Time to walk the walk

Rob Tate, Governance Officer, has been looking at the governance implications of the new sports strategy and what they mean for the sector. 

Britain has been happy to “talk the talk” about the importance of good governance this year, so it’s only right that our new sport strategy sets out a plan to keep the UK as the gold standard in sports governance.

After this year’s sports news was dominated by stories of poor management, corruption and maladministration in International Federations it was no surprise that governance and leadership of the UK’s own sporting bodies would be a hot topic in the government’s new strategy for sport.

Between them, FIFA, WADA and the IAAF have given a masterclass on how not to govern a sporting body and Britain’s press (and its politicians) have been particularly strong in their coverage and condemnation of the ongoing scandals. In another sector, we’ve seen the damage caused to the reputation and public opinion of charities following the high profile Kid’s Company scandal, highlighting the importance of ensuring that public funding is well managed.

With these crises in mind it’s important that the British sport sector can be seen to lead from the front on issues of governance, leadership and administration; backing up our strong words with equally strong standards that protect sport’s reputation and encourage confidence in the sector from the public and the exchequer. The measures outlined in this new strategy look to do just that. Amongst other things we have to look forward to in the new year, the Sports Councils have been charged with developing a new “UK Sports Governance Code” by September, and Sport England will be working with the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) to develop a new workforce strategy aimed at developing skills, diversity and leadership within the sector.

The UK Sports Governance Code

In our response to the government’s sport strategy consultation this summer, we called for a unified code of governance for the sports sector, using the seven principles of the Voluntary Code of Good Governance as a framework. It’s fantastic to see the same idea supported in the final document.

The government believes the sector should set and deliver the ‘Gold Standard’ for the governance of sporting bodies, and to implement this standard they’ve given UK Sport and Sport England, along with the other Home Nations’ Sports Councils, responsibility for delivering a new “UK Sports Governance Code” (‘the new code’) by next year. In doing so, they’ve also made specific reference to the Financial Reporting Council’s UK Corporate Governance Code, which has helped catalyse the development of good governance in the corporate sector since it was first published in 1992, as well as being part of the inspiration behind the creation of the Voluntary Code of Good Governance for the Sports Sector in 2011.

The new code promises to bring real benefit by enforcing increased compliance standards across the sector. The government have instructed that compliance with the new code will be compulsory for any sporting body in receipt of public funding from 2017 onwards, which should ensure good governance is high on the list of priorities for NGB’s (as it should be). They’ve also expressed the ambition that the code is promoted internationally as a basis for reform in international federations, supporting Britain’s position as a world leader in sports governance.

Since 2011, the Alliance has been supporting our members to improve governance standards through the Voluntary Code and the suite of training and resources available to support it. This programme of support contributes towards realising part of our vision and mission: to lead and enable a world-leading sport sector. We’re happy that the governance section of this new strategy shares the same goal. We think the new UK Sports Governance Code will be beneficial to this and that the principles of the Voluntary Code of Good Governance can provide a fantastic framework around which the new code can be structured.

Leadership and Workforce Strategy

The section devoted to Leadership, workforce and administration covers slightly broader ground, but can be summarised into two themes: not enough is being done to increase the diversity of the sporting workforce (at all levels); and not enough is being done to aid the development of that workforce.

The strategy points out that, as a career path, the sport sector is very poorly structured. There are multiple entry points, but competition for these positions is very high. Once in, career advancement is often unclear, and there are few sector-specific CPD opportunities. In addition, the workforce itself lacks diversity. Levels of representation in gender, race, disability and orientation fall below the levels represented in wider society. The strategy proposes two steps towards fixing these issues.

Firstly, Sport England have been tasked to work with CIMSPA to develop a new Workforce Strategy that will improve the openness and transparency of recruitment processes, broaden access to jobs in sport, create more CPD opportunities for those working in sport and create a clear idea of the value of paid and voluntary work in sport and the routes for career progression.

Secondly, all funded organisations will be required to track and regularly review the diversity of their workforce, and make parts of that data available to Sport England, so they can paint a broader picture of diversity in the sector.

The strategy goes on to specifically address the leadership of the sector. Lack of diversity is raised here once again; an issue we’ve been aware of for some time thanks to the annual research of Sporting Equals and Women in Sport highlighting the imbalances of BME and female representation on sports boards. The strategy is really positive in its outline of steps that will be taken to remedy the gender imbalance (including a restatement of the commitment to 25% female representation in senior roles by 2017 and reference to Women in Sport’s “Checklist for Change” as an important tool in this quest) but we were disappointed not to see more overt reference to similar steps that could help improve BME and disability representation at the same time.

Whilst noting the positive results achieved through the appointment of successful individuals from outwith the sector, the government have made clear that the development of future leaders within the sector is also important. To this end they’ve tasked Sport England with creating a sports leadership scheme as part of its new workforce strategy, to benefit future leaders (both professional and voluntary) at local, national and international level. This push to develop future leaders coincides nicely with our aims for the Alliance Directors Club, the networking programme set up to benefit the development of current and aspiring leaders in the sport sector and we’re hopeful this is an area we can continue to assist on for the benefit of our membership.

Conclusion

All in all this looks like positive news, and the next step towards creating a sector which is fit for the future, more professionalised, better regulated and less liable to the risks posed by corruption and maladministration (and the reputational risk that comes with it).

However, as with the rest of the new strategy, effective implementation will be key to ensuring the benefits we’re hoping for are fully realised. Considering the scale of what is proposed this is no easy task, but since the potential benefits are so large we’re hopeful this is a challenge the sector will be happy to take on collectively.

For our part, we’re looking forward to working with UK Sport and Sport England to promote improved governance standards across this sector, for the benefit of all our members and participants.
 

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