Back in 2016, Sport England recognised that they needed to better understand how working with places could address the stubborn inequalities that exist among the least active; they invited communities from all over England to test a new way of working by becoming one of 12 ‘local delivery pilots’. Birmingham and Solihull became one of these initial local delivery pilot areas.
Roll forward 8 years or so, Sport England announced 53 new places they’re expanding place work into (alongside the 12 existing Place Partnerships), to address regional inequalities in activity levels across England. Following this announcement, Birmingham’s Place Partnership (Sport Birmingham, Street Games UK, Birmingham City Council, and The Active Wellbeing Society) invited a broad range of partners and local sport and physical activity delivery organisations to come together in January at the Alexander Stadium to discuss the impact of place-based working, and to consult stakeholders around the future design and delivery of support and provision locally. Later on in February, Birmingham partners held another consultation event convening over 30 National Governing Bodies and System Partners, providing an opportunity to network and to discuss the learning from the local delivery pilots and Active Birmingham.
What is place-based working in a nutshell?
Understanding inactivity at a local level, and focusing resource at this level where the social need is greatest.
How are Sport England expanding place-based working into the future?
Building on existing knowledge, findings and insight gained from initial local delivery pilots, Sport England are expanding their place-based work. Click here to access a Sport England article detailing their Place Partnerships investment plan. Click here for more information about Place Partnerships.
Active Birmingham and its role in place-based delivery
Active Birmingham is a consortium of partners who have come together to consult with a wide range of local community stakeholders. These stakeholders have an interest in or are involved in physical activity across the city.
As a legacy programme from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the partners developed a plan to work in the most inactive and deprived wards of the city, and funding was allocated to a range of local delivery partners and organisations. The emphasis is on consultation, and working in areas of greatest need and with underrepresented groups, such as people on lower incomes and disabled people.
As part of last month’s engagement event there was an opportunity for Active Birmingham partners to showcase and evaluate its impact so far, this discussion and learning will help to shape and support the evolution of future provision.
If you would like to learn more about Birmingham’s Place-based Partnerships, please contact info@sportbirmingham.org