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County Sports Partnerships Improvement Toolkit

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Toolkit Guidance Notes

This toolkit is designed round the eight themes of the TAES framework with a separate section for "governance" and an “operations” theme added for this specific version. Click the appropriate theme or scroll down the page

The toolkit has been produced to support the development of strong, sub-regional partnerships to strategically plan, support and drive programmes and processes geared to generating increased levels of participation in sport (as defined in the European charter) across the English regions.

It provides Partnerships with a framework to assist them to review the current position and future role of County Sports Partnerships (CSPs), and to work through a process designed to establish CSPs as bodies that have strong strategic influence as well an effective infrastructure for delivery.

CSPs, as with other organisations using the TAES Improvement Model, will find the toolkit is designed to help managers find information and guidance to improve those areas that they have identified as in need of improvement. They may also find the information helpful in those areas where they have scored well. The TAES self-assessment model, and workbook, is available free of charge at www.sportengland.org/taes.

Although this toolkit helps to set out a framework it is by no means prescriptive. Rather, it sets out sources and examples of good practice.

CSPs differ in the ways they will wish to approach the challenges faced in their respective localities.  Evidence demonstrates that new ways of working are required to bring about real change. It is important that CSPs develop a culture where innovation and enterprise is encouraged to help maximise results.

Definition and Core Functions of CSPs

Sport England believes County Sports Partnerships (CSPs), both their core teams and the wider strategic partners they embrace, to be mission critical in delivering an active and successful sporting nation. A CSP is a partnership of agencies committed to providing a high quality, single system for people to benefit from sport. Each has the following characteristics:

All CSPs will actively contribute to increasing participation and widening access to sport and physical activity and the achievement of sporting success.

CSPs will be pivotal in delivering the 1% per year participation target set by Government with a particular focus on:

Leadership

1.  Improving Leadership Skills and Behaviour

Effective leadership is the key foundation of an excellent organisation. It needs to be evident at the managerial, supervisory and political levels of the organisation. Developing leadership skills will be critical to your improvement programme.


Theory of Leadership - Centre for Leadership Studies
This report, produced by the Centre for Leadership Studies, provides a comprehensive review of leadership theory and competency frameworks. It includes a summary of the current models, frameworks, and initiatives in leadership, with a specifically relevant section on “Public Sector Frameworks”.
pdf logo Theory of Leadership

Leadership Competencies and Development Tools- Employers’ Organisation for Local Government
Leadership guidance for local government workers. This useful website includes information on leadership competencies and links to leader development strategy and case studies.
Local Government Leadership

Political Leadership- IDeA knowledge
This section is aimed at elected members of local councils and outlines the roles, responsibilities and courses available that will aid personal and professional development in a leadership role.
Political Leadership

Transformational Leadership-Leadership Research and Development Ltd
LRDL is a cutting-edge research company, which investigates transformational leadership. It promotes ethical transformational leadership throughout organisations across the public, private, and voluntary sector. The articles available include – “Equality and Diversity”, “Leadership and Stress”, and “Leadership Culture and Climate”.
LRDL Articles

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Policy & Strategy

1.  Producing Good Strategies and Plans

Producing strategies with clear and measurable aims, objectives and targets is the starting point of effective delivery and improvement. People need to know what they are seeking to achieve.

Producing a Sport and Active Recreation Strategy - Sport England Yorkshire
This document aims to support organisations involved in the preparation and publication of their sport and active recreation strategy. It sets out a concise framework of important criteria against which there are statements of competence. The intention is that this framework can be used by anyone to assess your strategy and provide you with constructive feedback, ultimately ensuring that it is fit for purpose.
pdf logo Sport and Active Recreation Strategy

Sport, Physical Activity and Renewal
When producing strategies and plans the positive contribution that sport and physical activity can play in society, and the barriers that need to be overcome to increase participation, should be at the forefront. This resource helps to identify integrated policies between sport and regional strategies that govern social, economic and spatial development and sustainable communities.
Sport, Physical Activity and Renewal (Word)

2.  Meeting National, Regional and Local Priorities

Sport needs to demonstrate how it is contributing to the achievement of national and local priorities in its strategies and plans. These include:-

Game Plan
The Government's national strategy for delivering its sport and physical activity objectives.
pdf logo Game Plan

The Shared Priorities
This leaflet explains the background to The Shared Priorities. It explains how the Local Government Association intends to work with government to help councils and their partners implement the priorities and what is needed to make them a reality in English and Welsh communities.
pdf logo The Shared Priorities (208k)

National Framework for Sport in England
The National Framework was launched by Sport England in 2004 to set out how, as the strategic leaders for sport, they are going to work in partnership with a number of organisations and individuals with the shared vision of making England the most active and the most successful sporting nation in the world by 2020.
pdf logo National Framework for Sport

UK Vision for Coaching
The UK Vision for Coaching has established the overall direction for the future development of coaching in the United Kingdom for the next ten years. The Vision is now the key strategic document influencing the way in which sports coach UK will develop its future work.
pdf logo UK Vision for Coaching

Regional Strategies for Sport
Following on from the National Framework for Sport in England, every region has produced its own strategy for sport.

3.  Consulting Effectively to Inform Your Strategy

A good strategy must be informed by the views of local people and your staff. To do this you must consult effectively.

Preparing Community Strategies - Local Government Association
The LGA have produced a leaflet that discusses the nature of community strategies and the community planning process. It identifies a series of issues that need to be addressed (with local people and partners) as an approach to community planning is developed – and provides case study illustrations.
pdf logo Community Strategies

Connecting with Communities - IDeA knowledge
This resource helps councils improve their communication with residents and other stakeholders. Developed by the IDeA, the Connecting with Communities research project contains professional advice best practice case studies, and hundreds of documents that you can download for free.
Connecting with Communities

Consultation Code of Practise - Cabinet Office
“Effective consultation is a key part of the policy–making process. People’s views can help shape policy developments and set the agenda for better public services. But we also need to make the process of consultation less burdensome and easier for people to engage with”. This is why the Government’s update "Code of Practice on Consultation" was launched in 2004.
Consultation Code of Practice

Consultation Guidance - Cabinet Office
The guidance is intended to help fulfil the requirements of the Consultation Code of Practice. It sets out terms of best practice for organising a consultation process. Some sections will be more relevant to your consultation than others, and this guidance is designed so that you can flick between topics.
Consultation Guidance

Consulting Your Users - Cabinet Office
This introductory guide focuses specifically on the benefits and process of consulting with the users of your Partnership.
pdf logo Consulting Your Users

4.  Consulting With Hard to Reach Groups

Some sections of the community are harder to engage with and therefore their views are easy to miss. The advantages of consulting with a wide range of partners and clients outweigh the difficulties Different approaches and techniques are required.

The Equality Standard For Sport
The Equality Standard helps you assess the performance of your organisation on all aspects of equality.
The Equality Standard for Sport

The Equality Standard for Local Government - Employers Organisation for Local Government
The Standard recognises the importance of fair and equal treatment in local government services and employment and has been developed primarily as a tool to enable local authorities to mainstream gender, race and disability into council policy and practice at all levels. It also provides a framework that can be extended to anti-discrimination policies for age, sexuality, class and religious beliefs.
The Equality Standard for Local Government

Consulting Hard to Reach Groups - LARIA seminar
Notes from a groundbreaking conference, discussing best practice when consulting with hard to reach groups.
LARIA Seminar Notes

Communicating and Consulting With Hard to Reach Groups - Barking & Dagenham Borough Council
A step-by-step 19-point summary guide, produced by Barking and Dagenham Borough Council, on how to communicate and Consult with hard to reach groups.
Communicating and Consulting

Consulting Ethnic Minority Communities - Cabinet Office
Consulting ethnic minority communities: an introduction for public services
Ethnic Minority Communities

Consulting Young People - Employers Organisation for Local Government
These guidelines provide simple; issues to be covered, questions to ask yourself, and best practice guidelines, for when consulting with young people.
pdf logo Consulting Young People

Consulting Disabled People - Museums & Libraries Association
Guidance on consultation with disabled people; its benefits and uses; methods of consulting; how to plan and prepare for the process and carry it out in an accessible way.
pdf logo Consulting Disabled People (205k)

5.  Target Setting and Benchmarking

Setting ambitious but realistic targets and communicating these through the organisation is critical to developing understanding and ownership. Equality and diversity issues need to be addressed through the targets being set. The targets set need to take into account what other similar organisations have achieved by benchmarking against them. Benchmarking can include comparing processes as well as performance.

Setting Targets - Office of Government Commerce
This section deals with setting business targets, which are stretching and challenging but not unrealistic. Targets should also drive forward the initiative for continuous improvement.
Setting Targets

Benchmarking - PSBS
The Public Sector Benchmarking Service, launched in November 2000, has been developed as a partnership between the Cabinet Office and HM Customs & Excise with the key aim of promoting effective benchmarking and sharing good practices across the public sector. Benchmarking is a fundamental part of developing modern public services. It enables organisations to share knowledge and learn from the best. Benchmarking has already led to significant improvements in cost and quality of services in many areas of the public sector. It is an effective tool for bringing about collaborative approaches to resolving common problems. This site hosts further information about benchmarking and a good practice database.
Benchmarking

National Benchmarking Service - Sport England
Sport England has developed a national benchmarking service for sports halls and swimming pools. Through a substantial research commitment it has created the most authorative set of performance indicators and national benchmarks available to date for these key local authority facilities.
pdf logo Sport England Benchmarking

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Community Engagement

1.  Systems and Processes for Engaging Communities

Effective consultation depends on using the right processes that enable objective views to be collected and used to develop strategy, assess priorities, define service standards and influence decision-making.
(See also Policy and Strategy - Consulting Effectively on Your Strategy)

Preparing Community Strategies - Local Government Association
The LGA have produced a leaflet that discusses the nature of community strategies and the community planning process. It identifies a series of issues that need to be addressed (with local people and partners) as an approach to community planning is developed – and provides case study illustrations.
pdf logo Community Strategies

Connecting with Communities - IDeA Knowledge
This resource helps councils improve their communication with residents and other stakeholders. Developed by the IDeA, the Connecting with Communities research project contains professional advice best practice case studies, and hundreds of documents that you can download for free.
Connecting with Communities

Community Engagement "How to... Guide" - Scottish Centre for Regeneration
A comprehensive guide to provide help for community planning partners when involving local people in planning and managing services. The online guide has four major sections: Techniques, Publications, Case Studies, and Engaging Minority Ethnic Communities.
Community Engagement

Evaluation of LSPs: Community Engagement Action Learning Set Report - ODPM
The purpose of the “Action Learning Set” was to help Local Strategic Partnerships to design and develop community engagement systems that work effectively at local level. This paper is divided into three main sections: The first gives context and background to the theory behind community engagement in the form of a "question and answer" discussion, and some key concepts to consider when considering engagement in partnership working. The second describes case study research into two examples of engagement of the public in a local strategic partnership. The third gives a framework for community engagement in partnerships and develops some elements of this framework into practical tools for LSPs to use when involving stakeholder groups.
LSP Set Report

2.  Consultation Techniques

There are many different consultation techniques that are better suited to particular situations.
(See also Policy and Strategy - Consulting Effectively on Your Strategy)

Consultation Techniques - IDeA Knowledge
This integral consultation module looks at good practice on consultation and goes into detail on specific aspects.
Consultation Techniques

Listen Up! Effective Community Consultation - Audit Commission
This paper aims to help authorities to secure the benefits that consultation can offer and get good value from the resources that they invest in it. It concentrates on: what consultation is; planning consultation; overcoming common obstacles to effective consultation; the principles of good practice; and evaluating effectiveness.
Listen Up

Feeling the Pulse - MORI
This guide is divided into three parts, each covering a particular theme:
1. Reviewing your consultation – the ‘scrutiny and scoping phase’, revisiting the aims and objectives, looking at how the work has been carried out, and thinking about how the findings can be used.
2. Analysing the findings – ensuring that appropriate techniques are being adopted to help identify what the results mean, and how priorities for the future can be established.
3. Communicating the implications – developing steps to ensure that the findings and implications are reaching those people with responsibility for the service or issue in question.
Feeling the Pulse (Word, 367Kb)

Consulting Your Users - Cabinet Office
This introductory guide focuses specifically on the benefits and process of consulting with the users of your Partnership.
pdf logo Consulting Your Users

3.  Working With Under-Represented Groups

Specific techniques are required to work with some excluded groups and communities. The equality standard helps you assess the performance of your organisation on all aspects of equality.
(See also Policy and Strategy - Consulting With Hard to Reach Groups)

The Equality Standard For Sport
The Equality Standard helps you assess the performance of your organisation on all aspects of equality.
The Equality Standard for Sport

The Equality Standard for Local Government - Employers Organisation for Local Government
The Standard recognises the importance of fair and equal treatment in local government services and employment and has been developed primarily as a tool to enable local authorities to mainstream gender, race and disability into council policy and practice at all levels. It also provides a framework that can be extended to anti-discrimination policies for age, sexuality, class and religious beliefs.
The Equality Standard for Local Government

Equality Legislation - Sport England
Public Organisations are legally obliged to ensure that they do not discriminate against participants, employees, and volunteers on grounds of disability, gender, and race. The most relevant legislation is listed on this page.
Equality Legislation

The Disability Portfolio - Museums & Libraries Association
The Disability Portfolio is a collection of 12 guides on how best to meet the needs of disabled people as users and staff. It gives invaluable advice, information and guidance to help overcome barriers and follow good practice.
Disability Portfolio

4.  Community Development Models

Achieving Better Community Development - The Scottish Community Development Centre
Achieving better community development - ABCD - provides a framework for planning and learning from community development interventions. It encourages those involved in community development - whether as funders, policymakers, managers, practitioners, volunteers or community members, to be clear about what they are trying to achieve, how they should go about it, and how they can change things in light of experience. It is essentially a framework, which is flexible enough to be applicable at policy, programme or project level, and sufficiently adaptable to reflect the particular priorities of community development activity at different times, different places and with different people.
ABCD Model

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Partnership Working

1.  Strategic Relationships Between the Organisation and the Voluntary Sector

The voluntary sector is a key partner for sport and your organisation needs to have negotiated a strategic relationship with it. The Government have promoted this relationship through their “Compact with the third sector” policy.

Partnership Working - IDeA Knowledge
Government guidance for Local Councils working in partnership. The information ranges from setting up Local Strategic Partnerships to auditing and evaluating their achievements.
Partnership Working

Smarter Partnerships - Employers Association for Local Government
This website has three tools to help you to develop your partnership: 1. Do a quick health check of your partnership. 2. Assess your partnership in more depth 3. Review the learning and skills needs you and your partners might have. It also provides case studies and links to other relevant on-line resources.
Smarter Partnerships

Effective Local Partnerships - HM Treasury
This leaflet sets out a checklist for those engaged in partnership working at a local level, to consider either in the development or enhancement of local compacts, or in specific partnership arrangements they may enter into. It is backed-up by specific actions and signposting to further guidance and support.
pdf logo Effective Local Partnerships

Our Partnership
Ourpartnership.org.uk promotes best practice for people who are working in partnerships between the voluntary and public sectors. It provides news, features and best practice guidance for partnership working. Once registered you can also access e-learning courses for those who want to improve their partnership working skills.
Ourpartnership.org.uk

National Government Compact

The Compact is the agreement between government and the voluntary and community sector (VCS) in England to improve their relationship for mutual advantage. Written in 1998 it provides the framework for partnership working between the government and the VCS.

The Compact Homepage

The 1998 Compact

The Compact Volunteering Code of Good Practice
This Code of Good Practice sets outs principles and undertakings for both government and the VCS in England on how to work together to support volunteering and voluntary action.
Compact Volunteering

The Compact Community Groups Code of Good Practice
This Code of Good Practice aims to promote a better understanding of the community sector, within the voluntary and community sector as a whole.
Compact Community Groups

The Compact Consultation and Policy Appraisal Code of Good Practice
This Code of Good Practice is a tool for ensuring effective consultation and better policy outcomes both for the voluntary and community sector and government. The Code aims to make a positive impact on the way in which the government consults and appraises its policies in respect of the voluntary and community sector. In doing so, it should enable voluntary and community organisations to make an inclusive contribution to the development and implementation of policies.
Compact Consultation and Policy Appraisal

2.  Training Staff for Partnership Working

Specific skills and competencies are often required to work effectively with the voluntary sector if the relationship is to be effective.

Skills and Training - IDeA Knowledge
This section looks specifically at how to manage communications effectively, a key component of partnership working.
Skills and Training

Developing Skills for Partnership Working - Employers Association For Local Government
This valuable interactive tool allows you to assess your priorities in terms of the following key areas of partnership development:
1) Leadership: skills and knowledge for leadership in partnerships.
2) Trust: skills and knowledge for cultivating trust in partnerships.
3) Learning: skills and knowledge for promoting learning & improvement in partnerships.
4) Managing For Performance: skills and knowledge for managing partnership performance.
Developing Skills For Partnership Working

3.  Capacity building in the voluntary sector

To be effective the voluntary sector needs to be supported to enable it to build the capacity to assist you. This is often more important in the community sector than the paid voluntary sector or grant aided sector.

Get Trained - CSV
Community Service Volunteers (CSV) offers support and training for community and voluntary sector volunteers. They believe that everyone can ‘make a difference’, and that each individual is capable of increasing their value to the community. This page provides links to their training programmes on a local basis.
Get Trained

Working With Volunteers - Sport England
This guidance on volunteering is focussed specifically for people working in the sports sector. It has sections on: general principles; recruiting volunteers; working with volunteers; retaining volunteers; and a valuable list of key contacts.
pdf logo Working With Volunteers

Coach Training - Sports Coach UK
Sports Coach UK (scUK) provides guidance and support for all coaches at every level in the UK.
Coach Training

4. Monitoring partnership working and measuring its impact

It is important that you measure the benefits and costs of working with the voluntary sector and ensure you can assess its impact and value. It is all too easy for long standing relationships to simply continue without achieving your objectives.

Evaluating Effectiveness - Audit Commission
This is the section of the Audit Commission's Listen Up paper, which deals with how to evaluate the effectiveness of community consultation.
Evaluating Effectiveness

Performance Management Framework; Local Strategic Partnerships - Neighbourhood Renewal Unit
The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU) has developed this 40 page Performance Management Model to support LSPs. Performance management is an important part of business planning which will help you to know what you and your partners are achieving in your local area.
Performance Management Framework

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Use of Resources

1.  Budgeting by Objectives

Having decided your objectives and priorities it is essential to ensure your resources are targeted at what you are seeking to achieve. Changing budgets from non-priorities is often difficult to manage particularly in a political environment and therefore often avoided

Strategic Financial Planning - Audit Commission & Social Services Inspectorate
This section identifies a model for strategic financial planning and the criteria which need to be met to ensure effective financial planning. It emphasises the reflective nature of the planning process, the need for an integrated approach over the medium term and, most importantly, that service plans and priorities should drive the strategic planning process. Although based on social services the basic principles can be extrapolated to other public services.
Strategic Financial Planning

2.  Budget Management & Control & Devolved Budget Management

Effective control of your budget is critical to your success. This means setting the right budget, monitoring it consistently and taking action to address problems quickly. Excellent organisations are confident to devolve this responsibility to the lowest possible level.

Budget Management - CIPFA
This resource, produced by The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), provides guidance on how budgets should be constructed to support the delivery of the organisation's strategic objectives and policies.
pdf logo Budget Management

Managing Budgets - Audit Commission & Social Services Inspectorate
This section identifies a model for managing budgets and the criteria which need to be met to ensure a positive outcome. It emphasises the need to ensure that the approach to managing budgets, and the scheme of delegation to support this, reflects the culture of the organisation and arrangements for making service decisions. Although based on social services the basic principles can be extrapolated to other public services.
Managing Budgets

Financial Procedures & Control Manual - UK Sport
UK Sport has used Scottish Basketball’s Financial Procedures and Control Manual, as an example of good practice for sports organisations to follow when creating their own monetary procedures.
pdf logo Financial Procedures

3.  Finance Performance Data & Comparators

To monitor effectively the information you receive needs to be as accurate and up to date as possible. You need to be able to model this data to compare your performance over time and to others.

Sport and Recreation - Audit Commission in Wales
This paper was written to assess the standard of sporting provision in Wales. It provides a good model of how performance data can be recorded and measured, as well as providing figures for expenditure on the sporting infrastructure in England as well as Wales, which can be used for comparison with your own data.
pdf logo Sport and Recreation

4.  Procurement of Goods and Services

Finding the right organisation to deliver your service is the most important decision you will make if you are to achieve your objectives. Equally achieving value for money when you buy goods and services is a sign of an excellent organisation.

Procurement - IDeA Knowledge
This procurement resource aims to provide easy access to the resources, contacts and services needed for procurement management. It contains a range of guidance, good practice and other information on all aspects of procurement. This includes a series of briefing papers on a range of procurement topics, case studies, as well as the latest government guidance on procurement.
Procurement

The Procurement Process – Office of Government Commerce
The aim of this workbook is to describe the principles of government procurement broken down into its component tasks. Particular attention is paid to the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the procurement lifecycle. This is essential reading for information regarding the procurement process.
The Procurement Process

5.  Considering Alternative Forms of Management

In finding the right person to deliver your service for you it is important that you consider all the options. This might include the private sector, voluntary sector, partnerships or trusts. Because of the sensitivity in this area it has often been the weakest part of Best Value reviews and service inspections.

HR Implications of Procurement - Employers Organisation for Local Government
As with any change process, there are people management aspects of new service delivery models that need to be addressed. These include the legal implications, but also the wider issues such as changing cultures and management styles. This resource provides a code of practice on workforce matters relating to procurement.
HR Implications

6.  e-Government Targets & Using New Technology

The government is encouraging all sectors to improve accessibility through e technology. It states that an excellent organisation will be maximising opportunities for communities and customers to access services through this route. An excellent organisation will have assessed its ICT capacity and invested where it improves service and performance.

e-Government Unit - Cabinet Office
The e-Government Unit is the largest unit within the Cabinet Office. They work to deliver efficiency savings and improve the delivery of public services. Their homepage is therefore the perfect starting point to explore the advantages that electronic government can bring to the public sector.
e-Government Unit

e-Government & Technology - IDeA Knowledge
This webpage provides access to:
1) Good practice case studies, briefing papers, and practical guidance on efficiency and e-government.
2) A comprehensive resource for guidance on e-commerce.
e-Government & Technology

Research into e-Government - LSE Public Policy Group
This site is dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of e-government and the impact of web-based technologies on government.
Research into e-Government

7.  Investing in Innovation and Managing Risk

Doing things differently and taking risks is a sign of an ambitious organisation. However managing risk particularly where major change or investment is taking place is equally a sign of an excellent organisation.

Project Management – Office of Government Commerce
This workbook sets out the roles and responsibilities for delivery of individual projects, milestones and resources; identifies stakeholders; interdependencies; manages delivery; manages project budgets. It states that a good project management method will guide the project through a controlled, well-managed, visible set of activities to achieve the desired results. All parties must be clear about why the project is needed, what it intends to achieve and what individuals responsibilities are in that achievement.
Project Management

Contract Management – Office of Government Commerce
Contract management is the process which ensures that both parties to a contract fully meet their respective obligations as efficiently and effectively as possible, in order to meet the business and operational objectives required from the contract and in particular to provide value for money. This workbook guides you through the varying elements of contract management from "Preparation" to "Managing the Changes".
Contract Management

Risk Management – Office of Government Commerce
This workbook provides a comprehensive framework for identifying and managing risks. The task of risk management is to identify risks associated with a particular course of actions designed to deliver a particular outcome. Once identified those risks are managed to limit the potential of adverse results and achieve the desired outcomes.
Risk Management

Benefits Management – Office of Government Commerce
Benefits Management aims to make sure that desired business change or policy outcomes have been clearly defined, are measurable, and provide a compelling case for investment - and ultimately to ensure that the change or policy outcomes are actually achieved. Any programme of change requires a constant focus on the intended benefits (measurable improvements) if it is to deliver value and remain aligned with business goals. This guidance is designed to help Senior Management understand the key principles involved in managing and delivering business benefits and achieving desired outcomes from programmes of change.
Benefits Management

8.  Achieving External Funding

Sport is often dependant on external funding to achieve its objectives. This process however must be effective and deliver value for money. It is also easy for funding opportunities to start to dominate your work, preventing you from achieving your objectives.

Funding Guidance - Sport England
This is the homepage for all of Sport England's advice and guidance on funding issues.
Funding Guidance

Sources of Government Funding - governmentfunding.org.uk
This site is your online portal to grants for the voluntary and community sector from the following funders: Department for Education and Skills: Department of Health: Home Office: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Government Offices for the Regions.
governmentfunding.org.uk

9.  Asset management

Sport historically has large amounts of plant and equipment. How these assets are maintained and managed is critical. These assets are also a valuable resource in negotiating new investment.

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Governance

Governance is about organisational leadership and ensuring that an organisation is effectively and properly run. It is distinct from day-to-day management and operations delegated to staff and volunteers.

1.  What is Governance?

Corporate Governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled – Cadbury Report 1992

Governance includes –

Governance is not necessarily about doing; it is about ensuring things are done.

In a small organisation, it is almost inevitable that board members will be involved not only in making decisions and monitoring work, but in doing some or all of that work. But as an organisation grows, the board becomes less involved in its day-to-day activities, delegating to staff responsibility for most tasks. Decision-making may also be delegated to staff, on condition that all decisions are within policy frameworks agreed by the board.
In many organisations, this process of delegation can cause confusion. Where are the boundaries between the responsibilities of board members and those of the chief executive and senior managers? Whose job is it to draw up the strategic plan and budgets, decide what to say to the media when someone makes public allegations against the organisation, and decide whether to dismiss an employee?
In fact, because each organisation is different, each organisation must decide for itself.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has excellent guidance including an assessment of Governance Models and structures (including a partnership model) and a Governance Code.
askNCVO - Governance

2.  Governance Structure

Under English law, charitable status is determined by an organisation's purposes rather than its constitutional form. A number of different legal structures are acceptable provided that all the basic conditions for charitable status are met.
The appropriate legal structure for an individual charity will depend very much on its actual and proposed activities and operations. Factors to be taken into consideration are:

As the choice of legal structure is of great importance, it is essential that the promoters should take advice at an early stage as to the appropriate structure.

Importance of Choosing the Right Structure
Time taken in choosing the appropriate legal structure and drafting the governing instrument is never wasted. Failure to take care and time over this at the outset will frequently result in problems and additional legal costs at a later stage.
Organisations should look to the future: a structure which does not seem appropriate now may, in fact, be the most suitable in the long term. However, there are sound reasons why an organisation will wish to set up as say a trust, but if the operations of a charity expand or circumstances change in another way, it will usually be possible to change to become a company limited by guarantee. In many cases, though, this will be a time consuming exercise and involve an application to the Charity Commission and require the registration of a new charity.

Once the structure has been chosen a governing document should be drawn up. This must be drafted with care. The objects must be exclusively charitable in the legal sense of the word and wide enough to cover present and future activities. The administrative provisions must comply with charity law and be both comprehensive and flexible. It is important that the provisions should cover all eventualities that can be foreseen but there must be an effective amendments procedure so that changed circumstances can be addressed. It is often advisable to keep much of the administrative detail off the face of the main governing instrument and in subsidiary rules so that changes can be more easily effected through issuing standing orders or byelaws.
Comprehensive guidance in this area can be obtained through the Charity Commission – Governing Document.

Types of structure
The form of a charity can be incorporated or unincorporated. The three most common legal structures for a charity are:

Recent Government proposals have identified the need for a specific charitable incorporated organisation. Incorporation as a company will entail a degree of administrative burden at the time of establishing the charity and compliance with ongoing obligations. However, the major advantage of incorporating a company is that the liability of the trustees will be limited to a nominal amount.

The Friendly Society and the Industrial and Provident Society are also appropriate in some circumstances. These bodies, which are registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies, are exempt charities and therefore not subject to registration with the Charity Commission. Other charities are established by Royal Charter or Act of Parliament.
Further information can be sourced at - Legal Structures for Voluntary Organisations

3.  CSP Composition

CSPs will normally operate through some form of Partnership Board with professional staff employed / linked to it. The main agencies of which a CSP will comprise will normally include:

4.  Governance Resources

UK Sport / ICSA have produced a very useful single reference point for National Governing Bodies.
Resources for Governing Bodies

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People Management

1.  People (HR) Strategies

People are your most important resource. A strategy is needed to attract them, recruit them, retain them, develop them and keep them motivated.

What is a People Strategy? - Employers Organisation for Local Government
This webpage gives a basic grounding on the advantages of creating a People Strategy and provides links to sources of further information for guidance on its implementation.
People Strategy

People Strategy Impact on HR - Employers Organisation for Local Government
HR is crucial in facilitating transformational change. This webpage therefore addresses how the functions of HR will need to be reformed to allowed a People Strategy to be developed.
Impact on HR

2.  Investors in People

Investors in People is an independent accreditation process to enable you to improve your people management.

Investors in People Standard
The Investors in People Standard is a national quality standard that sets a level of good practice for improving an organisation’s performance through its people. It provides a step-by-step approach to help improve knowledge, skills and motivation to work efficiently. Investors in People recognises that organisations use different means to achieve success through their people. It does not prescribe any one method but provides a framework to help you find the most suitable means for achieving success through your people.
The Standard

Employment Relations - Department of Trade and Industry
The Employment Relations Directorate are developing a framework for employers and employees, which promotes a skilled and flexible labour market founded on principles of partnership. It deals with relationships between workers and their employers, including individual rights as well as collective arrangements. This is a very useful, accessible, and comprehensive website on employment relations.
Employment Relations

Rights at Work - ACAS
This resource provides detailed and accessible information and advice on employment law from the employee’s viewpoint.
Rights at Work

3.  Appraisal Schemes and Training and Development

People like to know how well they are doing and the organisation needs to make sure their staff have the skills and competencies to achieve their objectives and targets.

Advice on Appraisal Schemes - ACAS
This booklet is intended to assist anyone involved in the process of employee appraisal. It is designed to: discuss the benefits and difficulties associated with appraisal related pay (ARP) schemes; give guidance on key factors to consider when introducing ARP; offer general guidance on how to assess performance and relate the outcome to pay; and give advice on how to manage certain aspects of ARP schemes.
pdf logo Appraisal Schemes

Performance Appraisals - Businessballs
This webpage provides information and further links on: performance appraisals, performance evaluation and assessment of job skills, personality and behaviour - and tips for '360 degree feedback' and '360° appraisals'.
Performance Appraisals

Skills Development - Employers Organisation for Local Government
This webpage helps to develop the skills and capacity of the workforce through links to resources on: skills frameworks; a national management development framework; and middle managers’ development guides and tools.
Skills Development

Training & Development - Businessballs
This webpage provides information and further links on: training, coaching, mentoring - developing people
Training and Development

4.  Equal Opportunities & Equality Standard

Treating people fairly and valuing diversity in your workforce is not only important for your business it is a legal requirement. The equality standard helps you assess the performance of your organisation on all aspects of equality.

The Equality Standard For Sport
The Equality Standard helps you assess the performance of your organisation on all aspects of equality.
The Equality Standard for Sport

The Equality Standard for Local Government - Employers Organisation for Local Government
The Standard recognises the importance of fair and equal treatment in local government services and employment and has been developed primarily as a tool to enable local authorities to mainstream gender, race and disability into council policy and practice at all levels. It also provides a framework that can be extended to anti-discrimination policies for age, sexuality, class and religious beliefs.
The Equality Standard for Local Government

Equality Legislation - Sport England
Public Organisations are legally obliged to ensure that they do not discriminate against participants, employees, and volunteers on grounds of disability, gender, and race. The most relevant legislation is listed on this page.
Equality Legislation

How to Put Gender Equality Into Practice - The Equal Opportunities Commission
This section of the EOC website contains information and resources to help employers, businesses, organisations and service providers take action to promote gender equality and tackle sex discrimination. This includes guidance for employers about how to comply with sex equality laws, how to promote good practice in gender equality issues in the workplace, and a series of easy to use equality checklists.
Gender Equality in Practice

Good Practice - The Commission for Racial Equality
The CRE works with organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to reduce racial discrimination and promote equal opportunities for employees, customers and service users. This section of their website provides good practice advice and guidance for Employment, and sector-specific advice for Sport.
Good Practice

Employment Disability Rights - The Disability Rights Commission
The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is an independent body established in April 2000 by Act of Parliament to stop discrimination and promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. This section of their website deals with removing discrimination in employment. It provides information about the law and advice about good practice.
Employment Disability Rights

5.  Communicating With Staff

Effective two-way communication with your staff is critical to your organisations performance. But this is as much about how you communicate as about what you say.

Internal Communication Mechanisms - Employers Organisation for Local Government
Effective internal communication helps develop capacity for continuing improvement and is a key element of developing capacity for continuing improvement. This section of the EOLG website, provides guidance on developing an employee communication strategy and mechanisms for internal communication, and includes illustrative case studies.
Internal Communication Mechanisms

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Standards of Service

1.  Customer Care

Good customer care is the lifeblood of the sport and recreation service. Get it right first time and every time.

Manage Your Customer Care - Business Link
This guide provides practical advice for businesses on the advantages of customer care and what it involves. It explains how you can use customer contact, feedback and loyalty schemes to retain existing customers, increase your sales to them and even win new customers. It also covers how to prepare for receiving a customer complaint.
Customer Care Management

Customer Service Programme - The Chartered Institute of Marketing
This is a programme designed to improve your customer service skills within ten minutes. It uses a simple step-by-step approach to provide guidance on the fundamentals of customer care.
pdf logo Customer Service Programme

2.  Setting Service Standards and Using Accreditation Systems

Good service depends on setting high standards based on effective consultation. You can seek accreditation such as quality assurance, Clubmark, Chartermark and Crystal Mark.

Chartermark - Cabinet Office
Chartermark is a powerful, easy to use tool to help everyone in the organisation focus on and improve customer service. Formal Charter Mark assessment is open to all public sector organisations, including partnerships between two or more public services or partnerships between public services, private companies or voluntary organisations. Achievement of the standard is recognised by awarding the right to display the Chartermark logo.
Chartermark

Crystal Mark - Plain English Campaign
The Crystal Mark is a standard set by the Campaign for Plain English. It is rewarded in recognition of documents being written in an easy to understand format. You can also access guides to help you write in Plain English, through the website.
Crystal Mark

Clubmark - Sport England
Sport England Clubmark is a cross sport recognition of sports clubs that are committed to providing a safe, effective and child friendly environment
pdf logo Clubmark

Safety in Sport - UK Sport
This document sets out the standards expected of sporting organisations to manage risk when carrying out their activities.
pdf logo Safety in Sport

3.  Complaints Systems

When it goes wrong listen to the complaints and uses them to put it right and make it better.

The Complaint Management Process - The Privacy Marketing Review
This paper explains how companies should deal with complaints effectively. It primarily deals with how the complaint can be analysed and resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. It therefore invites you to regard complaints as opportunities, as you can only improve a negative situation if they know about it.
Complaint Management Process

4.  Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Measuring your success through customer satisfaction is a key indicator of your performance and if we are satisfying our communities.

Measuring Customer Satisfaction - Office of Public Service Reform
This report presents the findings from a review of approaches to measuring and understanding customer satisfaction with public services, carried out by the MORI Social Research Institute for the Office for Public Services Reform (OPSR) at the Cabinet Office. The main aims are to summarise existing research and literature, and to inform the growing interest in measuring satisfaction with public services. It also incorporates conclusions and lessons from MORI’s own experience of measuring service quality and satisfaction for a large number of public and private organisations.
Customer Satisfaction (Word)

5.  Monitoring Performance

Monitoring your performance on the standards you have set will help you improve your overall effectiveness.

Please See - County Sports Partnerships - Performance Measurement

6.  County Sports Partnerships

It is anticipated that CSPs will:

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Performance Measurement and Learning

1.  Performance Management Systems

Excellent organisations have a culture of performance management running through everything they do.

Performance Management - Employers Organisation for Local Government
This web resource provides a sound introduction to the fundamentals of performance management. Items of most relevance include “The performance management framework” and “The ten steps to effective performance management”.
Performance Management

Performance Management, Measurement and Information Project - IDeA Knowledge and Audit Commission
The PMMI is part of the strategic collaboration between the IDeA and the Audit Commission, designed to bring performance management together in a consistent way. This site brings together the information found in the PMMI guides as well as a range of resources to support performance management. The most relevant links include the “PMMI resource pack”, and the “Performance Management Improvement Journey resource”, which outlines a comprehensive change management approach to performance management, with new tools and workshops.
Performance Management, Measurement and Information Project

Understanding Performance Management - Office of Government Commerce
This webpage provides the principles and guidance on the origins of Performance. It includes sections on - Terms; Levels of performance management; Strategic level performance; management; Business level performance management; Operational level performance management; and Critical success factors.
Understanding Performance Management

Building a Performance Framework - Office of Government Commerce
This webpage covers why performance management is important. It seeks to link measures and targets to strategic objectives and should reflect all the activities, outputs and services of the organisation. It includes sections on - Why to measure performance; a cascade of strategic objectives; and Understanding business processes.
Building a Performance Framework

Choosing Performance Measures - Office of Government Commerce
This webpage provides principles and guidance for selecting the right measures with which to assess your organisation’s performance.
Choosing Performance Measures

2.  Data Management, Presentation & Reporting

Good performance management has at its heart access to good quality easy to understand and use data about its performance. It regularly uses this data to change the way it operates in order to improve.

People and Processes - Office of Government Commerce
This webpage introduces the principles and guidance for defining processes for data collection. It includes specifics on people’s roles and responsibilities in this process, and how to effectively communicate results, in particular to stakeholders.
People and Processes

3.  Equality Targets

Where parts of your community are under represented in your service you may wish to set specific targets to improve their accessibility. The equality standard helps you assess the performance of your organisation on all aspects of equality.

Please Refer to:- People Management - Equal Opportunities & Equality Standard

4.  Learning from Review & Evaluation

Collecting endless data is no use if you do not use it to improve. However over time things change. Your community needs change, your resources change and your priorities change. This change needs to be picked up in regular reviews. Over a longer term step back and evaluate if you have achieved what you set out to achieve in your strategy. What worked, what didn’t work? What did others do differently? This is how organisations learn.

Using Performance Information - Office of Government Commerce
This webpage provides the fundamental principles and guidance for the use of performance data once it has been gathered. It covers the analysis and reporting of performance data, comparing performance data with targets, making other comparisons, and taking action based on the performance data.
Using Performance Information

Evaluation of Local Strategic Partnerships - ODPM
This key webpage provides links to all of the published research on Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). This includes the Final Full Research Report on LSPs (pdf logo Full Research Report (1,070Kb)), which is also available as an executive summary version (pdf logo Executive Summary (275Kb)) and was published in 2006. There are also valuable reports on: Performance Management, Community Action, Voluntary & Community Sector Engagement, and Leadership in LSPs.
Evaluation of Local Strategic Partnerships

5  County Sports Partnerships (Performance Measurement)

CSPs have a key role in the monitoring, evaluation and the generation of usable intelligence about the importance of, and the progress being made by, the sector. It is essential that CSPs work closely with Sport England to develop/expand this area of their work so as to ensure that it complements regional and national frameworks.

CSPs will be expected to use the TAES Performance Framework (Word), and achieve at least a fair rating in all categories by March 2006.

It is anticipated that a CSP will:

Participation data will, almost certainly (in order to ensure that it can be appropriately utilised and overlaid on other available demographic backdrops) need to include information gathered in a valid and consistent manner on individual participants.

Sport England has launched the largest ever national survey of participation in sport and recreational physical activity. They will collect and analyse data concerning the levels of participation in sport and recreational physical activity for adults living in all of the District, Unitary and Metropolitan Authorities in England. Data will be collected by telephone interview. The survey will be representative at a local level and aggregated up to County Sport Partnership level.
Active People Survey

There is also a monitoring and evaluation toolkit for projects Sport England funds, that has advice re performance indicators.
Monitoring and Evaluation Toolkit (Word)

The Local Public Service Agreements guidance issued by Sport England is also a useful source of sport-related KPIs for a local area.
pdf logo LPSA2 Guidance

The Comprehensive Performance Assessment Framework from the Audit Commission will also be useful source of comparable data.
Comprehensive Performance Assessment

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Operations

There are three core functions (strategic co-ordination and planning; performance measurement; and marketing and communications) and three key areas of work (pathways for young people; club development; and workforce development) that CSPs will focus on.

1.  County Sports Partnerships Performance Functions

There are three core functions that every CSP will fulfil:

a)  Strategic Co-ordination and Planning - Interpret and shape national, regional and local policy to best-fit future community needs

b)  Performance Measurement - Develop a single system to support effective decision-making for sport

c)  Marketing and Communications - Market the CSP as a single point of contact for sport, and share information and innovation to ensure effective delivery on the ground

Case Study - Merseyside Sports Partnership
The Merseyside Sports Partnership has produced this groundbreaking, innovative, and important strategic document. It takes account of national policy and Government direction while reflecting the specific characteristics of Merseyside and the ever-evolving Sports Partnership. It is an essential guide of Good Practice for County Sports Partnerships.
pdf logo T.E.A.M.works in Merseyside

2.  County Sports Partnerships Key Areas of Work

a)  Pathways for Young People

All CSPs will:

Outcome:

More information on the PESSCL strategy and associated programmes can be found through the teachernet resource
Physical Education and School Sport

b)  Club Development

All CSPs will:

Outcome:

c)  Workforce Development

All CSPs will, through Community Sports Networks, develop the people who support sport—teachers, coaches, officials, volunteers, and professional staff—by:

Outcome:

3.  Supporting National Governing Bodies

A key role for CSPs in ensuring effective player pathways is through support for NGBs modernisation and whole sport plans.

It is envisaged that CSPs will work to support a wide variety of sports offering various levels of ‘service’ according to their own priorities, local need, the extent to which whole sport plan objectives mesh with their own plans etc.

Support services may include:

4.  Complementary Partnerships with Key Sectors

CSPs are in a unique position to forge links with other key partnerships and embed the role sport can play in other social policy areas e.g. health, community safety, children’s services, regeneration and renewal, community development, volunteering and economic development.

A key document with good information and sources of evidence relating to sport and other social policy areas particularly health, and community safety is the LPSA round 2 guidance produced by Sport England
pdf logo LPSA2 Guidance

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