Sheffield Hallam University and partners have been awarded £3.4 million to evaluate different approaches to supporting physical activity and narrowing inequalities in communities across the country.
The National Evaluation and Learning Partnership for Place is a four-year evaluation programme led by experts at Sheffield Hallam’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) based at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, alongside partners including Collaborate CIC, Hartpury University, Coventry University and Substance Ltd.
The evaluation is funded by Sport England and is aimed at understanding and explaining various barriers and opportunities for physical activity and how this differs based on local contexts in communities across the country.
Levels of activity differ between individuals due to many factors including personal characteristics, home/work life, the places people live, and broader social trends. This evaluation will look at all these different factors and assess this ‘whole-system approach’, which has been embedded in communities through previous funding into physical activity programmes by Sport England.
It will also evaluate these programmes through community insight and experiences from the people who live and work in different places to understand what drives physical activity and supports change in their area, known as a ‘place-based’ approach.
Findings from the evaluation will be used to shape policy and practice for physical activity interventions, a key area of focus for the new government in its drive to move from sickness to prevention in the NHS.
The new programme marks the continuation of a successful collaboration between Sport England and the evaluation partners who have worked together over the last three years to share their expertise and experience to develop new ways to evaluate programmes aimed at reducing inequalities in physical activity levels and improving population health.
The team has previously led evaluation of 12 pilot areas, with this new evaluation looking at a further 68 places.
Dr Katie Shearn, project lead and researcher at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, said: “There are many things that influence physical activity, and these are interacting all the time. This means that individual interventions may not be sufficient to create a change in population levels of physical activity or narrow inequalities.
“Simplistic, top-down approaches don’t work well for understanding and improving complex real-world issues like physical activity. More holistic, community-driven, and adaptive methods are needed, and this evaluation aims to build understanding of what works across diverse places.”
Executive Director for Place, Sport England, Lisa Dodd-Mayne, said: “We are delighted to continue our relationship with Sheffield Hallam and their consortium of academic partners as our National Evaluation and Learning Partner. Place-based systemic approaches to tackling deep rooted inequalities and inactivity is complex work. It requires local stakeholders to take a different approach. As our primary partner in supporting our network of Places and Active Partnerships, NELP have developed a fantastic framework to ensure we are capturing and understanding how and why the big and small changes are happening and the outcomes they are leading to. We look forward to seeing how this further brings to life the brilliant work that is, and will be happening, through our place expansion commitment.”
Associate Professor Kev Harris from Hartpury University said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this opportunity to work with Sport England and Place Partnerships and will work collaboratively to explore how and why whole system approaches work in place. This will build on the learning we have already co-created with a wide range of stakeholders involved in place-based approaches to tackling physical inactivity, and we will aim to create an environment that builds evaluative thinking into the mindsets of everyone involved.”
