The Sport and Leisure Consultancy Blog

Many with responsibility for sport, physical activity or cultural services are likely to have got involved in the first place because they were ‘passionate’ about and convinced of their transformative ability to improve the quality of life. The word passion is over-used and is claimed by many to such an extent its real meaning has become obscured. The dictionary tells us that passion means ‘any powerful or compelling emotion’. So when were you last truly passionate about your job (anger doesn’t count!).

We might have got involved in these sectors in our late teens or early twenties. Along the way we will have been inspired and had our beliefs shaped and reinforced by great leaders, life affirming personal experience and seeing first hand the positive impact our programmes and services can have on communities. As we get older we become more experienced and arguably better managers but I wonder as we  become more removed from the front-line and more comfortable, whether we lose some of the passion that contributed to our success and achievement?

Those with passion tend to have drive, tenacity (even in difficult times) and can inspire others to achieve great things. As we go through a period of deep budget cuts, internal re-organisation and reviewing how we provide services, lets not lose sight of what fired us up on in the first place. This is the very essence of who we are and what we want to achieve. If you haven’t done so in a while, ask yourself ‘what am I really passionate about?’ and ‘what do I want to achieve here?’ You may be surprised by the answers.

The VoteforSport campaign lobbied all the main political parties prior to the recent Holyrood elections to gain a commitment from each. This resulted in the main parties signing the pledge. Now the votes have been counted and the SNP landslide confirmed, it is a good time to take a closer look  at their manifesto commitments.

On the plus side the SNP manifesto has a seperate section on sport and the Commonwealth Games (which encompases physical activity) and a strong statement underlining the value of both. This alone is a welcome development as sport is so often an afterthought meriting no more than a couple of lines under ‘health’ or ‘communities’ . This raised profile is matched by a number of commitments; however on  further inspection most of these are  simply a continuation of current plans/policy rather than  innovative game breaking pledges. Swimming, golf and rugby will continue to receive agreed levels of funding, Active Schools will be reinforced, community sports hubs will continue to be rolled out, proceeds from crime will continue to be redirected to sport projects and facilities already planned or underway will be completed. The big winner appears to be football with a commitment to support some of the key recommendations from the McLeish report.

In the current financial climate ’no change’ is likely to be heralded as a victory. It is reported sportscotland face a 10% grant cut and a whopping 40% cut in their capital budget so there is a sigh of relief that recent gains  are protected; however, overall  the manifesto is a little underwhelming. For example plans to implement two hours of PE look unambitious (this very modest target has been govt policy for at least 6 years!) . Also more discussion promised on ways to open up schools estate  is all good but there seems to be a distinct lack  of urgency. This is surprising  given many commentators and the Governments own working group has highlighted the importance of tackling these constraints once and for all, if a more active population is to be realised any time soon.

CG 2014 will take place during this term which should ensure the profile of sport and physical activity does not dwindle, but real change will require a continued, concerted effort by all to keep the pressure on.

Publication of the review of football in Scotland makes interesting reading, not least because it confirms what many involved in the game and sport in general already know. Damningly the report concludes that facilities are in crisis, are “pathetically inadequate” and in need of mouth to mouth resuscitation in the form of £500m investment. Although the focus is on football the reports findings could also be easily applied to swimming, athletics, tennis – indeed a whole host of other sports.

Improved facilities on their own will not solve sports ills, but it is widely recognised that attractive, welcoming, well designed facilities increase participation and enable talented athletes to realise their potential.

We live in hope (but not expectation) that the Scottish Government can find the investment needed to tackle the appalling state of many pitches and pavilions, but would urge it to go much further and invest and protect the entire sporting infrastructure. Many politicians who talk up the benefits of sport and are happy to be linked with sporting achievements now have an opportunity to walk up to the plate. An election seems an ideal time to ask those who seek are seeking our support ‘what will you do for sport in the run up to 2014?”

The last two months have seen The Sport and Consultancy delivering projects and winning new business. Despite the prevailing economic conditions business continues to be brisk. Whether this is the last throw of the dice before the public sector cuts promised by all political parties, post-election, kick in or whether it demonstrates greater resilience in the sport and culture sector remains to be seen.

The consultancy is now well established in Scotland  and our evolving client list is evidence of our arrival on the scene as a major player.

We would like to welcome the following new and returning clients in 2010:

• City of Edinburgh Council: Sports facilities and pitches strategy
• Scottish Borders Council (in an Associate capacity) : Sports facilities and pitches strategy
• Museums Galleries Scotland: Quality framework
• SkillsActive: Lecturers into industry – Evaluation study.

In the course of our work we sometimes come up against objections to implementing ‘big hairy’ solutions – not because they don’t address the problem but because of the fear that the organisation or people who will be affected by the decision are not ready for such stupendous change or upheaval.

Alan Weiss www.contrarianconsulting.com sets out humans capacity to adapt thus: “We’ve had floods in the northeastern US, a volcanic eruption, earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China. Despite these huge hardships, loss of life, and economic damage, life continues. Humans are resilient. How is it that your colleagues or your clients can tell you that a new idea or initiative is too traumatic to implement, or an unexpected event was too staggering to permit any thought of new projects? People tend to lose perspective. Business, like life, goes on.”

If we accept that active leisure and culture can contribute to national government priorities and that these include among others: tackling social exclusion and disadvantage; addressing poor health; improving wellbeing; regenerating and strengthening communities – arguably it is more important to invest in these facilities and services in a recession than when times are good. A recession tends to exacerbate social problems; therefore this is exactly the time when the benefits of sport, active leisure and culture can have greatest impact.

Despite this a recent survey of local councilors in the Local Government Chronicle, should set alarm bells ringing. It found that Museum Services, Tourism and Leisure came out top in the league table of those services elected members thought most likely to be cut http://www.lgcplus.com/5006526.article There is now plenty of evidence to show that sport and culture deliver. Furthermore, politicians of all persuasions regularly talk about the importance of the sector (particularly at National conferences and in the media), so the lack of value afforded these quality of life’ services is extremely disappointing but highlights the need for effective and regular advocacy at all levels.

In these challenging times it strikes me that the sector more than ever needs to speak with one voice and make the case for sport and culture. It almost seems that we have become so used to a lack of prioritisation for the sector, that we can no longer summon the energy to make our case. In 1993 ILAM ran a ‘Campaign for Leisure’. The idea was to stimulate debate and raise the sectors profile. Six months out from a general election, perhaps now is the ideal time for those entrusted with representing the industry to come together and campaign and lobby for sport, active leisure and culture in 2010 and energise their memberships. What would a manifesto look like? Better defined statutory powers in Scotland and the introduction of a Sport and Culture Act in England would do for starters. Here are some of my thoughts, published in the Institute for Sport Parks and Leisure e zine last month:

“Dear Sue

I wholeheartedly agree with your exoneration to members to “reiterate the power that sport and leisure can have”. However, it does seem that we have all been doing this for some time and even with well-researched, convincing evidence to back our cause, our claims too often falls on deaf ears – so perhaps now is the time to consider a different (or parallel) approach.

I would take issue with the suggestion that the introduction of statutory provision could mean a reduction in service levels. Surely if some best practice, beacon councils are doing great things with no mandatory requirement to do so, it is unlikely they would slam into reverse just because minimum standards were introduced. What statutory provision would offer is a degree of protection for the service and a step change in levels of provision where sadly sport and leisure has traditionally been regarded as a Cinderella service.

Last week Gordon Brown said: “Labour will cut costs, cut inefficiencies, cut unnecessary programmes and cut lower priority budgets, people will see that Labour will not support cuts in vital frontline services on which people depend.”

I would suggest that sport and leisure is still some way off being regarded as a vital frontline service, so without statutory status this does suggest there will be trouble ahead, which is likely to affect grass roots sport provision, funding for the facilities ‘ticking time bomb’ and hinder the professions ability to provide high quality services. Statutory provision does not just have to mean ‘implementing ‘minimum standards’ which is arguably a blunt instrument and out of tune with the times. Rather it can set out an entitlement and encourage further improvement. E.g. it can set out:

• The right of everyone to high quality, accessible sport, leisure and physical activity provision and opportunities
• Challenge every local authority to demonstrate how sport and leisure is being managed to meet national and local priorities and the impact it is having.
• The requirement for all local authorities to demonstrate they have planned for sport, leisure and physical activity for instance having an effective up to date sport and physical activity strategy and sport facilities strategy.

The European Charter for Sport provides further guidance about what a statutory service could be like.

Great strides have been made in the sector in recent years to demonstrate improvement, impact and the provision of high quality services, but when push comes to shove in difficult times, the worry is this will count for little – already there is anecdotal evidence of elected members and senior officers saying “if it is not a statutory service, then forget it”.

Since the beginning of time the profession has had to be creative, resourceful and do more with less, but now more than ever we need a manifesto for change which the whole profession can get behind. It will be catastrophic if the ‘golden decade’ of sport does not lead to lasting social improvement, due to a failure among leaders and decision makers to finally ‘get it’.

The Leisure Review continues to stand out among other publications with its contrarian, no-nonsense and straightforward approach to all things sporting and cultural. The recent article by Jonathan Ives on why the ‘crown jewels’ of sport should be televised on terrestrial TV, is a common sense, heartfelt plea, no doubt shared by many sports development officers http://www.theleisurereview.co.uk/ The argument advanced is a ‘no-brainer’. If young people see inspiring and exciting performances on television they will be more likely to take part in sport. This theme you may remember was the centrepiece of the successful Olympic bid video shown in Singapore, that many claim helped win the Games. Governing bodies of sport clearly need TV revenues to help fund grass root projects, but it is fair to ask, what is the point in generating additional funds by selling to the highest bidder, if so few potential participants witness the sport and become motivated to get involved in the first place?

When The Sport and Leisure Consultancy was formed two years ago we had a simple business objective for the first two years which was to survive! The good news for us is we have not only survived but are proud to have won contracts with high profile sports agencies, governing bodies and a host of local authorities to become an established part of the consultancy landscape.

Despite the tightening (or should that be throttling!) of the public sector purse, we go into 2010 full of optimism and confidence for the year ahead. Grounds for a happy disposition may initially appear weak but stem from our belief that:

• Sport, active leisure and culture services continue to be highly valued by the public if not always by politicians
• The golden decade for sport will not be cancelled – indeed 2010 will see a large number of ‘piggy back’ projects connected with major events starting to take shape
• The renewed focus on demonstrating impact and the government drive to improve services both North and South of the border will create a need for expert evaluation and external support
• Agencies with a remit for addressing social problems exacerbated by the recession will continue to look to our sector for solutions and become an increasingly important source of funding.

In addition to our consultancy work, in 2010 we will continue to make our voice heard and campaign on industry issues. This year we have met with a MSP to explore the practicalities of introducing a Sports Act in Scotland and had letters published on the issue in Sports Management, ISPAL e-zine, The Scotsman and Holyrood Magazine.