In recent years sport has been more challenged to justify financial investment, most especially at local level where its discretionary status exposes local authority sport and recreation services to the constant threat of budget reduction and lack of capital investment. The success of the 2012 might increase the perceived value of sport in terms of economy and regeneration – only time will tell.  

A key issue in advocating the value of sport is the availability of tangible evidence to support any claims.  Before you begin making the case you should be clear about what you are trying to achieve:

• Are you making a case for funding?
• Are you making a case for sport being a priority in the Local Area Agreement or Sustainable Community Strategy?
• Are you making the case for a planning application?
• The focus of your argument will be influenced by what it is you are trying to achieve.  Equally important is the nature of the evidence.  In arguing the case for sport at a local level it will be necessary to provide local, as well as national evidence.  This may require you to consult existing national data and existing local data. A valuable source for information at both local and national level of facility provision is Sport England’s Active Places Power database.
• Additional information on participation, updated regularly, can be found in Sport England’s Active People Survey reports. The National Benchmarking Service can also benchmark your facilities performance against national indicators.  The user survey included in this service may be particularly useful to you when developing your argument for sport and physical activity.
  
  A broader range of sources of national data can be found at Sport England’s Value of Sport Monitor which identifies and provides links to the most recent research and publications on the value of sport.

Similarly, other useful publication are Sport England’s publication Best Value through Sport: The Value of Sport to Local Authorities and the Local Government Association’s publication Realising the Potential of Cultural Services.  For keeping up to date with the most current information read Sport England’s web-based newsletter Sport Playing Its Part.

A major issue in proving the value of sport is the lack of robust evidence based on scientific research.  Many of the conclusions drawn at national level are based on anecdotal evidence and case studies.  The strongest case appears to be related to health and physical activity supported by the key document 'The Health Benefits of Physical Activity’. The following publications are also useful:

• The Importance of Physical Activity for Public Health<

• Football Improves the Health of the Community

The publication "Key Facts in the Health of the National and Young People" is not available elctronically, but can be obtained from the Department of Health.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport website can also provide you with information on the rationale for sport. Keep checking this website for updated findings from The National Survey of Culture, Leisure and Sport.  Also check the website for statements from the where we live! partnership  This new partnership, launched in February 2006, between the national Government agencies responsible for sport, arts, heritage, the built environment, and museums, libraries and archives will be articulating the value of culture to sustainable community planning and working to provide a full range of cultural benefits for communities.

The value of sport and physical activity to your community will be determined by reference to local data as well as national data.

Making the Case
The process for making your case is largely the same regardless of what you are trying to achieve.

Remember that, whilst we see the value of sport primarily for its own sake, others may not.  It’s important to know what rings bells in your authority and to be able to make the links that will help sport to be seen as key to delivering these local priorities.  There are two ways to do this, first is to look at the Council’s published list of priorities, found in the Corporate Plan, and the Sustainable Community Strategy.  These priorities may not be exactly the same, but there is likely to be overlap.  If ‘health’ is a recurring theme, and if the council’s main partners have health associations, this is likely to ring bells locally.

The second is to look at the different groups that your most senior and influential councillors sit on.  If your council leader is also the Council’s representative on a consistent group of outside bodies dealing with, for example, crime and disorder, it is likely that that agenda is important to them.

Knowing the real priorities (as opposed to the stated ones) of the council is vital in making the case for sport.  Use the links above to see how sport contributes to these wider agendas, and make your case using these.

Whilst sport contributes to most of the generic priorities of councils, it’s much more effective if you focus on the contribution of sport to the ones that matter locally.

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