Since September 2024, Rise and its local partners in Gateshead and South Tyneside have been working towards Sport England’s Place Expansion Development Award. This initiative is aimed at tackling inequalities in physical activity through a whole systems, place-based approach.
As we pass the 12-month point of the 18-month Development Award, it’s time to reflect on the progress made and the insights gained.
What’s been achieved so far?
Between April and October 2025, Rise and its local partners have been working hard to lay the groundwork for lasting change. Key activities include:
- Community engagement to gather insights into the barriers and enablers of being physically active
- Formation of local partnership groups to strengthen collaboration
- Participation in the Leading the Movement System Leadership programme.
- Mapping of physical activity assets across both areas to better understand the areas
What we’ve learned
By engaging with local communities, we have identified several enablers and barriers to physical activity:
Enablers:
- Organisations and services engaging directly with individuals to help them take up physical activity opportunities, for example by providing 1-2-1 inductions for activities.
- Organisations and services providing local communities with the skills, knowledge, resources and other assets to exercise greater control over the enablers to physical activity.
- Local authorities, leisure providers and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations working together around shared physical activity goals.
Barriers:
- Antisocial behaviour in parks and play areas discouraging their use for physical activity.
- The day-to-day pressures of poverty preventing people from being active.
- Established ways of working unintentionally hindering actions or efforts to increase physical activity, for example form filling functioning as a barrier to accessing services for residents with limited literacy.
- Individuals and communities not being able to easily access green spaces.
What’s Next?
To build on the momentum, the partnership is planning several strategic actions:
- Amplify insight gathering through working with and supporting locally trusted community organisations.
- Creating accessible resources to explain place-based, whole systems working.
- Led by insight and communities, trial approaches to understand what works and what doesn’t in enabling residents to become physically active
Want to dive deeper into the details? Download the full evaluation report here.