with Wayne Bennett in Sydney etc.

Who will you visit and why are they qualified to help you
(what are their qualifications, experience, past results
etc.

If it’s a conference, forum or workshop, you should
attach a programme detailing sessions.

It also helps to give a brief description on the process
you went through to develop this scholarship application
Budget details (below is an example of how to fill out budget correctly)
Activity
Cost item*
Date
Unit
Unit
details**
price
Quantity
Total
AIS visit
Flights
17/9/11
Per person
$500
2 (flights)
$1,000
AIS visit
Accommodation
17/9/11
Per night
$150
6 (nights)
$900
AIS visit
Food
Per day
$30
6 (days)
$180
AIS Visit
Transfers/Taxis
Per person
$75
2 (taxis)
$150
Total
$2,230
* Cost item e.g. flights, professional fees, logistics etc
** Unit details e.g. per day
Click here to add another objective
Step 8: Attachments
The following supporting documentation can be uploaded to enhance your application:
 Documents from organisations/individuals that have agreed to your planned contacts or
visits
 Professional development plan
 A detailed programme of your activity applied for with clear learning objectives identified
for each session (presenter details and session descriptions help)
 A detailed budget (adds to the professionalism of an application)
A maximum of 3 documents can be uploaded [limited to 2 Mb per document]
Note: Additional documents such as resumes or CVs that are unrelated to your application will
not be considered.