sport-england-2016-17-annual-report-and-accounts

MOVING
WITH MOMENTUM
CEO’S INTRODUCTION
THIS YEAR MARKS A MAJOR CHANGE IN EMPHASIS
FOR SPORT ENGLAND WITH THE LAUNCH IN MAY 2016
OF OUR NEW STRATEGY
It’s an ambitious plan to increase engagement
in sport and activity way beyond sport’s natural
audience, to driving growth through the groups
most under represented in sport: women, older
people, those with a disability and people in lower
socio-economic groups. We have also committed
to tackling inactivity as one of our biggest
priorities, tripling our investment in this area with
a minimum of 25% of our total grant funding
supporting this area.
We’ve already proved we can make a difference
when we really focus on a particular audience.
Our This Girl Can campaign, which entered its
second phase early in 2017, has driven growth,
with three consecutive sets of national statistics
showing that the number of women and girls
playing sport is going up – the first time the trend
has been so strong since we began measuring
at a population-wide level. It’s a campaign
backed by deep insight. We asked the customers
– women and girls themselves – how they
viewed sport and exercise. The campaign stays
absolutely loyal to what they told us.
We’re also becoming more ambitious in terms
of the returns we are seeking for our investment.
The Government’s strategy, Sporting Future,
emphasised the breadth of the impact sport
and activity can have beyond physical health,
important as that is, to mental wellbeing,
individual and community development and
economic impact. We are developing a much
more sophisticated measurement framework
to evaluate our contribution in all of these areas,
and we will work with partners who are best able
to contribute in that broader context.
Of course, traditional sport is still a big part
of our remit and something we continue to take
seriously. This area makes up for a substantial
portion of what we call the ‘core market’ – those
with a strong and resilient relationship with sport
and activity. During the year we committed to
invest over £217.6m for the next four years into
national governing bodies of sport to ensure
sport continues to thrive and grow, but with
a view to making that more traditional sport
infrastructure more efficient and sustainable
in the longer term.
Another big step forward this year has been
the drafting and launch of a new Code for
Sports Governance. This sets clear and detailed
governance requirements for all those sports
organisations receiving public investment.
As we step into this bold new era for the sector,
I would like to thank everyone who has worked
with Sport England in this challenging but hugely
rewarding year. I look forward to working with
you to deliver our strategy across the nation.
Jennie Price CBE
Chief Executive
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