Sport must create shared value with its communities

"No man is an island, entirely of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind" John Donne (1572 - 1631)

At a time when there is an increased focus on how we can create a more coherent society, there seems to be considerable scope for sport to play a pivotal role in our communities. At the same time many of our clubs and other providers could benefit greatly from the added benefits of engaging with new audiences in terms of new users, volunteers, sponsors and community partners.

The challenge is that too many sports clubs suffer from 'sporting myopia' where the main success criteria are being associated with sport only: number of users or members, the performance of the first team or the elite athletes and everything else has to support that. So what happens out there in the community and the 'real world' is often regarded as a bit of an irrelevance, even a nuisance, sometimes. 

This narrow view then creates a disconnect between sport and society and both lose out. If your values are just 'to coach sport' or 'provide enjoyment for your members' then you'll probably find that people within the community surrounding you care little for you and your activities unless they are directly involved with your club. If you only have a narrow focus on 'your club' then your scope will be very limited. How can you grow membership and sponsorship if you are only interested in yourself?

However, one can then often see the same clubs 'playing the community card' when it comes to applying for various grants!

Sport does compete for the resources of the community. Community groups, faith, arts, etc. are also vying for volunteers, goodwill and money - if they are better engaged and involved than you and your club they will be more successful in attracting support and resources.

At the same time many of our non-traditional, successful community sport/activity providers from outside the traditional sports world regard the success of their community engagement as just as important as the outcomes of their sporting activities. Often, because their roots are in the community they design and deliver the programmes to suit people's real needs, not what the club coach wants to do.

Gaelic sports share value with their communities

The Gaelic Athletic Association is Ireland's largest sporting organisation which promotes Gaelic games such as Hurling, Football and Rounders.

Their clubs have always been embedded within their communities and the whole ethos is that this is much more than just sport. Just look at the mission statement of the GAA:

The GAA is a community based volunteer organisation promoting Gaelic Games, culture and lifelong participation.

• Community is at the heart of our Association. Everything we do helps to enrich the communities we serve.
• We foster a clear sense of identity and place.

Could other Governing Bodies of sport across the British Isles learn from the GAA?

So what is Shared Value and how could it work for sports clubs?

Shared Value for sports clubs and other activity providers can be defined as a new kind of partnership, in which both the club and the community contribute directly to the strengthening and development of each other.

Some might say for clubs to share value they must become community hubs and a place where one could say that 'people live their lives'. But, even for clubs without their own facilities this principle applies as they go out into the community and engage with people and groups where they are and not wait for them to come to their club.

Any club that wants to share value with its community must open up the club and the way it operates to people from outside its 'inner circle'. By gradually engaging with new groups and institutions e.g. from Women's Institutes to colleges, you will also connect with new audiences who will bring new ideas, people and skills to your club.

The point here is to embrace all these new opportunities as they could be key to improving the way you run your club in many ways.   

 Sharing value is a great way of developing new tools and ways of sporting and enterprise success for your facility and club. You will attract people with new ideas, skills and contacts so new opportunities will open up for you.

Sharing value creates a positive cycle of sporting and community prosperity

The more people from outside your club feel that by being involved with you there is a sense of greater purpose, the more likely they are to want to volunteer at your club. In particular young people who volunteer want to have an impact on society, the club (ensuring vibrancy, visibility and viability), users/members (providing great service), other volunteers (adding value/having fun) and finally, themselves. It also helps to attract new members who feel your club is more relevant to them because they feel you are 'part of their world' and vice versa.

Young disenfranchised men see sports clubs as just one option for doing sport

The Laureus Foundation asked 100 disenfranchised young men and gang members in England who should be responsible for organising sport. They answered:

Youth/Community Centres 17%

Local Sports Clubs            15%

Local Council                    14%

Professional Clubs            13%

Schools                           12%

Young people themselves 12%

Police                                7%

Churches                            5%

Parents                             5%

Total                              100%

Shared value creation could involve new and heightened forms of collaboration. While some shared value opportunities are possible for a club to seize on its own, others will benefit from insights, skills and resources that cut across sport, community, business and public sector boundaries.  This applies especially for larger projects, including Asset Transfer where a consortium could take over a public authority facility for the benefit of the community. Here it is absolutely vital that all partners share the same values.

In an age where Asset Transfers are very much on the agenda, the more you share value with your community and collaborate, the more positive your local authority is likely to be towards you. Genuine community engagement is paramount politically in those situations.

Sharing value is not about sharing value which already exists - it's about expanding the current pool of value. This then benefits everyone as 2 + 2 becomes 5.

The next steps

1. Be open to new skills, users/members, volunteers and partners
2. Discuss and agree what is your purpose
3. Be prepared to be challenged
4. Do an audit of what you are already doing with/for the community
5. Create an inventory of your assets, skills, relationships and expertise
6. Draw up a list of your current and potential community partners, their needs, your skills and contacts
7. Identify Connectors both within and outside your club
8. Design activities around community assets and capabilities
9. Work out how to collaborate with other groups
10. Organise the Big Launch - invite every single possible community partner both official and 'unofficial'. Tell them about what you are currently doing, what you would like to do, what you are offering and can contribute (not what you want)
11. Take your club to your communities - demonstrations in shopping centres, parks and housing estates 
12. Set up a Community Board for your club with representatives - not just VIPs but also 'real' people - from across the community to advise you on how best to engage and share value
13. Invite ideas and suggestions, set in action and then follow up