London Sport joins with AudienceNet to investigate women's perceptions of physical activity

London Sport are linking up with research agency AudienceNet to learn how physical activity and sport is perceived, delivered and led by women in some of the most ethnically diverse areas in East London.

Working alongside London Sport Awards winners West Ham United Foundation, and Essex County Cricket Foundation, Leyton Orient Trust and Sport England, the research will focus on the what influences women’s decisions and behaviours relative to physical activity and sport participation.

The programme will develop key insights into the role influencers have on groups of women, leading to the identification of social, cultural, ethnic and life-stage factors influencing behaviour and attitudes to physical activity and sport.

’Influencers’, within the scope of this projects, refers to any person, group, organisation, facility, communication platform or outlet whereby individuals or groups are likely to engage with the information they receive.

The project will align with London Sport’s own segmentation research of inactive Londoners to identify groups of inactive women based on ethnic, social, cultural and life-stage factors.

It will look to develop a set of personas for each identified female sub-group and work alongside their key influencers to shape opportunities to increase physical activity participation.

A key element of the project will be turning the insights into guidance and recommendations that practitioners can use to engage and reach inactive women from these specific communities.

This will include the creation of a customer journey mapping framework, from initial engagement to participation in local physical activity offers.

Tristan Farron-Mahon, London Sport’s Insight Consultancy Manager, said:

“It’s great to be working with AudienceNet and our wider project partners on this exciting research which will have real and tangible benefits for women in East London.

“As well as learning how to improve the way we engage with women and girls in London, we’re confident our findings will be relevant across the capital and in other parts of England due to the uniqueness of this approach.”

John Arthur, Relationship Manager for Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge and Newham, said:

“Women in East London have lower levels of activity than the London average which is something we’re working hard to understand and tackle.

“There is no silver bullet to combat this inequality which is why we must conduct thorough research to understand all the factors at play and begin to remove the barriers to participation.”

Sania Haq, Project lead and Head of Research at AudienceNet, said:

“We’re delighted to have been chosen by London Sport to be a partner on this exciting project which will see us develop deep and meaningful insights on their East London audience.

“Well designed, valid and actionable behavioural research can make all the difference, we look forward to bringing insights to life with London Sport to ensure it achieves maximum impact on future approaches to engaging women in East London in physical activity and sport.”

About London Sport Consultancy

To help support organisations that share our goal of a more active London, London Sport Consultancy offers bespoke project consultancy that taps into our specialist expertise in insight, digital marketing and funding.

About AudienceNet

AudienceNet are a full service social and consumer research agency, connecting clients to their audience through innovative methodologies. They combine traditional methodologies with connected technologies to provide access to audiences and deliver the most empowering solutions.