Why research and insight matters for increasing physical activity in the North East

By Paul Biddle, Strategic Lead for Research and Insight

How do we know whether our work is making a difference?

It sounds like a simple question. But because we’re collaborating with partners on system change, answering it means looking beyond how many activities took place or how many people attended. We need to understand who benefited, what changed, why it changed and what we should do next.

That is the role of research and insight. The team works with colleagues and external partners to develop and deliver research, insight, monitoring and reflective practice to evidence the impact of our work. This helps us focus our efforts, improve delivery and show partners and funders what their support is helping to achieve.

Understanding the barriers to physical activity

Getting a community moving more is rarely as simple as providing another activity or facility.

Whether someone can be active depends on their health, income, confidence, access to transport, feelings of safety or the opportunities nearby. Our region has a higher deprivation score than the national average, and higher levels of health deprivation specifically, with a greater proportion of residents also reporting that their health is ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’.  Around 29% of children and adults are inactive.

Research helps us build a much clearer picture of these connected barriers. Local data matters. And so do conversations with residents, community organisations and professionals who understand their places.

Our work in Gateshead and South Tyneside is a good example. Interviews, workshops, roundtables, reflection logs and community-led research have helped partners explore how physical activity is affected by poverty, transport, housing, safety, green spaces and mental health. Dozens of partners have been involved, bringing together perspectives from councils, health services, schools, leisure providers and voluntary and community organisations.

That shared insight helps partners see where the system is getting in people’s way and what needs to change.

Using evidence to design better programmes

Research and insight are most useful when they shape the work from the beginning, not something added at the end of a project.

By identifying needs early, we can challenge assumptions, involve the right people and agree what meaningful progress would look like. A continuous cycle of monitoring, evaluation and learning then help us adapt and improve as the work develops.

Kit Out Sunderland grew from insight gathered with young people. A lack of suitable clothing and footwear was identified as a barrier to being active, particularly in communities experiencing inequalities. That evidence led to a collaborative sports kit donation and recycling pilot and in just three weeks, 224kg of clothing and footwear was collected and distributed through partners.

Insight did not simply measure the project. It helped create it.

Measuring the impact of physical activity

Our work to increase movement and physical activity makes a difference in people’s lives now, and in the future by preventing ill health. Measuring this preventative impact can be difficult – some of the benefits may take years to emerge. Changes in confidence, independence, wellbeing and social connection are also harder to capture than attendance figures.

That does not make evaluation less important. It means we need to use different forms of evidence and be open about what we are learning.

Working with an external partner to understand the financial value of our Every Move Matters initiative, we found that prescribing physical activity to manage weight costs £746 to £1,631 per Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY), and our project to tackle frailty cost £665 to £2,680 per QALY, each compared to the marginal NHS benchmark of £13,000 per QALY.

The project delivered meaningful improvements across physical activity, functional mobility and other measures. Physical activity levels increased substantially in both cohorts, with reductions in inactivity and shifts into higher activity categories. At 12-month follow-up, 97% of participants were more active and 98% reported lasting improvements in their confidence to be active. Inactivity levels fell by 37%, while participants reported reductions in anxiety, depression and pain.

Evidence like this helps us understand what is working, make improvements and build a stronger case for future investment.

Turning local data into practical action

Tools such as Moving Communities (designed for Active Partnerships and physical activity providers) and OCSI Local Insight (publicly accessible) help understand the characteristics and needs of communities.

Each brings together demographic, economic, deprivation, health, education, employment, environmental and housing data at national, regional, local and small area level. Users can compare data between areas, highlight where issues are greatest and so enable resources to be targeted where evidence shows interventions are most needed.

By identifying changes over time, we can illustrate to communities, partners, funders and policy-makers the progress being made to increase physical activity and tackle inequalities.

We’re renewing our focus on supporting partners using the Moving Communities platform, including helping them to collect and upload data so that it can calculate participation, throughput and social value. Our Research and Insight team can also help make sense of the evidence, connect different perspectives and build learning into their work. We can support this process from the earliest stages, rather than only when a programme needs to be evaluated.

Research and insight supports lasting change

Research and insight runs through every part of our strategy. It helps us understand whether our work is empowering healthier lives, reducing inequalities, strengthening communities and supporting economic growth. It also informs our focus on place, prevention and climate.

For partners and funders, it provides greater confidence that time and resources are being used where they can make the most difference. For communities, it helps ensure that decisions reflect their needs, experiences and strengths.

And for all of us, it keeps the most important questions in mind.

• Are we reaching the people and places experiencing the greatest inequalities?
• Is our work creating meaningful and lasting change?
• What are we learning?
• What should we do differently?

In a difficult funding and delivery environment, we can’t afford to treat these questions as an afterthought. Research, insight, monitoring, evaluation and learning help us make better choices and build better responses from the outset.