The FIA Institute has developed a guide to help National Sporting Associations (ASNs) to prepare applications for the next round of grants from the Motor Sport Safety Development Fund in September this year.
The publication, entitled A Guide to Developing and Funding Motor Sport Safety Worldwide, is available to download from the FIA Institute website. It includes an overview of the Fund, a look at its enhanced programmes, and details about funding.
The FIA Institute also distributed a best practice framework for the O fficials Safety Training Programme. This framework has been designed to be used as a template by ASNs around the world to create or update their own programmes.
This best practice framework will help to facilitate a detailed understanding of the key elements required to develop or enhance national development programmes for officials. The areas within the framework comprise a series of what is considered by the FIA Institute to be current best practice principles, which indicate the standard that should characterise an officials’ development programme.
In May, the FIA Institute will be distributing accreditation guidelines to assist ASNs in understanding the requirements to achieve the various accreditation levels against the framework. Accreditation will be awarded at multiple levels, including gold, silver and bronze, and any ASN who wishes to become a regional training provider will first have to achieve gold level accreditation.
The FIA Institute will foster the development of several regional training providers within each of five broad geographical zones. These training providers will take on the role of training those ASNs who require external assistance with the development of their officials.
The final two elements of the strategy for this programme will be implemented in the second half of 2009 and include the development of training infrastructure, and the conducting of knowledge sharing activities.
The FIA Institute has distributed a similar best practice framework for the Y oung Driver Safety Programme, which is designed to be used in the same way as the framework for the officials programme.
Shortly, it will begin the design phase of the driver academy which is due to be operational in 2010. O nce the conceptual design is complete, potential partners will be identified for each major aspect of the curriculum. These organisations will be invited to submit proposals from which the FIA Institute will select its academy partners.
The FIA Institute will call for driver nominations towards the end of 2009 with the final squad selected in early 2010. ASNs will be engaged in the selection of candidates for the academy with the driver’s initial eligibility determined by their performance in the ASNs elite programmes.
The FIA Institute recently received proposals from four leading organisations that have strong capabilities in the design and enhancement of economically sustainable motor sport facilities. The preferred facilities partner will be announced in May. At that point, the facilities partner and the FIA Institute will develop the last of the three best practice frameworks, which will be released in June.
The main role of the facilities partner going forward will be to work with ASNs to provide advice for the development or enhancement of new or existing facilities. The consulting services will range from carrying out due diligence on initial project valuation through to master planning, but not including the construction phase.