Connecting, enabling and driving Scotland’s Activity Economy

Driving economic recovery, improving health & wellbeing

A free introductory webinar 1 pm Wednesday 16th September

An innovative collaboration, through a conference with lead-in and follow-up webinars and guides designed to develop a genuine partnership between private businesses, social enterprises, charities and public sector bodies engaged in Scotland’s activity economy.

Our objective is to facilitate collaboration, debate, learning and connections to shape system-wide and nation-wide solutions.

We also believe that this post-COVID-19 period is the time and a huge opportunity to encourage change and innovation to help facilitate an exciting future for the activity economy in Scotland.

What is the Activity Economy?

Today, the ￡ Billion global activity economy incorporates such as sport, active recreation, health & wellness, and the technology, tourism and media related to those areas.

In Scotland, through the activity economy thousands of people are powering the economic and social prosperity of the community. Whether it’s the thousands of people attending the Jedburgh or Inverness Half Marathons every year with the subsequent impact on the local economy, the impact on those providing short-term lodging for travellers, cyclists and ramblers or the impact on the local economy of arts, culture or food festivals, or the thousands of spectators at the Melrose Sevens Rugby, these are all interlinked.

Whereas, Silicon Valley is a leader in technology and London in financial services – Scotland possesses the natural resources – the people, environment and enterprise – to be a global leader in the activity economy.

But being a global leader rarely happens by accident. It happens from planning and a commitment to pursuing that plan. Now, more than ever, does the sector in Scotland need to pull together, innovate and collaborate.

The key sectors within the Activity Economy are organised sports, active recreation, active travel, infrastructure, tourism, arts & culture, education and health & wellbeing.

Powering Scotland’s Activity Economy together

For too long, the activity economy in Scotland and its players have simply been a sum of its parts. The result is that the ecosystem that supports an active Scotland is fragmented. We are proposing that we should focus on collaboration and connecting the diverse players to enable them to review, reflect and learn how they should together more efficiently as a system today and in the future.

This innovative collaboration is an attempt to encourage people Iín Scotland to become more active, in all sorts of ways, to enable the communities and drive the economy forward, in this post-COVID-19 period of the ‘new normal’.

Kickstarting Scotland Activity Economy after the pandemic, whilst improving the population’s health and wellbeing

The coronavirus crisis has presented us with challenges and changes to all aspects of our lives and the way that the providers within the Activity Economy will be operating in the future.

A key question is how the new ‘normal’ going to look like and how you will respond.

Will the way that we enjoy being active, in all sorts of ways, be changing and, if so how can we adapt to that? We are already experiencing many changes in people’s behaviour in the way we exercise (or not) and we are also seeing many great examples of community spirit, some of them, but perhaps not enough, coming from community sport.

Many providers within the activity economy are in danger of not playing a big enough role in people’s lives right now and are not at the front of people’s minds. When all this is over and people’s habits have changed those who were visible during the crisis will have a much bigger chance of regaining, or even improving, their reputation and standing in their communities. 

Join this free webinar to learn more, ask questions and put forward your ideas and experiences on Scotland’s Activity Economy

The way forward

We are proposing setting up an innovative collaboration which will help bring together all the players within Scotland’s Activity Economy and drive a better partnership, increase the profile, improve skills and create synergies between the different players.

Meet some of the people and bodies who are involved with developing this collaboration in Scotland and who will participate in this webinar including

Jude Reid joined Senscot in 2020, having just returned from over 2 years in New Zealand working in sport across the public and third sectors. Before this, she spent 9 years working in the public sector in Scotland, most latterly 4.5 years in Investment and Sport Facility Development at sportscotland.

Jude’s main focus areas within the sport sector have been sport facility development; investment and funding; volunteering; and safeguarding and child protection. She is a strong advocate of the positive impact which sport and physical activity can have for individuals and in achieving wider social outcomes.

Jane Campbell Morrison is Chair of the Scottish Adventure Activities Forum whose key role is to provide a forum for the exchange and sharing of information and views relating to the Adventure and Outdoor Activity sector in Scotland. It consists of 16 members, drawn from a wide range of outdoor backgrounds within the commercial, voluntary and public sectors. Tourism, Further Education and Social work are also represented.

 Previously, Jane was the Chief Executive Officer for Snowsport Scotland before getting my last role as Senior Inspector (Scotland) for the Adventure Activity Licensing Service.

Diane Cameron is a Social Enterprise Network Coordinator at WLSEN (West Lothian Social Enterprise Network). Before that, she was a social enterprise consultant and worked as a social enterprise and sport coordinator at Senscot.

Daniell Fyffe Jardine is Scotland National Manager at Sported. Dan has worked with organisations which help young people reach their potential. These include the Red Cross, the Sea Cadets and the Prince’s Trust in a range of roles across operational delivery, policy work, strategic leadership and business development. Alongside, he has completed an MBA to support his work.

Svend Elkjaer is the Founder and Director of Sports Marketing Network. Svend has been running SMN for 15 years and has been described as a ‘positive disruptor’ within community sport and physical activity and has worked with hundreds of clubs, centres, sports bodies and community organisations helping them to become more innovative and enterprising and innovative.

Especially during the global lockdown has Svend been engaging with providers across the world sharing experiences on how best to develop a more able and agile culture and skillset to adapt to the rapidly changing world.

Join this free webinar to learn more, ask questions and put forward your ideas and experiences. Click here https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6176203513133261070

If you have any questions and/or comments please get in touch with Svend Elkjaer on [email protected] or call him on +44 (0) 1423 326 660