Thoughts on the Sports Summit 2016

I attended the Sports Summit 2016 last Wednesday – my first big public event since becoming Chairman of the Sport & Recreation Alliance.  This is a high profile and valued event in the sector, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

It was an eye opener in a number of ways. First I was impressed with how many leaders were in one room together - just under 200. It was impressive to see this level of interest, but not entirely surprising given the relevance of the day which focused on "Evidencing Impact and Using Data".  I know, not the catchiest title, but an honest reflection of one of the biggest challenges the sport and recreation sector now faces after the Government published its Sporting Future strategy in December 2015.

Our keynote speaker for the day was Jennie Price, CEO of Sport England. We simply couldn’t have planned this any better timewise if we had tried as they had just released their Towards and Active Nation strategy days before. Despite  suffering from flu, Jennie eloquently and clearly explained the new landscape for assessing Sport England funding.  It is going to be different - funds will be spread over a greater number of sports and activities to promote the Government’s goal of wider participation. There will be some winners and losers, withcompetition for funding becoming more intense than ever before. This is not just evolution – there is some radical change here though not perhaps a full scale revolution.

Part of this change will also mean adopting a new measurement system. So the not so catchy title of the day was absolutely needed to focus the sector on how to use data because it will be the lifeblood used to evidence the impact sport has on people and society in this new environment.

There were three main takeaways for me that I would like to share:

1.      We probably underestimate the amount of data that we already have and are not using. My experience in the insurance industry taught me that a profusion of data does not always help – the trick is to select the right data that really makes a difference in decision making, and sometimes “less is more”. I was really struck by the presentation from Phil Young at Transport for London, particularly with the amount of data that TfL shares with customers. This promotes trust because it demonstrates openness, but it’s a two way process as well – TfL benefits because in today’s digital world customers and other stakeholders take the data and use it in new apps and in other ways which benefit the customer and  which clearly also benefits TfL. It’s bold, but the message seems clear – be prepared to share data and it will help create a virtuous circle of improving trust.

2.      The discussions highlighted at times the diverse nature of the Alliance’s membership. Some members are relatively large and successful commercial concerns while others are much smaller, with fewer participants and often more volunteers than spectators. So the new environment needs to be approached in different ways by our membership and the wider sport and recreation sector. The task will be for the Alliance to continue thinking about how we are helping, particularly as the Government is looking to recognise wider participation and focusing, not just on participants, but also on volunteers and even spectators, recognising the social benefits of all activity around sport and recreation. So there is much for all our members - large and small to seize on.

3.      It’s not ALL about money. If we get the outcomes right in terms of people, the right consequences will follow. This may be financial or may be just rewarding in itself. I was sitting on the stage when Caroline White, CEO of the Youth Hostel Association told her story of a class of schoolchildren staying at a youth hostel for the first time, some seeing and paddling in the sea, some eating as much as they liked for breakfast, all escaping from a harsher daily life – for the first time. Sitting on the stage I could see the emotional reaction in the eyes of the audience to Caroline’s story.

It was a timely reminder that telling your story about how you make people’s lives better is the best possible way to evidence impact and use data. It’s hard to measure emotion but it is easy to see its impact when someone tells the story so very well. I am sure that all our members have similar stories and will tell them equally eloquently over the next months and years.

Events like the Sport Summit 2016 are only successful because of the people involved.  The mix of speakers, from both within and out of the sector, meant that a wider perspective was provided and all were excellent. I am very grateful that everyone shared their own hard, earned knowledge and experience with the audience.

The Kia Oval is a fabulous venue and the day just wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors and exhibitors, as well as the hardworking Alliance team.

The next steps are exciting as we begin to plan for our Leadership Convention on 2-3 November in Manchester. As the voice for the sport and recreation sector, we take our role in helping prepare leaders to get results in this new environment very seriously. I hope to see you there.

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