Influencing Local Sport; Sharon Foley & Michael Crowley

1. Influencing Local Sport; Sharon Foley & Michael Crowley

2. Why would you look to influence local sport? Club development • Ensure your club / organisation gets a chance at resources (grants, funding etc) • Better development of clubs and activities • Better development of facilities • Personal Interest • Keep your interest – play a role in ongoing training and development • Personal interest in the sport • Progress within the club • Power and prestige!!

3. Cont… Community development • Opportunities to get involved are presented e.g. LSP • Promote participation • Better coordination at a local level of activities on offer to the community • Part of a wider desire to meet needs – providing a range of sports facilities • Ensure sport and physical activities reach all social – especially those facing social exclusion or disadvantage.

4. What can effective influencing deliver? • Source of support – funding, advice, contacts, target group • Synergies – ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ approach • Advocacy and lobby for more support for sport and physical activity in general – the reason why sporting facilities have developed and there is such an interest in sport and physical activity • More opportunities for public to engage in physical activity • More political interest in supporting sport

5. How do you influence? • ‘A smart manager knows their playing field, their players and their supporters’ • People who are good at influencing have their facts in order but know the tactics of influencing - Influencing is both an art (the approach) and a science (the facts)

6. Where do you start – how to influence • Inform yourself on your club / organisation / local community- • Know ‘who is who’ and how the club or organisation works – what is acceptable to a club, who are your champions? Who are likely to resist? What is the history of people trying to change things in the past? Who is open to change? • Network at a club or community level – allow other to know and trust you • Start with your own club – coaches, volunteers, committees – look to influence their agenda • If outside a sporting structure, look to see are there other structure you can work with? Community and Voluntary forums? Local development group?, LSP?

7. Clarify your own objectives • what is it you want to achieve – more funding, a better pitch, a new activity, a new approach, more players, more children? • Be practical and clear on what it is you want to achieve – make sure this is the position of your club or community (same hymn sheet) Look to examine where these are aligned with the interests of other agencies • for example – you might want more members – the HSE want to get more children involved in sport – are these different objectives for the same eventual goal? • Look for allies and networks - try to keep abreast of ‘who is who’ outside of the organisation (the key agencies and the key contacts) and what are the interests of external organisations • Keep a club file if necessary • Make connections & Network: Use ‘fortuitous chance’ as a way to network with key agencies and individuals - local sport events, launches, seemingly unrelated events – the pub even! • Look for opportunities – both present and in the future

8. Who to influence: The agencies of interest • Parents, volunteers and coaches – the foundation for local sport • Sports clubs • Partnership companies – rural development, LCDP • HSE • VEC • County Council • LSP • Governing bodies • Special Olympics • FAS • 3rd level sector • Irish Sports Council • Local media • Local gatekeepers (key community figures) • Schools setting – DES and locally • Community Development projects

9. Local Sports Partnership • The three main functions of the LSPs are: - • Information - establish a consultative forum, initiate research, compile a sports directory and database, and identify needs and resources to form the basis of local planning • Education - provide quality opportunities for education and training at local level, provide training courses targeting volunteers, and provide access to sport specific courses through the national governing bodies (NGBs) of sport • Implementation - develop a strategic plan for local sport, appoint a professional administrator, secure related support services, select participation programmes for LSPs modified to suit local needs, increase the impact of national programmes delivered locally, market and promote sport • Wicklow, South County Dublin, Dublin City Council, Fingal, Kildare, Laois

10. Role and interest to you? Their primary interest: Participation in sport and physical activity • Their use to local clubs / facilities • Connections and information – a mine of information • Information on grants, training schemes, • Access to a rang of stakeholders through their partnership structure • Access to programmes in different arenas – socially excluded, schools, sports clubs etc. • Clubs and facilities directory – example of a promotional tool for you

11. VEC • Primary interest: Education and youth affiars • Mandate: • Responsibility for coordination of youth work in regions (youth work act) • Many take a role in youth sports development (e.g. Co Dublin VEC http://www.codubvec.ie/en/index.cfm/do/youthsupport Co. Wicklow VEC Sports Promotion Unit) • Play a key role in adult education • Play a key role in provision of secondary (and some primary education) • Their use to local clubs / facilities • Grant aid • Access to facilities or programmes • Training for volunteers (as part of adult education) • Interest in youth development in its broadest sense – youth clubs, youth information, programmes • Source of information and support

12. HSE • Primary interest: • Participation (not sport) and in particular participation for high risk groups • Mandate: • Provision of Health Services including Health Promotion • Their use to local clubs / facilities • Mixed experience in past number of years – internal change process and pressures of resources • Health promotion function greatly diminished • Some physical activity officer still in place (e.g. South Dublin HSE area) • Some research function

13. Local authority • Primary interest: County development - to see facilities used to most potential for the public good – both participation and high performance • Their mandate in relation to sport • Sports development – sports officers / sports partnershipsParks – pitches and public playing areas • Public facilities – management of facilities and building/developing facilities • Information management – libraries, CONNECT • Sports development • Planning and development including leisure facilities • Building of public leisure facilities • Social inclusion – via RAPID and community and enterprise • Political representation at a local level – interest in local development

14. Cont… • The reality – often spread across county, often act as a series of micro enterprises • Tied in with the LSPs so start at this level • Aim to build long term relationships with the sectors and understand their brief

15. Summary and conclusions • Everyone can influence sport • You need to know the agencies out that, their interest and what you can provide which meets their objectives • Take your time and take time to make the connections