Work advances on Australia’s National Sport Participation Strategy Participation

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has advised that work on the country’s first National Sport Participation Strategy has taken “a significant step forward” as it moves into the next phase of development.

Working with sector stakeholders to facilitate the development of the codesigned strategy, which aims to transform the way participation is connected, delivered and supported in Australia, the ASC has advised that the Strategy’s latest phase, which started this week, will see experts from across the sector focus on specific content areas raised following months of consultation.

This will see workshops held in every state and territory to consult with key stakeholders on ideas, opportunities and barriers to participating in sport, and an online survey which received nearly 6,500 responses.

Aiming to reimagine how participation is delivered in Australia, the National Sport Participation Strategy has explained that six specific themes (pillars) have been identified as critical to Australia’s success in engaging more participants in sport:

Access - ensuring everyone can access sporting opportunities 

Create spaces - creating and improving spaces so that they are fit for purpose for active communities 

Elevate - creating a capable and engaged workforce 

Experience - embracing new participations and creating a lifelong involvement in sport 

Connect - improving ways for working within and across organisations who support, fund and provide sporting experiences 

Transform - transforming the culture within and around sport to ensure positivity and inclusivity

In a statement released today, the ASC notes “an important component in the pillar development and interconnected co-design will be the integration of the identified strategic ‘enablers’ of diversity, equity and inclusion, data, measurement and evaluation, advocacy and promotion, and digital and technology. These enablers will be embedded across all six of the pillar discussions.

“Pillar Working Groups have been set up and will meet weekly for three weeks to provide feedback and ideas to assist in the development of the strategy by identifying clear objectives, purpose, and scope, key actions and measurable outcomes to address the identified priorities.

“The Pillar Working Groups are made up of an ASC representative, Project Steering Group (PSG) members and experts from national sporting organisations, national sporting organisations for people with disability, professional sporting clubs, state sporting organisations, state and territory governments, regional competition deliverers, community and advocacy organisations and local government.

“Working Groups will then report back to the PSG who will ensure the work aligns with the overarching strategy and will contribute to its successful implementation. Further community consultation and co-design sessions will occur during August and September to test, refine and iterate the national strategy ahead of its launch later this year.”

Commentators on the process have expressed concerns that the Strategy is focussing on traditional club-based sporting models and not addressing less formal and generally non-membership-based sport and physical activity.

Click here to find out more about the Strategy. www.ausport.gov.au/participation2032