Active Essex is amongst a group of over 120 organisations working in partnership with Sport England to level up access to sport and physical activity across the country.
Active Essex will receive expertise, support and an investment of government and National Lottery funding from Sport England to co-deliver the ambitious of its 10-year Uniting the Movement strategy.
Sport England research shows that some groups are typically less active – like women, people with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups. Right now, the opportunities to get involved in sport and activity – and reap the rewards of being active – depend too much on your background, your gender, your bank balance and your postcode.
This funding will be significant in helping Essex achieve what was set out in their Fit for the Future Strategy, launched July 2021. The investment and vital partnership with Sport England will help to tackle the inequalities that prevail across the county, level up access to physical activity opportunities and help more people find the activity that’s right for them.
Over £550million is being invested in total, with the partners including Active Essex receiving funding for up to five years. This new funding model from Sport England provides longer-term financial security as organisations recover and reinvent from the Covid-19 pandemic.
All partner organisations were selected by Sport England due to their ability to influence change and improvement at the heart of the system they are a part of, no matter how big or small. This is the first step on a journey to revolutionise Sport England’s approach to long-term partnerships as it seeks to partner and collaborate with innovative organisations to deliver Uniting the Movement and build a nation where everyone can get active.
Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “Sport England’s goal is to get everyone active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is. We can only innovate and tackle inequalities effectively by thinking about long-term change; Uniting the Movement is a long-term vision, and our funding approach needs to reflect that. Changes to our funding model will help us achieve our goal, by making it easier for our partners to do what they need to do to level up and deliver.”
