Active School Travel Pilot Program

Schools who are selected for the cohort will receive:

• up to $10,000 in cash funding to support participation in the pilot and implementation of Active School Travel projects, and
• access to in-kind capacity building supports and resources from a team of public health practitioners, community planners, researchers, and evaluation experts at BC Healthy Communities. Such supports may include:

• • Webinars
  • An online Community of Learning and Practice (CoLP)
  • Support with data collection, monitoring, and evaluation
  • Phone/digital-based coaching
  • Sharing of evidence-based tools and resources
  • Capacity building learning, training, planning sessions (workshops, meetings either in person or via other delivery mechanisms)

As participants of the pilot, schools will be required to:

• Agree to participate in the pilot for the entirety of the program term (until December 31, 2022)
• Complete a baseline survey about existing active school travel activities 
• Use the materials that are being tested as part of the pilot to plan, implement and evaluate your Active School Travel project
• Apply a whole-school approach to program-related activities (i.e. funding cannot be used to support actions that affect only one classroom or grade level - all students must benefit at the school).
• Provide ongoing feedback about the program and materials to BC Healthy Communities
• Submit a (brief) final report that includes outcomes, learnings, and recommendations as a result of participation in the pilot

In order for a school to be eligible to apply to participate in the AST Pilot Program, they must meet the following criteria:

1. Preference for inclusion in pilot will be given to schools located in rural, semi-rural, and suburban communities
2. School must be located within a neighbourhood setting, with sufficient infrastructure in place to ensure active travel to/from school is feasible for the duration of the pilot.
3. Schools must be able to demonstrate a clear motivation and capacity to engage in active school travel planning, for example:
   1. A ‘champion’ staff member at the school to lead the project planning;
   2. An existing school travel plan or program in place;
   3. A commitment from school partners and/or parents for an active school travel project
4. Schools must be willing to promote the pilot to staff and students, and actively encourage participation in data collection and evaluation measures for the purposes of the pilot.