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- Fit for purpose Assessment Framework (Sport industry research centre / Sport England Yorkshire)

Link needs to be added


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:-

• The Governments shared priorities
• The national framework for sport
• Regional sport strategies
• Local Community strategies & Cultural strategies

The shared priorities-Local government association
This leaflet explains the background to the Shared Priorities. It explains how the LGA 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.

Game Plan
This is a section from a multi-page report entitled Game Plan: a strategy for delivering Government's sport and physical activity objectives, published by the Strategy Unit.

National framework for sport in England
Sport England has developed a range of national and regional strategies and sports plan by working closely with organisations, individuals and authorities involved in sport. They explain our national and regional priorities and are essential reading for anyone wishing to apply for funding.

Regional strategies for sport - Sport England
East Midlands

West Midlands

Yorkshire

North East

East

South West

North West

South East

London


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.

Local Community Strategies-IDeA
Community strategies are central to the modernisation of local government. Each authority and each community is different and no two  community strategies will be the same. However, underpinning them are common principles and local authorities will be able to learn and gain insight from approaches in other areas.

Connecting with communities-IDeA knowledge
This good practice resource contains lessons from the Connecting with Communities research project, professional advice, best practice case studies and hundreds of documents you can download for free, helping to spread good practice and saving you time and money.

An introductory guide to how to consult your users -Cabinet office

Consultation code of practise - Cabinet office
The Code of Practice on Written Consultation has been reviewed, and a revised code was published on 20 January 2004.

Guidance on consultation - Cabinet office
The guidance is intended to help you fulfil the requirements of the Code. Some sections will be more relevant to your consultation than others, and this guidance is designed so that you can flick between topics.


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. Different approaches and techniques are required. The equality standard helps you assess the performance of your organisation on all aspects of equality.

Consulting hard to reach groups-LARIA seminar
70 people packed the Lakeside Conference Centre at the Aston Business School in November for the LARIA seminar on 'Consulting Hard to Reach Groups'. It was a timely and thought-provoking day, with a range of different speakers.

Communicating and consulting with hard to reach groups. - Barking & Dagenham
Equalities and Diversity-Communicating and Consulting with Hard to Reach Groups - 19 ways to reach the hard to reach

The Equality Standard for local government - employers organisation for local government
We have developed an on-line toolkit called e-s@t (electronic self-assessment tool), to help councils with the implementation and self-assessment process.

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

Consulting young people - Home Office
Extensive guidance on how to run a consultation programme specifically related to young people can be found on the Cabinet office website.

Consulting disabled people - Museums & Libraries Association
Use Guide 11 for 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.

Consulting with disabled children & young people- The Childrens Society.
Recent legislation and guidance across education, health, leisure and social services strengthens the expectation that professionals will consult with children and young people about decisions that affect them, including disabled children and young people. The 'Ask Us' project (led by The Children's Society) used a multi-media approach to involve disabled children and young people in influencing policy development on Quality Protects.


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.

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.

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

Benchmarking- Office of government commerce
Guidance on benchmarking