Site information
Site navigation
tab tips roll overs for main navigation
Who we are and what we do
Information about our services and programmes of work
The latest good practice we’ve gathered from the sector.
Online discussion forums and communities of practice
You are here
Accessibility options
Contrast:
Site second level navigation
Increasing participation in culture and sport: have we been caught out?
In December 2009, the Leisure Review Futures Summit, facilitated by the IDeA (now Local Government Improvement and Development), debated culture and sport participation rates.
Those around the table considered this proposition: for many years the sector has claimed that it can increase participation but now we have the ability to measure it the results are not encouraging.
Participation in sport and active recreation is now showing general improvement. However, this is the result of a few councils increasing participation significantly. Most councils are showing no change. At the same time, all three national indicators (NIs) for culture are showing a decrease in participation. Should we simply blame the recession or have we finally been caught out?
Some participants challenged the statistical data: “There seems to be a disconnection between locally-generated and nationally-generated evidence. We need other ways to demonstrate our services.”
Participants suggested that councils should pay less attention to national government and concentrate on doing the right things for their communities. However, the latest Place Survey shows satisfaction levels with all culture and sport services has gone down since 2006. They range from 68 per cent for parks and libraries to 41-46 per cent for theatres, museums, and sport and leisure.
As one participant said: “Some local authorities still cannot tell you how many people are coming through their doors. If we’re that naive we deserve to fail.” So, do we really understand and are we really meeting community needs?
London 2012 looms large over the sector and, as one participant noted, “...this sector has been hanging its hat on 2012. If we can’t deliver an increase in participation after an Olympic Games then yes, we have been caught out.”
Despite the concern over statistics, participants agreed that the sector needs to demonstrate the difference it has made to participation rates. We should also be “...about courage and delivery… Bureaucracy is an enemy of innovation, but we need bureaucracy to ensure measurement. The challenge is to manage that ambiguity.”
The group also highlighted the apparent contradiction of using resources to measure the provision of a service in need of resources.
For all the strengths and challenges evident within the sector, the group agreed on one inescapable reality. The sector must mobilise over the next 12 months so that it can make a clear national and local impact in 2011, through 2012 and beyond.
So what do you think? Are the latest national and local participation statistics wrong and not representative of what you are doing? Is the collection of such statistics a waste of time and money? Should we now get rid of them and rely on local data as we did before?
If they are right, and we are failing to improve participation levels, is it all down to the recession or are other factors in play locally?
Join the debate.
Martyn Allison
National Adviser, Culture and Sport
The Leisure Review Futures Summit – on The Leisure Review website
Page published February 2010.
Your comments
-
Whatever your feelings about the cultural NIs, they're here and we ought to start using the data effectively, both to improve our chances of increasing participation and delivering better outcomes for our communities. Changing lifestyles takes time of course but are we focusing enough on broadening access to culture and sport for markets like older people? Sport has a head start on the cultural sector in this respect. Where I've seen good use of the Active data, alongside local data, and market segmentation, I've seen excellent take up of local projects. So maybe part of the answer to our participation issue is promoting better assessment of community need backed up by NI data delivering targeted outcomes - sounds a bit like strategic commissioning!
Richard Hunt, Chair of the National Culture Forum and Vice Chair of CLOA on 02 Mar 2010
-
Targets and NIs have been with us for some time now with continuing challenges re participation levels.
Numerous ie. Sport England fronted regimes for participation improvement have come and gone and still we struggle to grow overall participation rates in Sport and Leisure.
I think the answer is far more sophisticated than the apparent allocating targets and NIs and hoping to see meaningful results.
The direction of travel has generally told us that this approach is not working, the evidence does not lie.
In a sector that is still non statutory and provided through local choice, the tactical decisions on where to invest limited resources in services can come down to what we have to provide in Local Authorities as opposed to what we would like to provide, with resources following services with statutory service measurements.
In my Authority, Birmingham, we have worked with the 3 PCTs to offset fund a free Gym, Swim and exercise classes to all Birmingham citizens at off peak hours. The condition of this remaining free is that clients registering must use services at least once a week to demonstrate continued participation.
With the barrier of price removed (as exists in Museums and Libraries, for example) we are starting to see a growth in participation levels and rates across the board. This initiative is being carefully measured and evaluated and is already starting to reach into harder to reach communities and showing growth.
If this initial success can be continued and further opportunities for engagement are explored and delivered, this gearing could provide an example for others as well as the basis of real and meaningful Olympic Legacy for the masses.
The views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer.
Steve Jarvis
Senior Constituency Manager
Birmingham City CouncilSteve Jarvis on 03 Mar 2010
Bookmark with: