Developing a mixed channel sports sector

How to bridge the gap between the traditional sports sector, social enterprises and commercial p

We live in a constantly changing world where demographics, lifestyles and technology are interchangeably creating massive opportunities and challenges for anybody involved with the sport and physical activity sector. Some people see this as a threat, others as an opportunity

At the same time in many other sectors, such as transport, are seeing the emergence of public/private partnerships, community groups delivering services and Uber-style innovations all playing an important role in an integrated way.

However, it seems that there is little interaction and engagement between the various groups in the sport and physical activity sector and there is little joined-up thinking at a strategic level.

A few public bodies get this, such as London Sport's support for innovative technology companies and the Greater London Authority's support for non-sport providers in their Sport Unites programme.

There seems to be huge scope for better collaboration between the traditional sports bodies, non-sport bodies such as Housing and education and commercial coaching and fitness organisations, but how?

However, there are also a number of examples where cross-sector working is creating innovative and successful solutions and here are two:

Premier Sport, the commercial school sport provider is now "Official Delivery Partner in Primary Education” for British Fencing. The governing body gets access to thousands of schools they could not reach just using their relatively limited resources and Premier has another activity they can offer the schools and the students ("Three Musketeers, anyone?). An obvious win-win situation for the governing body and the private partner.

Cancer Research UK generate ￡2.5 m every year from their involvement with sports events and good for them too. Very few of our mass participation events are run by the traditional sports bodies and clubs, but by charities and commercial organisers and they have proven to have a big impact on people taking up physical activity.

More innovative income-generation

Why don't our grassroots football clubs generate income from summer camps? Why are our swimming clubs only interested in competitive swimmers and are not running swim schools at a time when they are complaining about rising pool hire costs? There are around 100 commercial trampoline parks across the UK and a trampoline club, who could generate income and attract new members, runs not one single one of them?

We are also experiencing a growing trend where non-sport bodies are using sport to create social inclusion. An example from Germany: In Bavaria in Southern Germany until four years ago, there were four cricket clubs. Due to an influx of Afghan refugees, there are now 50 (fifty!) clubs where the Red Cross and Save the Children are helping these young people to integrate into Germany society using cricket as a lever.

The list could go on. Therefore, if I were a commercial operator I would try to engage with local community groups to reach new audiences (and it would look great as a CSR initiative).

If I were a traditional sports body and club, I would link up with Housing and health to try to reach hard-to-reach inactive people.

You simply have to cross the borders and create new relationships if you are to stay relevant. ‘No man is an island,” as John Donne, wrote in 1624.

Funders have two ways of influencing this: One is simply by the way they fund sport and physical activity interventions. We are both seeing Sport Wales and sportscotland funding programmes where a key criterion is that the recipients are collaborations between sport and non-sport providers.  

Moreover, it is no secret that several sports bodies in Scotland and Wales were struggling to get their heads around developing relations with a sector with whom they previously have had little contact.

Sport Australia are investing $29m over four years to get inactive Australian active and both sport and non-sport bodies can apply. However, for governing bodies who, for years have been told just to focus on sport and medals, this requires a considerable change of culture and mind set.

New people and providers to engage with inactive people

Who is best to get an inactive overweight 40-year old active? A fitness coach or a community worker who understands that person’s life? Perhaps they should collaborate.

So, the people ‘up there’ could also influence this new way of thinking by inspiring, motivating and training all these partners and providers to work together, speak the same language and understand where each other are coming from and where they want to go.

The beauty of this approach is that it works both the macro and the micro levels. By pooling funding together with health and social inclusion the budgets available for cross-sector projects are being increased considerably and locally by having conversations providers can develop a personal understanding of each other and develop the required trust.

So why don’t you invite three local potential partners for a cup of coffee to have a chat and learn from each other? That could be a good start. Good luck. Get going on that journey with some baby-steps.

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