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

MOVING TO SUPPORT
THOSE ALREADY ACTIVE
WE’RE CONTINUING TO INVEST IN OUR CORE
MARKET – THOSE WHO HAVE AN EXISTING
SPORT AND ACTIVITY HABIT
Supporting sport’s core market
Long-term analysis shows that a third of the adult
population, or 14.4 million people, already have a
sport and physical activity habit. Every demographic
is represented in this group, but the core market
customers are weighted towards the male, white,
young, non-disabled and better-off.
Despite their active lifestyle, we don’t take core
market customers for granted. Their habit may
not be as vulnerable to small interruptions –
working late or friends not available – but the
big changes in life do affect them.
Whether it’s changing jobs, moving home, starting
a family, retirement – these familiar milestones can
have a dramatic effect on an individual’s activity
pattern and often cause it to stop completely.
Those from under-represented groups are more
vulnerable to these changes, which is why
our first new core market fund in 2016-17 is
aimed at reaching exactly those customers.
Investment decisions will be made in June 2017.
Sporting Future also asked us to make the delivery
of sport more efficient. Traditionally, large amounts
of public funding have been spent on providing
sport for the already-sporty.
As a result, some sports organisations have
become progressively more reliant on public money.
An objective in 2016-17 has been to try to reduce
the subsidy, by spending less while still growing
the market. National Governing Bodies (NGBs)
have received awards 33% lower in the 2017-21
cycle than in 2013-17, and will be expected to at
least maintain the numbers of regular players or
participants they influence.
These NGBs are closest to the core market
audience. In fact, they serve around half of the
market through clubs, competitions and coaching.
We invested £388.4 million into 48 NGBs between
2013 and 2017. Each NGB was tasked with
increasing the number of people playing their
particular sport and helping talented individuals
to fulfil their potential.
Better measures
The Active People Survey (APS) provides the
chief measure for sports large enough to provide
a statistically robust sample size. Smaller sports
often use their own bespoke measures.
This has been the case since 2006, when our
Active People Survey was established. NGBs
have taken responsibility for everyone who
takes part in their particular sport, and success
was defined as taking part at least once a week.
The final data from APS was published in
December 2016 and individual sport trends
for the 10 most played sports are shown
on page 21 (opposite). You can download
a full list of all 46 sports by visiting
www.sportengland.org/activepeople
Transformative Code
We also need to make sure that organisations
receiving public money are well run and reflect
all aspects of diversity in their leadership.
In October 2016, we launched the mandatory
and transformative Code for Sports Governance
which demands more diverse boards, greater
transparency and clearer decision making.
We have since worked with 57 sports bodies,
together with UK Sport, to help them prepare
action plans to help them comply with the
Code. Detailed assessments by 31 March 2017
showed that 70% of requirements are already
being met, showing that the current standard
of governance in sport is broadly good, and the
industry has a firm base to build on.
Most of these action plans have now been
agreed, meaning that most organisations will
be compliant by 31 October 2017. Some NGBs
have already agreed significant changes and our
attention now turns to the assessment of other
organisations we fund who we will also require
to meet the highest levels.