Enterprise and Collaboration
The way forward for community sport in Scotland
A one-day event focussing on how Scotland's community sports providers can
can benefit themselves and their communities by developing and delivering
innovative and enterprising programmes
4th December 2014
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Real stories and successes to be told, lessons to be learnt,
ideas and experiences to be shared
Supported by
The challenges facing community sport...
Community sports clubs, hubs and other providers are facing strong challenges in order to survive and grow in an increasingly competitive and demanding market. How to attract new members and retain the existing ones, become a hub of the community, grow sponsorship revenue, improve the social life of the club, increase media coverage, benefit from new technology and introduce new revenue streams...are all pressing concerns.
Life is changing and providers within community sport have to change with it.
Scottish society needs community sports clubs, hubs and other providers to prosper. We need them to be places where people will want to play and exercise and become involved. They should generally become hubs for their communities, in short become places ‘where people live their lives’.
Making a difference in areas such as health and wellbeing, employment and education are key aims of the Scottish Government's Games Legacy ambitions to a primary aim of getting people more people active.
So how do we deliver great, sustainable community sport without compromising your sporting and community objectives? How do we provide great customer experiences and grow participation whilst at the same time meeting the strategic objectives of external partners and funders, whether they are from within sport or from health, regeneration or community services? How do we engage the local community and promote community leadership and play our part of the fabric of our local communities? How do we develop and deliver an innovative range of sporting opportunities, attracting people of all ages and abilities?
This event focuses on these issues, highlight best practice and provide thoughts, tools and to-dos on how you too can become a sustainable community sports provider.
Delegates will come from community sports clubs, Community Sport Hubs, governing bodies of sport, local authorities, community sports trusts at our professional and semi-pro clubs, informal sports providers, community sports enterprises, sports governing bodies, community groups and other community sports providers.
Presentations from:
8.45 - 9.30 Registration/Tea and Coffee
9.30 - 9.40 Welcome from Chair
Svend Elkjaer, Founder/Director, Sports Marketing Network
9.40 - 10.10 Supporting world class sport clubs in our local communities
James Steel, Lead Manager, sportscotland
sportscotland, the national agency for sport, are focused on leading the development of a world class sporting system at all levels across Scotland. Clubs are one of the three central parts of this system linking with school and performance sport to provide a pathway,this pathway is supported by the people, places and partnerships that bring the system to life.
This session will emphasise the key role that sport clubs play in the system and paint a picture of the opportunities available to clubs to improve what they offer their local communites.
James Steel leads on a number of sportscotland’s club sport priorities including the club sport framework, community sport hubs and direct club investment. He has experience of working in an SGB and also in Regional Sporting Partnerships. In his spare time he runs his local basketball club in Dunfermline, Fife. He is a firm believer in the important role that sport clubs play in their local communities.
10.10 - 10.40 Community Sport proving its impact on community
Joanna McLaughlin, Policy and Information Officer, The Robertson Trust
The Robertson Trust is the largest independent grant-maker in Scotland. In this session it will share its learning from funding and evaluating a wide range of community sports organisations that use sport as a tool to engage hard to reach young people.
Speaking from a funder’s perspective, the Trust will discuss the gap that exists within many organisations in terms of their ability to both evaluate and evidence the impact of their sports programmes and to engage with hard to reach groups in the community.
The Trust will share its learning from its ‘Community Sport and Enterprise Evaluation Learning Set’ which helps to equip sports organisations with the knowledge, skills and tools they need to understand and demonstrate the impact of their work. Finally, the Trust will share examples of best practice from organisations that have been involved in the Youth Work in Sport initiative and are using a youth work approach to enhance how they engage hard-to-reach young people through sport.
Joanna McLaughlin is the Policy and Information Officer for The Robertson Trust and is responsible for developing and overseeing all of the Trust’s work within Community Sports.
10.40 - 11.10 From 'just a sports club/hub' to sustainable community sport enterprise
Diane Cameron, Social Enterprise and Sports Co-ordinator, SENscot
The starting point when developing a Community Sport Enterprise is about having an open and welcoming culture which encourages learning and innovation. Forward thinking sports clubs have a vision! Adopting an approach which is both enterprising and collaborative are keys to not only realising that dream but to creating a long term sustainable legacy and social impact. And the great news is that the latter can actually support the former.
There is lots of support out there for community sports organisations and clubs to help realise their dreams. Diane will share her knowledge both of resources and of the great stuff that’s happening in different types of sports organisations across Scotland.
Diane Cameron is a connector of people and a signpost to usefulinformation for community sports organisations and clubs who want to become sustainable and make a difference through sport. She has headed up the Social Enterprise & Sport Initiative in Scotland for the past four years, working both strategically to increase the profile of the sector and practically supporting sports organisations to increase both their sustainability and ultimately their social impact.
11.10 – 11.30 Tea/Coffee Break
11.30 - 12.00Creating an Enterprise Culture in Welsh Sport
Gordon Clark, Senior Officer, Sport Wales
This presentation will ask and answer the question; is “profit” in community sport a dirty word? Gordon Clark will share his and Sport Wales’s journey from not supporting enterprise to embedding it into everything they do. What started as a loan voice is growing into an enterprise movement across Wales. There is still a long way to go but hear how Sport Wales has engaged the business development sector, how they are shifting partner perceptions, creating the workforce of the future and most importantly making an impact to community sport.
Gordon Clark has worked in community sport for 24 years and has spent the last 10 years with Sport Wales. Gordon has a passion for club development and has made it his goal to create an enterprise culture across sports development, sports clubs and the sector.
12.00 – 12.30 Twechar Healthy Living & Enterprise Centre engaging the whole community Sandra Sutton, Chair, Twechar Community Action
Twechar Community Action is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. We were established in April 2001 when the local authority decided to close the Recreation Centre. There was a community sit in and the local authority eventually agreed to hand over the building to the community.
Twechar Community Action was then developed and were successful in securing funding to completely refurbish the centre and transform it into a Healthy Living & Enterprise Centre which was more appropriate to the community’s needs. They are based in and operate the centre which provides facilities for learning, training, health and well-being activities, sport and recreational pursuits as well as offering accommodation for community and youth groups.
The centre is now thriving as a Development Trust and Social Enterprise, operating 7 days a week and provides a hub for the village engaging with a wide cross section of people from all ages and offering a variety of activities and services to support the community. But Twechar Community Action is so much more than just the Centre, through the work of a dedicated group of local residents other organisations have been formed such as Twechar Youth Group and Twechar Environmental Training Project.
Born and bred in the village of Twechar, Sandra Sutton describes herself as a Community Activist who is Chair of the local Development Tust 'Twechar Community Action' and a Board Director with Citizens Advice.
With an employment background in youth work and social care Sandra has been involved in voluntary work for 20 years in Twechar.
12.30 – 13.00 Glasgow Fever: Where people make the game
Adrienne Hunter, Founder, Chair and Head Coach, Glasgow Fever Basketball Club
Glasgow Fever was founded in 2010 with an initial focus on providing more opportunities for women and young girls to get involved in the sport, as players or in an official capacity. In that short time, the club has gone from strength to strength, evident not only in our on-court successes, but also in our ever-expanding membership base. Our unique club ethos, prominent in everything we do, is to promote positivity and respect for players and officials at all levels, as well as an understanding that success is not just about what happens on the court.
Starting as a team of 10 senior women players we have now increased our membership by over 1000% and include a range of playing and training opportunities. This presentation will focus on the learning we’ve taken from the last 4 years and how we will move forward and continue to grow and develop. Key themes will include how we create the right environment for growth, how we develop great people, our strong community focus, maximising investment and Glasgow Fever - the social side!
Adrienne Hunter has been volunteering in sport for over 20 years taking on numerous roles. In her professional time she is the owner and Lead Consultant of SEE Consultants who specialise in the development of coach and volunteer education and development working with a range of governing bodies and organisations.
13.00 - 13.45 Lunch
13.45 - 14.15 Embedding Hubs into the wider community
Bengy Barsanti, Community Sport Hub Development Officer, East Lothian Council
In this presentation Bengy Barsanti will discuss hubs in East Lothian, their overarching ethos and their journey as they try to find their feet.
He will share the highs and lows Hubs have been through to embed themselves into their communities and how being involved in local Area Partnerships have provided a vehicle for sports clubs to improve their influence on local decisions. He will ask questions of how Hubs can truly be sustainable, provide genuine impact and be recognised as a voice for local sport worthy of being consulted.
Bengy Barsanti has spent the last 8 years working in sport across Scotland. His desire to see real change and sustainable community sport challenges clubs and colleagues to be innovative, ask questions and think outside the box.
14.15 -14.45 Developing stronger clubs and engaging local communities
Colin Hutchison, National Development Manager, Bowls Scotland
Tom Hamilton, Volunteer Development Officer and Club Coach, Woodend Bowling Club, Glasgow
Following on from Glasgow 2014 and with a strong emphasis across sports on increasing participation we will shift focus to the infrastructure Bowls Scotland is implementing to enable future growth in the sport. In partnership with Woodend Bowling Club we will demonstrate the power of engaging with your local community, the benefits of utilising social media and the role of clubs in changing mindsets.
Colin Hutchison has been National Development Manager at Bowls Scotland since 2010. Colin leads the implementation of Bowl Scotland’s Development Plan working with 873 member clubs across Scotland.
Tom Hamilton is Volunteer Development Officer and Club Coach at Woodend Bowling Club, Glasgow. Tomcoordinates the GlasBOWL initiative which has coached over 1000 Primary 6 children since 2012and has partnered Glasgow Sport and Glasgow Warriors in Community "Come Try" events.
14.45 - 15.15 Inspiring a community to be active today for a healthy tomorrow
Billy Brotton, Community Sports Hub Officer, Tryst Community Sports Club Limited
Representatives from Larbert High School, Stenhousemuir FC and The Falkirk Community Trust
Launched in 2011, Tryst Community Sports Hub is a unique partnership between Larbert High School, Stenhousemuir Football Club and Falkirk Community Trust. Its aim is to engage with the community and impact positively on the health and well-being of people.
This CSH is based at Larbert High School, and supports the development of 16 junior clubs that use the school for their facilities. A number of these clubs are new, offering sports that were not previously available. The Community Sports Junior Program offers a diverse range of sports from Waterpolo and Basketball for all children to become involved and the Hub also offers a vibrant adult program
To ensure that Tryst CSH grows in a sustainable way it has a management group that brings together the professional partners and a steering group that brings the clubs together. This also helps to develop their understanding of the sporting needs of the local communities and improve how they work together.
Billy Brotton is Community Sports Hub Officer at Tryst Community Sports Hub and Head of Sport at Larbert High School. His presentation will cover how this great partnership between school, community clubs and professional football club's community arm is so successful.
15.15 - 15.45 Over to You
Delegates will be discussing issues facing enterprise and collaboration for sport in Scotland in groups, each covering a different topic. Delegates can choose which group they want to join. Topics covered:
- Income generation
- Community engagement
- Social enterprise in sport
- Working with non-sport partners
15.45 - 16.00 Conclusion, Networking and Finish
Registration form at the end