Skip to content

Focus on: local delivery pilots

In the third of our series, we take a closer look at our 10 local delivery pilots

24th November 2016

handball players gathered in a circle

Every town, city or rural area is unique – and the characteristics of each can have a direct influence on what the sporting offer is like for a customer.

If transport is poor, it’s harder for people to get to parks or local gyms. If it’s a community with lower than average incomes, paid-for activities could be a barrier to taking part. If the activities on offer are just for the sporty, many will be deterred.

We can make sport and physical activity an attractive, easy choice for people if we tap into expert local knowledge and take account of people’s needs. And think about not just 'what' we provide, but 'how'. To get this right is a big challenge.

CUSTOMER FIRST

To create popular sport and activity offers on a large scale requires those who provide sport to work together differently. To put the customer first by joining up what they do. And it’s likely to mean a greater role for non-sporting organisations already trusted and working in communities.

We can start to make sport and physical activity an attractive, easy choice for people if we tap into expert local knowledge

We will need every part of the local ‘sporting system’ to come together with bold and innovative ideas, based on what people need and what their communities are like.

That’s why we’re looking to fund up to 10 local pilots across England. And we’re inviting you to put forward proposals to be at the forefront of this new approach.

PEOPLE AND PLACE

Alongside the local work we already do, we’ll be testing bold new approaches to sport and physical activity that are designed to attract people who don’t already take part.

We will support local partners to create plans based on the place itself – understanding in detail the barriers that exist. We want organisations to work together to provide an attractive local ‘offer’. No two places are the same.

We’ll be testing bold new approaches to sport and physical activity that are designed to attract people who don’t already take part

It’s local people who are the most valuable resource in shaping successful activity. Key to success will be building partnerships with them and harnessing their knowledge of the environment, culture and challenges of the area they live in.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

  • We want to hear from local partners and organisations who work collectively to make up the ‘system’ and aspire to improve local communities. They will be clear on the role sport and physical activity can play towards broader social outcomes such as personal and community development.
  • We expect to work with Public Health England, other government departments and Lottery distributors to identify the right locations to work in – and to work alongside us to deliver the pilots.
  • We would like to look at – and potentially work with – the whole of the sport infrastructure in an area, not just that provided by the public or third sector. For example, if you're able to work with facilities such as local professional clubs and other commercial providers, we’d be really interested to hear from you.
  • We particularly welcome groups of organisations or consortia with an appetite for change and a thirst to get more people taking part, and groups who can help achieve this. It’s important to recognise that what we call the ‘supply side’ of sport can broaden and evolve.
  • We’re looking to fund pilot projects in both urban and rural areas, covering different parts of England. We think the right partners working together will best define the size of the pilot area – but we don’t anticipate supporting pilots that focus on very small areas such as an individual street. Nor will we fund larger ‘regions’, such as the whole of the South West of England, as it would be much harder to draw together the whole system over such a wide area
  • We’re not asking for official bids at this stage – more a description of the partners who would be involved, how you’ve worked together, your place and its people.

HOW WILL IT WORK?

In December, we’re going to invite expressions of interest to become one of our pilot projects. To help we’ll invite you to a working session in January or February 2017 to explore with you the people and places you’re thinking about.

By March 2017, we will have chosen three or four pilots to go forward immediately – and potentially a further 10 which will need further development during 2017.

The first funding awards will be made soon after that.

WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACHIEVE?

There are several goals we’re trying to achieve through these pilots. Firstly, we want to help the community sport system work better in the geographical area, changing the way sport and physical activity is offered to make it a much better experience for the customer.

We want to help the community sport system work better in the geographical area

We’ll also learn if a behaviour change approach to tackling inactivity is successful, especially in getting more underrepresented groups more active.

Each pilot will give us the knowledge and expertise to apply to our broader work across England.

WHAT SUPPORT WILL BE AVAILABLE?

In December, we will set out what help is available to those who are interested in becoming a pilot project. This will include advice and guidance from our local staff as well as holding a number of working sessions.

NEED TO KNOW FACTS

  • Name of fund: Local Delivery Pilots
  • Value: Up to £130 million for a number of pilots over 4 years
  • Opening: Expressions of interest opening December 2016
  • Identify pilots able to move forward: March 2017.
  • Initial awards: Summer of 2017 onwards

Sign up to our newsletter

You can find out exactly how we'll look after your personal data, but rest assured we’ll only use it to make sure you receive our newsletter, to understand how you interact with our newsletter, and to provide administrative information about our newsletter.