Sports Management Issue 1 2012 - Leisure Opportunities

Sport providers are having to
deliver more for less through
innovative approaches,
efficiencies and partnerships
A
RICHARD MILLARD
client relations and sports
development director
DC Leisure
lthough difficult, it’s not all doom and gloom: income
and usage is holding up quite well. However,
there is definitely the need to get creative.
We’re looking at both pricing and programming with
our local authority clients. Some are looking to outsource
sports development, so we are looking at ways of taking
that on, which is a natural progression for us. With public
health reform, there is also the opportunity to attract external
funding from the PCT sector.
We’ve looked hard at all our costs: we have a carbon
reduction team and the outcome of this is that we avoid
energy and waste, but also save money. Other examples
are that we are using email more than letters and reducing
the need to travel through conference calls.
The usage part of our centres has held up, despite the
tough times, but we have noticed people are becoming
more price sensitive. One of our policies has been to look
after our existing customers even more than ever and all
management staff have had to be closer to their business.
I’m still optimistic: I hope it will encourage local authorities
to embrace different delivery options, better define
their needs and be brave at seeking alternatives.
A
LEE MASON
Executive director
County Sports Partnership Network
(CSPN)
s a network of independent enterprises working
with sports providers to deliver national programmes,
such as School Games and Sportivate,
we are seeing the impact of financial cuts.
National funding partners and local commissioners are
having to make every penny count – leading to an increase
in the level of scrutiny of frontline deliverers and demands
for value for money. Meanwhile, our delivery partners are
being squeezed, with cuts in school sport and local authority
sports development, while commercial and voluntary
sector providers are struggling to maintain income levels.
As a network we are responding to these challenges
by finding new ways to deliver more for less, through
innovative approaches, efficiencies through greater collaboration
across the network, helping commissioners to
use sport to address their priorities, supporting the voluntary
sector to maximise its contribution and working more
closely with commercial sector partners.
We are delivering genuine return on investment for all
our stakeholders and support our teams to ensure they
continue to drive the health agenda and deliver a vibrant
sport and physical activity landscape.
Issue 1 2012 © cybertrek 2012 Read Sports Management online sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 23