AN INVESTMENT GUIDE FOR NGBS - A guide to future Sport England investment in National Governing Bodies with a current Whole Sport Plan April 2017-2021

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AN INVESTMENT GUIDE FOR NGBS - A guide to future Sport England investment in National Governing Bodies with a current Whole Sport Plan April 2017-2021
AN INVESTMENT
GUIDE FOR NGBS
 A guide to future Sport England investment
 in National Governing Bodies with a current
  Whole Sport Plan

    April 2017-2021
AN INVESTMENT GUIDE FOR NGBS - A guide to future Sport England investment in National Governing Bodies with a current Whole Sport Plan April 2017-2021
CONTENTS
                                               INTRODUCTION                   04

                                               WORKING WITH US              07–11

                                               PROCESS & TIMESCALES         12–16

                                               TARGETS, MEASURES &          17–18
                                               PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

                                               SUMMARY OF OUR COMMITMENTS      19

Sport England – An Investment Guide for NGBs                                        03
AN INVESTMENT GUIDE FOR NGBS - A guide to future Sport England investment in National Governing Bodies with a current Whole Sport Plan April 2017-2021
INTRODUCTION
       OUR NEW STRATEGY SIGNALS A DIFFERENT APPROACH
      TO FUNDING, AND WE’RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU

                     This is the first of a number of investment                     • Placing shared objectives at the heart               This new way of working will require
                     guides that we’re producing as we embark                           of our decision-making. In the past we               greater flexibility on both sides of the
                     on our new five-year strategy for 2017–2021,                       have asked you to take responsibility for            partnership. We will be adopting a new
                     Towards an Active Nation.                                          all of the people who play your sport,               approach to measurement, moving away
                                                                                        and held you to account for increasing               from the one-size-fits-all weekly participation
                     If you are one of the National Governing                           that number. We are no longer going                  measure of success defined through the
                     Bodies (NGBs) in which we have invested                            to work in that way with all NGBs.                   Active People survey. The new approach will
                     for the current 2013–2017 Whole Sport                              Instead we will identify areas of genuine            be equally rigorous but more collaborative.
                     Plan cycle, then this guide is for you.                            common interest with you. We will                    Together we will agree the specific
                     Its purpose is to explain clearly how our                          spend time to understand your strategic              outcomes we will invest in and then work
                     strategy relates to the work of NGBs and                           priorities and capabilities, then agree the          jointly to identify appropriate measures for
                     how we will invest in that work from                               areas where Sport England investment                 these outcomes.
                     April 2017 onwards.                                                is best directed
                                                                                                                                             We will not be asking NGBs to deliver the
                     Towards an Active Nation explains how                           • We recognise that each individual NGB                five outcomes outlined in Sporting Future
                     we will implement the policy direction set                         is different and will have a particular              at this stage, before more is understood
                     for community sport in England by the                              contribution to make. Some will want to              about the insight behind mental wellbeing
                     Government in Sporting Future. We need                             concentrate Sport England investment                 and personal, community and economic
                     to create a direct relationship between the                        to support talent development, others                development. We will be concentrating
                     outcomes set out in Sporting Future, the                           will aspire to make a broader contribution           in our discussions on the achievement
                     programmes we have identified in our new                           with different types of customer. We                 of physical wellbeing, i.e. the physical
                     strategy and how we will work with NGBs.                           will agree the approach that is right for            benefits of people playing sport. The
                     When you are considering an application                            us both.                                             measurement of this will draw on the new
                     for investment, please do read and                                                                                      Active Lives survey, where applicable, and
                                                                                     This first of our Investment Guides                     will concentrate on the market of ‘regular
                     digest Towards an Active Nation first.                          is addressed to National Governing
                     Along with this guide, it will help you to                                                                              players’, whatever that might mean in your
                                                                                     Bodies for three main reasons. Firstly,                 specific sport.
                     decide whether and how to apply for                             we recognise that our existing award
                     Sport England investment.                                       agreements come to an end in March                      We will also agree with you an individual
                     Our approach to NGBs is changing.                               2017. As a responsible investor, we want                timetable for our investment, rather than
                     The key changes that we are making are:                         to provide all of our partners with some                working again to a standardised four-year
                                                                                     certainty and the ability to plan ahead.                funding cycle. For talent investments we
                     • A shift to an organisationally-neutral                       Secondly, as custodians of a sport, you                 will continue to make four-year awards
                        approach, prioritising our investment                        have an important role to play in the                   aligned with the Olympic and Paralympic
                        based on what partners can do, not who                       delivery of our new strategy, in particular             cycle. The length of other awards will vary
                        they are. We have, therefore, divided our                    for those people who already have a                     according to your role.
                        resources between types of project and,                      regular sport and physical activity habit.
                        in particular, groups of people who are at                   Finally, as we move to a new way of                     We hope this guide will be a helpful,
                        different stages of engaging with sport                      working, we recognise this will result in               informative resource.
                        and physical activity, rather than between                   a transition for some of you and we are
                                                                                                                                             Phil Smith
                        types of provider                                            committed to supporting you through
                                                                                                                                             Director of Sport
                                                                                     this period of change.                                  Sport England

                         Any partners who have a similar financial relationship and award agreement to NGBs (for example national partners
                        1

                         or County Sports Partnerships) will be managed on a case by case basis and will follow a comparable process
                         and approach.
Sport England - An Investment Guide forWe  would recommend that these partners contact their relationship manager or the Sport England
                                        NGBs                                                                                                                                                   05
                         County Sports Partnership team for advice in the first instance.
AN INVESTMENT GUIDE FOR NGBS - A guide to future Sport England investment in National Governing Bodies with a current Whole Sport Plan April 2017-2021
WORKING WITH
SPORT ENGLAND                                                                                                           Talented athletes are an important audience
                                                                                                                        within that core market, so talent investment
                                                                                                                        requests (where required) should be
                                                                                                                        included in any investment application.
                                                                                                                                                                                    They are our existing customers. The focus
                                                                                                                                                                                    of Sport England’s investment here is to
                                                                                                                                                                                    build capacity in the core market, so it can
                                                                                                                                                                                    continue to grow and improve the service
                                                                                                                                                                                    provided to these customers, in order that
                                                                                                                        There will be a very small number of                        their habit becomes more resilient and
       WORKING TOGETHER TO INCREASE ENGAGEMENT                                                                          NGBs who can demonstrate a strong                           that they don’t drop out for long periods
                                                                                                                        track record outside the core market. For
      IN SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY                                                                                    example, working with inactive audiences,
                                                                                                                                                                                    or stop entirely.
                                                                                                                        or influencing hundreds of thousands of                     We know that we cannot be complacent
                                                                                                                        people through mass market interventions.                   about this group. Our insight tells us that,
                                                                                                                        If this is the case we will consider a                      although they are likely to have an active
                   Towards an Active Nation explains Sport             We will look to invest where your                partnership with you at this stage through                  lifestyle, averaging at least two different
                   England’s seven investment programmes,              organisation’s strategic priorities and          the relevant programme. However, this                       activities, maintaining a habit is challenging
                   which replace the 30+ programmes we                 capabilities align most closely with the         will be an exception rather than the rule,                  and even the most committed individuals
                   have now. These programmes are based                outcomes Sport England has been asked            considered on a case by case basis, and                     drop out. They can usually cope with
                   around three behavioural challenges:                to deliver by government. As an NGB, the         will require evidence of significant capability.            short-term disruptions but are vulnerable
                                                                       audience with whom you are most closely                                                                      to major life disruptions (see Figure 1 on
                   1 Targeting persistently inactive people and                                                        The two new investment programmes                           the following page).
                                                                       connected are those who already have a
                      supporting them into some form of activity                                                        that will not be available for investment
                                                                       sport and physical activity habit. These
                                                                                                                        at this stage are Local Delivery and                        NGBs are an important provider to the
                   2 Making it easier for people who drop in          people feature in the ‘preparation-action-
                                                                                                                        Volunteering, both of which require a                       core market. Around half of the individuals
                      and out of sport and physical activity to        maintenance’ sections of the model below.
                                                                                                                        new and different strategic approach.                       who engage in sport and physical activity
                      stay active and maintain a habit                 This is what we term ‘the core market’. We
                                                                                                                        Both programmes are currently being                         regularly, take part in ‘traditional’ sport.
                                                                       anticipate that the majority of our investment
                                                                                                                        devised and you will be able to apply                       NGBs make a significant and important
                   3 Increasing the resilience of people who          in NGBs will come from the investment
                                                                                                                        for investment through a competitive                        contribution to the infrastructure and culture
                      have a strong affinity with sport and            programme that is targeting this group.
                                                                                                                        process later in 2016, when corresponding                   that allows them to be active in this way.
                      physical activity, making sure they are
                                                                                                                        investment guides are published. However,
                      treated as valued customers.                                                                                                                                  NGBs are not the only suppliers to the core
                                                                                                                        where you feel investment in volunteering
                                                                                                                        is essential to reach the core market,                      market. Many of these customers go to the
                                                                                                                        please include it in your discussions and                   gym, or attend fitness classes, or run or
                                                                                                                        subsequent proposals.                                       swim either in informal groups or on their
                                                                                                                                                                                    own. Outside NGB discussions, we will be
                                                                                                                        We recommend that you avoid making                          talking to those other suppliers to the core
                                                                                                                        more speculative bids for funding that                      market about their ability to help us achieve
                                         NOT ON MY RADAR          PRE-CONTEMPLATION                                     require a high degree of experimentation or                 our outcomes.
                                                                                                     TACKLING           diversification at this stage. The aim of this
                                                                                                                        phase of our investment is to concentrate                   The core market includes individuals
                                                                                                    INACTIVITY                                                                      with talent: people who clearly have a
                                                                                                                        on the core market, and to support sport’s
                                        THINKING ABOUT IT          CONTEMPLATION                                        existing customers and your primary                         more regular habit than most but need a
                                                                                                                        business as a priority.                                     specific type of environment or approach.
                                                                                                                                                                                    We remain committed to investing in talent
                                                                                                                                                                                    development, with the vision of creating
  CREATING REGULAR                       PLANNING TO DO
                                                                    PREPARATION                                         WHAT IS THE CORE MARKET?                                    the world’s leading talent system. This is
   ACTIVITY HABITS                       SOMETHING SOON
                                                                                                                        The core market refers to customers, not                    where NGBs are uniquely placed to deliver.
                                                                                                                        suppliers. We mean the roughly one-third                    A long-term approach is also important
                                                                                                HELPING THOSE WITH      of the population who currently have a                      here, so our aim is to make four-year
                                         GETTING STARTED               ACTION                    A RESILIENT HABIT
                                                                                                  STAY THAT WAY
                                                                                                                        long-standing sport or physical activity                    investments in talent development, against
                                                                                                                        habit, including those within the talent                    our talent objectives, and for it to be similar
                                                                                                                        system. It is about the people who play,                    in amount to our current investment
                                         STICKING WITH IT           MAINTENANCE
                                                                                                                        not the organisations who work in this                      in talent.
                                                                                                                        part of the market.

Sport England – An Investment Guide for NGBs                                                                                                                                                                                          07
                                                                                                                        2
                                                                                                                            Taking Part Longitudinal Survey April 2011–March 2015
AN INVESTMENT GUIDE FOR NGBS - A guide to future Sport England investment in National Governing Bodies with a current Whole Sport Plan April 2017-2021
UNDERSTANDING THE CORE MARKET                                                                                              SAM’S SPORTING LIFE
                   To be successful in your application for support to the core market, you need to have
                                                                                                                                              Figure 1 – Sam’s sporting life. This is an example of how engagement can vary as life circumstances change,
                   an excellent understanding of the customer and their patterns of participation. Your                                                  and illustrates the wide variety of activities, even for the most committed.
                   understanding should be of the overall activity patterns of these customers, rather than
                   just viewing their behaviour through the perspective of an individual sport (see Figure 1
                   on opposite page). This understanding is important, because it will allow us to identify the
                   customer segments that should be the highest priority, and focus investment on these.                                                                                  Decided to get
                                                                                                                                                          Played football                 back into ‘proper
                                                                                                                                                          and cricket                     football’ and play                                        The 5k charity
                                                                                                                                                          at school and                   Sunday league for                                         run (2001) was
                                                                                                                                                          college                         a few seasons                                             fun but the
                                                                                                                                                                                                               Coaxed back            The gym       marathon training
                                                                                                                                                                      Cricket stopped                                                               (2004) was tough
                                                                                                                                                                      when work                                into football          may be
                                                                                                                                                                      started. 5-a-side                        by a friend but        convenient
                                                                                                                                                                      was all Sam                              birth of first child   but can be                   Mountain bike for Sam’s
                                                                                                                                                                      could find                               meant only             quite dull                   40th. Muddy fun with mates
                                                                                                                                                                      time for                                 one season                                          at the weekend
                                                                                                                                               24

                                                                                                                  No. of sessions per month
                                                                                                                                              20

                                                                                                                                               16
                   INSIGHTS ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS MIGHT INCLUDE:
                                                                                                                                               12
                   • What does ‘regular’ mean in your sport? Is it weekly, or less frequent? Is it seasonal?
                                                                                                                                                8
                   • Who do they tend to be? Age, gender, background, geographical location?
                   • What’s the usual setting or range of settings for their activity?                                                          4

                   • What else do they do? Do they tend to come from or go to another sport?
                   • What do you know about churn and change in your sport?                                                                     1982     84      86         88      90     92      94      96         98        00      02     04    06       08       10      12      14     2016

                                                                                                                                                                                 Time
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Football   Cricket        Gym       Running        Cycling

Sport England – An Investment Guide for NGBs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          09
AN INVESTMENT GUIDE FOR NGBS - A guide to future Sport England investment in National Governing Bodies with a current Whole Sport Plan April 2017-2021
To access public investment you will need          We have a common interest here, in                committed to supporting NGBs to make                                 In Towards an Active Nation we outlined
to demonstrate how you can improve the             making your organisation more efficient and       such changes, and we will be realistic about                         basic competence and confidence as the
resilience of your customers and reduce the        reducing your reliance on public investment.      how long they might take. We will need to                            main barriers for children maintaining a
risk of them dropping out of sport. Even in                                                          find creative solutions that don’t inadvertently                     sporting habit. Any successful proposals
the core market, where habits are regular          Serving the core market at lower cost             make it even harder for them to engage                               should outline how to tackle these barriers.
and strong, individuals can and do lapse.          requires a focus on three areas:                  in sport and physical activity. Our reward
                                                                                                     for success will be the more ‘productive,                            Please remember that financial need and
The first step is to determine how much            1 Identifying what really makes a difference                                                                          additionality are two rules that apply to all of
                                                      to these customers, then thinking about        sustainable and responsible sport sector’
of the core market you as an NGB can                                                                 as desired in Sporting Future.                                       our investments, so we are unable to invest
reach or influence. We will agree that                the way in which you design your support                                                                            in existing activity funded through other
proportion with you and it will be the basis          for them, and where appropriate reducing                                                                            sources, or any activity that takes place
                                                      the cost                                       WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND
of our investment. We will measure your                                                                                                                                   during curriculum time.
impact on that proportion of the market,                                                             VOLUNTEERS IN THE CORE MARKET
                                                   2 Diversifying income, for example by                                                                                 For volunteers, you need to demonstrate
so it’s important that you are realistic in this      increasing membership revenue or by            We are devising separate investment
assessment. For some NGBs, this may only                                                             programmes for Children and Young People                             how any activity will address the behavioural
                                                      attracting partnership funding from other                                                                           challenge for the core market audience. Our
be your talented athletes or people already           public or private funding                      and Volunteering. These will outline the new
in your clubs and competition structures.                                                            approach promised in Towards an Active                               new Volunteering Strategy, to be launched
                                                   3 Reducing the cost of your back office          Nation. In the meantime, we recognise                                later in 2016, will focus on attracting new
Once you have identified who in the core              support for front line delivery, for example   that both children and volunteers play an                            volunteers and increasing the diversity of
market audience you can reach, and who                through shared services or by better           important role in the core market, so you can                        those who volunteer.
you should prioritise, you need to determine          utilising cross-sport resources such as        apply for investment for both through the
how you will impact upon their experience             Club Matters.                                  core market programme.
to ensure that they maintain this habit.
                                                   A number of NGBs have already been                For children, you should highlight clearly how
Examples of successful core market                 tackling these issues, in particular by           to address the behaviour change challenge
interventions include:                             reviewing their role in the supply chain and      for those children in the core market.
• Helping people better navigate periods of       working more collaboratively with local
   disruption, making entry and re-entry into      providers. Again, we can share specific
   your sport smoother and easier for all          examples of successful work.

• Making it easier for people to build habits     We will be working closely with NGBs who
   in sport and physical activity, by providing    are heavily reliant upon our funding for
   high quality and stable opportunities           back-office costs (previously referred to as
                                                   core costs). Our long term aspiration is to
• Making it easier for people to switch           help you build on – but not rely on – our
   between activities, keeping them in             investment. We will achieve this over the
   the system                                      next strategy period through actions that will
                                                   help you diversify your income, drive greater
• Addressing the needs of groups who are          efficiencies, and consider how certain
   under-represented, as they often face           shared service models could reduce cost
   more significant barriers.                      and improve quality.
These capabilities will be tested by our           We believe that, in the medium to long
assessment criteria. There are already             term, NGBs should be able to resource
examples of NGBs working successfully              their back-office costs from their own
in this way, which we will share with you          revenue (e.g. membership and commercial
in discussions over the coming weeks.              income). Our aim, by 2021, is to reduce our
                                                   back-office spending with each NGB to no
DELIVERING TO THIS AUDIENCE                        more than 10% of our overall investment in
Once you have identified your priority             NGBs. We will be working closely with UK
segments in the core market and                    Sport in this area, using the definition of
determined how to improve their                    back-office costs provided by them in their
experience, the final step is to explore how       own investment guidance [1] .
you can work more efficiently to serve these
customers and progressively become less            We understand that retaining our existing
dependent upon public money for this work.         customers, while also reducing reliance on
                                                   public funding, will be challenging. We are
                                                                                                     [1]
                                                                                                            he UK Sport definition of back-office costs is referred to in their guidance as ‘overheads’ and
                                                                                                           T
                                                                                                           comprises office rent, utilities, telecoms, central support covering the CEO, IT, Finance and HR
Sport England – An Investment Guide for NGBs                                                               functions, Insurance, Irrecoverable VAT and Anti-Doping.                                                          11
PROCESS & TIMESCALES
     OUR NEW FOUR-STAGE PROCESS AND
    THE KEY DATES YOU’LL NEED TO KNOW

                   As we will treat every NGB individually          Stage 1: Governance                             we will consult with you on the content of    We will consider requests to support
                   according to their contribution and needs,                                                       the Code with the aim of building on those    athletes competing in the 2018
                   the investment process and timescale             We are aiming to conclude all scoping           existing standards. We will then review       Commonwealth Games within talent and
                   will be flexible. However, there will be four    conversations by the end of August 2016.        your position and determine how much          performance applications. We will also
                   distinct stages for all.                         That will include the agreement of an           time may be needed to comply, but we will     consider projects to align individual
                                                                    individual timeline for your full proposal      need evidence of a commitment to do so.       national competitions with Level 4 of the
                   The first stage will be for you to               submission. We envisage making decisions        In addition to creating the Code, we are      UK School Games.
                   demonstrate that you are eligible for our        regarding talent by December 2016, to           committed to supporting as many NGBs as
                   investment through meeting existing              align with UK Sport’s timescales (where         possible to meet these new standards.         We will start to address financial
                   governance requirements. Following this,         appropriate). Decisions on the non-talent                                                     need through these scoping conversations
                   we will together explore the contribution that   elements of our core market investment will     Our strategy states that we will now take     and where possible, provide you with an
                   you could make to our new strategy. This         be taken by January 2017.                       an organisationally-neutral approach to       investment range.
                   stage will culminate in an agreed position                                                       investment. What matters is what you can
                   between the NGB and Sport England. The           In some circumstances an NGB may not            deliver and not who you are. However, any     Once the scope of your contribution is
                   third stage will encompass the submission        yet be ready to develop strong, realistic       sports body seeking public investment will    completed and agreed, we will write to you
                   of your proposals, our formal assessment,        propositions. This may be the case where        be expected to reach the same governance      with confirmation, agree a submission date
                   and a decision by our board. The final stage     the establishment of large, strategic           standards.                                    and invite you to apply for investment.
                   will be transition, where we will support you    partnerships are required before a plan
                                                                    can be developed, or a new organisational       Stage 2: Scope                                Throughout these scoping conversations
                   to move from your current award to your                                                                                                        you will not be asked to submit any formal
                   new partnership with us.                         strategy is in development, so priorities
                                                                    are not yet clear. We will consider this on a   For NGBs with a current Whole Sport           documentation or complete application
                                                                    case by case basis, including the potential     Plan, who meet the governance standards,      forms. This stage has been designed
                                                                    of a short-term ‘holding’ investment, with      a period of discussion will follow to agree   to minimise the administrative burden

                    1                                               a view to revisiting our future partnership     the scope of your potential partnership       and allow the detailed work to focus
                                      GOVERNANCE                    when appropriate.                               with Sport England. A mutual agreement        only on areas that are likely to attract
                                                                                                                    must be reached before moving on from         our investment.
                                                                    Both Sporting Future and Towards an             this stage.
                                                                    Active Nation are clear that high standards                                                   If we are unable to reach an agreement

                    2                                               of governance are expected of sports            The first objective is to identify shared     about the scope of the partnership, you
                                               SCOPE                bodies receiving public investment.             goals. We want you to be clear about your     will be able to make representations to the
                                                                                                                    strategic priorities, realistic about your    Sport England executive team, which will
                                                                    In March 2016 we wrote to you to with           capabilities and provide us with confidence   review the discussions.
                                                                    an assessment of progress against the           that you can deliver to customers in your
                                       PROPOSAL                     governance standards of the current             target audiences.

                    3
                                                                    funding cycle. If you don’t yet meet
                                      SUBMISSION,                   these existing standards you will need          Regular dialogue will be with your
                                      ASSESSMENT                    to demonstrate that you have a credible         relationship manager and a Talent and
                                                                                                                    Performance team member as required.
                                      AND DECISION                  plan to do so by 31 March 2017. NGBs
                                                                                                                    A senior Sport England colleague will be
                                                                    that cannot do so will not be able to
                                                                    progress to the second stage.                   available throughout to help solve any
                                                                                                                    problems that arise.

                   4                   TRANSITION
                                                                    Later this year a new Governance Code for
                                                                    Sport in the UK will be published. Working
                                                                    with UK Sport, over the summer of 2016

Sport England – An Investment Guide for NGBs                                                                                                                                                                    13
Stage 3: P
          roposal submission,                    Our assessment of your submission will          Investment
                                                                                                                Sport England Objectives              Criteria & Weighting
         assessment and decision                  culminate in a number of recommendations        Programme
                                                  to the Sport England Board:                     Talent        Progression – develop a talent        Track record (25%)
Once the scope of our potential partnership
                                                                                                                system in England that produces
has been agreed, the next stage is for you        • Size of investment to be offered                                                                  • Can you provide evidence that you have produced higher quality
                                                                                                                higher quality athletes throughout
to develop a proposal for submission. Over                                                                                                               athletes throughout the entire pathway?
                                                  • Length and type of contract                                 the entire pathway, including
the summer we will make various materials                                                                       performance foundations, while        • How have you performed in achieving the talent outcome targets
available to support the development of           • Support to be provided                                      delivering a positive experience         in 2013-17?
your proposal.                                                                                                  that retains those athletes in the
                                                                                                                                                      Quality and cost of delivery plan (50%)
                                                  • Approach to performance management.                         sport system
Your proposal should be in the form of                                                                                                                • Can you explain your operational model for the talent pathway
a standard business plan. A template will         Decisions made by the Sport England Board                                                              and how you plan to improve it?
be provided.                                      will be communicated to you swiftly and any                                                         • How will you address improvement areas highlighted from your
                                                  announcement managed jointly.                                                                          Pathway Health Check or Key Element Review?
We will assess your submission against the
framework outlined in Table 1. There will be      Alongside our assessment of your                                                                    • Is your plan realistic and does it offer good value for money?
different assessment criteria to reflect talent   submission against the criteria listed in                                                           • Can you evidence how it provides the most cost effective
development and the rest of the core market.      Table 1, we will be examining financial need.                                                          solution without compromising the athlete experience?
                                                  We will investigate your dependency on the                                                          • How well does the plan align with World Class Programmes or
If you are considering applying for investment    public purse and how you plan to resource                                                              other high performance programmes that will support athletes
from outside the core market investment           your activity from other income sources and                                                            that graduate from this pathway?
programme, similar criteria will be applied       through more efficient delivery.
in relation to the objectives of those                                                                                                                Scale of impact (25%)
programmes (and will be published in further                                                                                                          • How many people and partners will you reach and influence,
Investment Guides).                                                                                                                                      within and beyond your pathway?
                                                                                                                                                      • Which partners do you intend to collaborate with?
For the talent sections of the submission,
our investment for the majority of NGBs will                                                                                                          • What insight or practice do you plan to develop and share?
concentrate on Sport England’s objective
of progression; i.e. the production of higher                                                     Core Market   Helping people in the core market     Scale (40%)
                                                                                                                navigate periods of disruption
quality athletes throughout the pathway and                                                                                                           • How many people play your sport regularly?
the positive experience they have.                                                                              Making it easier for people in the    • How much influence do you have on that market?
                                                                                                                core market to build habits           • What contribution does your sport make to overall activity levels?
Targeted support to a select number
of priority ‘Performance Foundation’                                                                            Making it easier for people in the    Understanding of the core market (15%)
programmes will be agreed jointly with                                                                          core market to switch between
                                                                                                                activities                            • Can you demonstrate that you really understand these
UK Sport. We will also work with UK Sport to                                                                                                             customers? What is their pattern of behaviour and why?
agree our investment in your talent pathway,                                                                    Protecting people in the core
if you are jointly funded, to ensure there is                                                                                                         • What do these customers value? What do you provide?
                                                                                                                market who come from under-
clear alignment between investments.                                                                            represented groups                    • What are their typical entry (and exit) points in your sport?
                                                                                                                                                         Do you know how to make that entry or re-entry easier and
Responding to the feedback from our talent                                                                      Getting the right balance between        smoother?
consultation, we will address our inclusion                                                                     value to the customer and cost
                                                                                                                                                      Track record (20%)
objective primarily through additional                                                                          of provision for people in the core
investment in a small number of targeted                                                                        market                                • How have you performed in achieving the participation outcome
partnerships. This will be with NGBs who                                                                                                                 targets in 2013-17?
                                                                                                                Finding more efficient ways of
have the ambition and capability to develop                                                                     meeting existing customers’           • Can you provide evidence that you have influenced behaviour in
practice and insight in these areas, which                                                                      needs and carrying out your own          the core market audience?
might be subsequently applied more widely.                                                                      operations more economically          Type of audience (15%)
We will also tackle our inclusion objective                                                                                                           • What proportion of the core market that you support comes
through specific, cross-sport initiatives and                                                                                                            from groups that are under-represented in sport?
projects such as Backing the Best and our                                                                                                             Quality and cost of delivery plan (10%)
Talented Athlete Sponsorship Scheme.
                                                                                                                                                      • Is the business plan clear and concise?
                                                                                                                                                      • Is it realistic and does it offer good value for money?
                                                                                                                                                      • Can you evidence how it provides the most cost effective
                                                                                                                                                         solution without compromising the customer experience?

Sport England – An Investment Guide for NGBs                                                                                                                                                                                  15
MEASUREMENT, TARGETS &
Stage 4: Transition
Following a Sport England Board decision,
if there is a significant difference from
                                                   3 Change programme                               PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
your previous award and role, a period of            S
                                                      ome NGBs are undergoing a complete
transition will be required to implement the         transformation of their organisation, or
change. We will support you to make this             their leadership and/or strategy is new or
transition as smooth as possible.                    under construction. In this instance we
                                                     will consider supporting existing delivery          THE WAY WE MEASURE SPORT AND ACTIVITY
There are a small number of potential                in some form until the change programme            IS CHANGING – HERE’S WHAT TO EXPECT
scenarios which will result in significant           is complete, and a new approach can be
change:                                              considered fully. To do this we will need to
                                                     be confident that the change programme
1 Diversification of income streams                 will lead to the NGB being able to provide     Our investments will be measured and             is the best understood of the five. We will
   Where your existing business model is            good value for public investment.              managed very differently from April 2017         then work collaboratively to identify how we
    appropriate, but primarily reliant upon                                                         onwards. We will continue to publish             can measure contributions to the other four
                                                   4 Reduced role
    public sector investment, we will support                                                       results to show the progress of the sport        government outcomes.
    you to identify and secure additional            W
                                                      here there are limited numbers involved      and activity sector, but the emphasis
                                                                                                    will move away from reporting on NGBs            Our targets
    non-grant income. Working with UK Sport          in a sport in the core market, and an
    where appropriate, we will set targets           NGB is unable to demonstrate the ability       as a collective group. This reflects the         In the core market, the aim is to keep
    to reduce your reliance on any single            and track record to deliver value to Sport     organisationally-neutral approach, where         people who have a resilient sporting
    source of public funding and increase            England, there may be a significantly          all investments are judged in the same           habit playing sport for as long as they
    your overall level of non-public investment.     smaller investment than in the previous        way, based on their results rather than the      want to. Active Lives will give us a richer
    These bespoke targets will be easier for         cycle. In this situation we will provide a     identity of the supplier.                        picture of each respondent’s habits and
    some organisations than for others. We           support package to transition to that new                                                       help us to set a baseline for the contribution
                                                                                                    A balanced approach
    will revise Sport England’s Commercial           level of public investment.                                                                     of each sport to physical wellbeing.
    Framework so potential income streams                                                           In Towards an Active Nation we
    can be fully realised. We will also seek to                                                     have highlighted how our investment              Sport England’s own of measure of
    provide expertise to explore newer options                                                      programmes relate to the five outcomes           success will be the KPI set out in
    such as philanthropy and crowd funding.                                                         and related KPIs set out in Sporting Future,     Sporting Future, which sets a threshold of
                                                                                                    in order to create a clear ‘line of sight’. As   doing something at least twice a month.
2 A high-cost delivery model
                                                                                                    NGBs develop a submission, we will work          Each sport or activity will have its own
   Where delivery has been successful                                                              together to create a broader and more            pattern of engagement (frequency,
    but is high-cost in its current form, we                                                        balanced measurement approach, moving            seasonality, intensity, demographic or
    will work with you to develop a leaner                                                          away from the single sport and weekly            geographic impact, etc), which we will
    business model. We will give you the                                                            focus of Active People and drawing on the        discuss and agree with the NGB. The
    time to make the necessary changes                                                              new Active Lives survey where applicable.        threshold of once-a-week, all year round,
    and, where required provide access to                                                                                                            for all sports, will no longer apply.
                                                                                                    The Active People survey will publish
    expertise. We will need to identify and
                                                                                                    final results in December 2016, giving us        Each NGB will have a differing level of
    protect the parts of the supply chain that
                                                                                                    accountability for the current investment        influence on the people in the core market
    are most effective and identify and reduce
                                                                                                    cycle and a complete picture of progress         playing their sport. We will also discuss and
    investment into parts that have minimal
                                                                                                    in each sport. Active People will then be        agree with you what that level of influence
    impact but are costly to maintain.
                                                                                                    replaced by Active Lives, with the first         truly is. Our partnership, and therefore
                                                                                                    baseline results published in January 2017.      Sport England’s investment, will reflect
                                                                                                    Physical wellbeing                               only that portion of your sport. You will no
                                                                                                                                                     longer be accountable for everyone playing
                                                                                                    Initially, we will focus on the first key        your sport, unless you can prove you can
                                                                                                    outcome identified in Sporting Future –          influence them all.
                                                                                                    physical wellbeing. This is the outcome that
                                                                                                    NGBs can influence most immediately and

Sport England – An Investment Guide for NGBs                                                                                                                                                          17
SUMMARY OF OUR COMMITMENTS
DELIVERING TO THIS AUDIENCE                     Our investment will be managed in line with
                                                the principles set out in our new strategy:
We aim to use a combination of Active                                                           We will:
Lives and your own data (where that data is     1 A clear line of sight to the objectives in
appropriate and robust) to monitor progress.       Sporting Future                              • At the end of the scoping period, agree
A number of NGBs have now developed                                                               a specific date for the submission of your
ways of tracking participation in their         2 Ensure investment benefits                     business plan to Sport England and a
sport which are accurate, help to manage           under-represented groups                       final decision date by our board regarding
                                                                                                  your award
performance, and provide useful insight.        3 Use behaviour change to make
Any other (non-NGB) providers of sport             investment choices                           • Provide direct support throughout the
and activity to the core market audience will                                                      scoping period via a relationship manager
                                                4 Get maximum value from all Sport                and, where appropriate, a member of
be subject to the same measurement and
                                                   England’s resources, not just our cash          the talent team and a senior colleague
performance management approach.
                                                                                                   at Sport England
                                                5 Strike a balance between ‘bankers’
For talent and performance investments,
                                                   and ‘innovators’                             •A
                                                                                                  dopt a new approach to performance
sport-specific KPIs will be agreed (as we
have done previously). We will focus on                                                          management, agreeing the specific
                                                6 Review our investment portfolio regularly     outcomes and targets for our future
our dual objectives of progression and             and remove funding if an investment is
inclusion and apply them to your sport’s                                                         partnership
                                                   failing and cannot be rescued
approach to talent and performance. We                                                          • Measure and performance manage
will also publish cross-sport metrics for our   7 Encouraging increased efficiency.               non-NGB investments in the same way
talent and performance work, reflecting the
achievement of our two objectives.                                                              • Consult on the content of the new
                                                                                                  Governance Code for Sport in the UK,
We will also agree with you, where                                                                due to be published later this year
appropriate, measures of your contribution
to a ‘more productive, sustainable and                                                          • Work in partnership to reduce reliance
responsible sport sector’. This could include                                                     on Sport England for back-office costs,
targets related to financial efficiency and                                                       develop leaner business models, and
income diversification, or progress against                                                       diversify your income
your governance action plan.
                                                                                                • Support any transition from the previous
We will track progress on a single dashboard                                                      award agreement and role, to a new award
of the various measures outlined above.                                                           agreement and role, if there is a significant
Sport England’s levels of support and                                                             difference between the two
scrutiny will be proportionate to the size of
                                                                                                • Create a web portal containing information
investment and its perceived risk.                                                                and advice for the development of your
                                                                                                  submission
                                                                                                • Issue further investment guides related to
                                                                                                  our other investment programmes
                                                                                                • Continue to communicate with you
                                                                                                  throughout the period of our discussions, to
                                                                                                  clarify points and share useful information
                                                                                                  from other sports.

Sport England – An Investment Guide for NGBs                                                                                                      19
Sport England
21 Bloomsbury Street
London WC1B 3HF
www.sportengland.org/activenation   Published July 2016
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