Lessons from the pandemic will make London Sport Consultancy services more relevant and higher quality

Business Development and Partnerships Manager Jennie Rivett looks at how London Sport's consultancy services have adapted to support the sector throughout the pandemic and the opportunities that lie ahead for sport and physical activity in 2021.

The past 12 months have been unique for everyone, but here at London Sport we have continued to champion our mission to make London the most active city in the world.

We have launched our brand-new strategy, LDN Moving, to focus on the today and look positively towards the future, and have been working closely with our networks to deliver the right sport and physical activity opportunities to Londoners.

There is no denying it though, things have looked a little bit different this year. We’ve been thrown new challenges but also been provided with exciting new opportunities too.

As a team, London Sport have been helping our partners navigate the pandemic in all sorts of ways. 

We have provided policy guidance on how physical activity has been impacted by the restrictions, advised on technology solutions to keep communities engaged virtually and celebrated the achievements of those continuing to be active despite the adversity.

London Sport's consultancy services have also adapted the way we work more than ever to ensure our partners can continue to confidently commission projects to inform and enhance their services to Londoners and beyond.

From a research and insight perspective, we have been reliant on a range of online methods to capture the data we need. We were already experienced in some online tools, such a survey platforms and panels, but have had to explore new techniques too. 

This provided us with a great opportunity to learn and discover how new methods can enhance our service and subsequently which ones we will continue to use post-pandemic.

During this time, we have also been commissioned to deliver two large scale covid-19 specific digital marketing campaigns. These focused on ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups where activity levels were being disproportionately affected by the lockdown restrictions. 

Both campaigns worked with Sport England to promote the Couch to 5K and Couch to Fitness apps to these audiences as an accessible way of becoming physically active while social distancing measures were in place. The second campaign extended across England, increasing our reach and impact dramatically.

While adapting to the changing conditions, we have delivered several strategic insight projects for local authorities, supplied social prescribing training for multiple Active Partnerships and worked with Laureus Sport for Good to upskill their partners on the funding landscape.

As we move into Spring, we are starting a research project for the Port of London Authority focusing on participation and workforce and beginning to explore technology solutions with GB Snowsport.

From a consultancy perspective, we are looking forward to working with our partners post-pandemic but feel spirited that we have learnt so much over the past year that we will channel into making our services the most relevant and high-quality they have ever been.

If you would like more information on any of our projects or are interested in commissioning us contact Jennie Rivett, Business Development and Partnerships Manager.