Active Partnerships is amongst a group of over 120 organisations working in partnership with Sport England to level up access to sport and physical activity across the country.
Active Partnerships will receive expertise, support and an investment of £1,500,000 of government and National Lottery funding from Sport England to co-deliver the ambitions of its 10-year Uniting the Movement strategy.
Sport England research shows that some groups are typically less active – like women, people with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups. Right now, the opportunities to get involved in sport and activity – and reap the rewards of being active – depend too much on your background, your gender, your bank balance and your postcode.
The funding will enable Active Partnerships to build on our work with national and local partners to help remove the barriers that large parts of society face when trying to access sport and physical activity opportunities.
It will fund a core team to work with the 43 local Active Partnerships, Sport England and system partners to connect, support and influence change and create a more joined-up approach that seeks to make active lives a social norm for everyone.
Over £550million is being invested in total, with the partners, including Active Partnerships, receiving funding for up to five years. This new funding model from Sport England provides longer-term financial security as organisations recover and reinvent from the Covid-19 pandemic.
All partner organisations were selected by Sport England due to their ability to influence change and improvement at the heart of the system they are a part of, no matter how big or small. This is the first step on a journey to revolutionise Sport England’s approach to long-term partnerships as it seeks to partner and collaborate with innovative organisations to deliver Uniting the Movement and build a nation where everyone can get active.
Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said:
“Sport England’s goal is to get everyone active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is. But we know that certain groups likewomen, people with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups are more likely to be inactive. We can only innovate and tackle inequalities effectively by thinking about long-term change; Uniting the Movement is a long-term vision, and our funding approach needs to reflect that. Changes to our funding model will help us achieve our goal, by making it easier for our partners to do what they need to do to level up and deliver.”
Nigel Harrison, Interim Chief Executive of Active Partnerships commented:
“We’d like to thank Sport England for their continued trust in our organisation. Working collaboratively with partners we are committed to driving change at a national and local level and help more people enjoy the benefits of playing sport and being active.”
