Stakeholder Research
Stakeholder consultation to support strategy development
Ipsos MORI conducted a substantial research and consultation project on behalf of the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) to help inform and shape the development of ‘Creating a nation of active women - a framework for change'. The framework was launched on 22nd July 2008, at an evening reception hosted by WSFF. The event not only marked the launch of the framework but the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, MP, also announced the launch of the Commission on the Future of Women's Sport. The Commission is a new, independent body set up to address the current crisis in women's sport.
For more information and to download a copy of ‘Creating a nation of active women' - a framework for change', please visit the WSFF website at www.wsff.org.uk or click on the link here.
A detailed programme of stakeholder consultation was developed to inform the strategy development process (led by Genesis Consult). The main elements of the consultation were:
Establishing and running the working group
A strategy working group was established, made up of representatives of the key policy areas which will be involved in driving participation in future. An inaugural consultation session took place on 6th March 2008 to discuss initial proposals for the strategy. A second session took place on 20th May 2008 following the online survey (see below) allowing the project team to feedback findings from the survey and to explore and progress the views of the working group. In addition, all representatives of the working group were encouraged to share their views throughout the wider consultation process.
Stakeholder depth interviews
This element of the project was designed to explore the range of issues and priorities affecting women and girls' participation as well as to test early ideas for the strategy with a variety of practitioners and policy-makers. Ipsos MORI conducted a total of 29 telephone or face-to-face interviews between 26th March and 12th May. The interviews were designed to gauge participants' attitudes towards and experiences of increasing women's participation in sport and physical activities.
Strategic Planning Workshop
The workshop, which took place in London on 1st May 2008, was designed to target a series of stakeholders identified by the WSFF - Government (key ministers and contacts), NGOs, Sports Deliverers and Sport England regional offices - to test their reaction to the proposed vision and goals. Inviting key government representatives ensured the involvement of other sectors, outside of sport, in a more detailed examination of the potential strategy direction and content.
Online stakeholder survey
The purpose of this stage was to carry out a programme of stakeholder consultation in order to inform the strategy content in more detail and to ensure that it will be owned by and adopted from Government to grass-roots. The survey aimed to reach out to a wide variety of people and not just those working with women and girls.
An online survey was conducted between 19th May and 1st June 2008 and a total of 367 stakeholders responded (27% response rate). The questionnaire asked respondents for their opinion about some of the strategy ideas, including its vision and goals, but also about potential next steps and recommendations. It also provided another opportunity to probe into what other types of supporting materials may be welcomed by people further down the delivery chain, i.e. what would be useful in any developed guidance notes.