Gloucestershire Active Together Evaluation: Final Report

Gloucestershire County Council’s (GCC) Active Together (AT) programme aimed to help encourage more participation in sport and physical activity across the county and was open to a range of community groups, from sports clubs to scout groups and parish and town councils, and schools.

In September 2014 the University of Gloucestershire was commissioned Public Health Gloucestershire to evaluate the AT programme as a means of establishing evidence of whether the programme was a good way of using funds to encourage greater participation in health enhancing activities.

Using a mixed methods approach incorporating a Social Return on Investment framework the evaluation sought to understand and value the changes that occurred as a consequence of projects implemented with AT funding.

Key findings
• As at 15th September, 2016 a total of 404 applications had been made to Gloucestershire County Council in respect of AT funding.
• Registered charities (24.3%) and sports groups and associations (22.7%) accounted for the majority of applications.
• Just over one-third of applications were made to purchase sports equipment or to refurbish a sports facility
• Social activities and physical activity (52.7%) and sports (38.1%) provided the focus of activities.
• 46.3% of applications were focused on capital and staff development.

Simplicity and flexibility, rapid access to funding, and sustainability and development opportunities were highlighted as key benefits.

• Findings of the SROI exercise suggest that every £1 invested in Active Together has returned £7.25 to society in the form of social and economic outcomes across the three outcome areas.

• Subject to the limitations of case study scope and related issues, this represents an indicative 725% return on investment for the Active Together programme.

• The findings indicate that the programme is producing around two thirds of its societal return in the areas of health and well-being, followed by community connections and resources, and then education and skills.