In the US we’re collaborating with strategically relevant partners and bringing the expertise we’ve built in the UK and Europe to fuel solutions in this new market

Give us an update on Moving Communities
4Global is part of the team which runs the public sector Moving Communities project on behalf of Sport England, along with Sheffield Hallam University, Right Directions and Active Insight.

Now three years old, Moving Communities has created a sector-wide collective based on data-sharing and actionable insight. More than 1,300 facilities, from 300 local authorities, have access to the platform to unlock the benefits of this shared data and insight.

The latest report, published in August, includes two years of post-lockdown data and is the largest sample we’ve ever had. Essentially, Moving Communities has shifted the conversation from being based on anecdotal evidence to research-based insight. It drives clear KPIs, benchmarks and trends that are applicable nationally and locally, so local authorities and operators can understand what is and isn’t working.

What does the latest report say about the state of the public sector?
The overarching theme of the report is of resilience and recovery within public sector leisure, across what has been a pretty tough time. There are still big operational and financial challenges – including staffing and utility costs – and making sure sites have got the right resources and the capability to meet local community needs.

The data shows participation is increasing, with 96 per cent of respondents saying they intend to exercise at least once a week at their leisure centre over the next six months. The social value increased by almost £50 million between 2022/23 and 2023/4 to £890.60 million, which is an average of £119.38 per person. The total health savings were calculated at £146.30 million.

Communities in deprived areas have increased participation by 9 per cent…
It’s really positive to see a 9 per cent increase across the lower Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) groups, but we must drive this harder and there are things that we can do to increase participation and engagement across these groups. These goals sit at the heart of Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy that has tackling inequalities at its core.

While the lower IMD groups are showing the fastest growing percentage increase in participation, theirs remain the lowest actual participation numbers, however, these results do show that the interventions that are happening are starting to work – the question is how to scale and turbocharge this.

We need to zoom in on some of those examples that show best practice in engaging those communities and then work collectively to accelerate them locally.

The Net Promoter Score has decreased from 32 in October 2021 to 22. Why is this?
This seems to be driven by female and younger users, who are giving lower scores in both overall satisfaction and specifically with a focus on cleanliness. Research from our industry focus groups carried out by Moving Communities’ consortium partner, Active Insight, also suggests there’s dissatisfaction with booking and programming decisions that were implemented during the pandemic and haven’t been reversed.

Customer expectations have risen and I think we need to understand the gap between those expectations and what people are receiving on the ground. The important thing is we have the data to understand this gap in customer expectation and the actionable-insight to address this.

Only 11 per cent of facilities achieved an excellent Quest score which is lower than before the pandemic...
I think the Quest scores are probably indicative of the broader challenges we’ve discussed across the public sector: stretched resources on the ground and possibly resources being focused in different areas. The sector needs to continue to invest in staff training and strive for operational excellence so the user journey is smooth, enjoyable and a positive experience for all customers. Continuous improvement should be at the heart of everything.

How much of an issue is staffing and the difficulty to fill roles?
Staff costs have gone up, so naturally that causes a pressure point. And as the sector looks at its role in the health agenda it’s going to start to require different skills of its workforce. I think that’s naturally going to cause a financial pressure point, but we’ve got to make sure the offer meets the needs of local communities. Going forward this will have to be a focus area and we’re really pleased to be working with our partner, CIMSPA on understanding workforce trends better.

The biggest drop off in participation is in the over 40s? To what do you attribute that?
This demographic comes up against various barriers, including time constraints because of families or jobs, as well as health issues. It’s a challenge for the sector to make sure we’ve got a varied and engaging offer with flexible scheduling, understanding the customer base and ensuring the experience is welcoming and accessible to people over 40.

It comes back to really understanding the target group and not making assumptions. We’ve got really solid data and insight now to understand that particular group. Also, it’s important to ensure there’s capability and capacity on the ground to deliver a positive and enjoyable customer journey.

What’s happening with the European Data Hub?
It’s been two years since the full launch of the European Data Hub and we’ve seen it grow from strength to strength, providing EuropeActive with data and insight to demonstrate the scale, the impact and the value of the European health and fitness market.

It’s a collaborative sector effort, working in partnership with technology partners, associations and other sector specialists. We’ve got more than 5,000 health clubs feeding data into the European Data Hub now, which gives us data on more than 15 million members and we’re seeing the sector growing in size, value and impact.

There was a 5 per cent increase in the number of clubs in 2023 and an 11 per cent increase in the number of members per club, which is really positive.

Income per club increased by 14 per cent and the total social value is up by 10.6 per cent across that sample size, which was worth €8.57 billion last year.

What’s 4Global doing in the US?
In the US we’re collaborating with strategically relevant partners and bringing the expertise we’ve built in the UK and Europe to fuel solutions in this new market. By leveraging DataHub as the engine behind our offerings we’re well positioned to meet the unique needs of key customers and drive impactful results.

We initially entered the US market in 2023 by partnering with the Health and Fitness Association (formerly IHRSA). Our focus is on sector advocacy, health impact and delivering actionable business intelligence to help reshape perceptions of the fitness industry. We aim to demonstrate that the industry is not just a “nice-to-have” but a critical pillar in promoting health and wellbeing.

In addition, strategic channel partnerships are at the core of our growth strategy in the region. We recently announced our social value integration with Daxko (www.daxko.com) as part of a larger strategy, complementing our long-standing relationship with Jonas and expanding our reach across multiple sectors. By combining 4Global’s data and insights with our partners’ platforms and product expertise, we’re unlocking significant opportunities for private and public sector operators.

And you’re in the sports market too...
Within the sport system, our flagship partnerships include US Soccer, supporting its national participation growth plans heading into the 2025 FIFA World Cup, the Future of Hockey Lab, leveraging our technology and data expertise to improve equitable access to ice-rinks for all and developing a Canadian social value model for children and young people and strategy in partnership with sport for development charity, Canadian Tire Jumpstart.

With several projects already underway, we’re excited about the growth and momentum building in this new market and look forward to expanding our impact even further.

You’ve personally been a strong advocate of building physical literacy skills in children...
Working with children in sport and physical activity is where I started my career and it will always be a huge passion and key area of interest for me. My favourite part of the week is leading the warm-up at my local junior park run!

I have a deep interest in physical literacy. Ultimately it’s about increasing regular participation in sport and physical activity for children and young people, recognising that all children, across all age groups, have a relationship, however changeable, with physical activity.

Rather than taking the traditional approach to sport, I think we need to zoom out and unlock our thinking. Sport England has done some brilliant work around the consensus statement for physical literacy that provides a strong platform for policy investment and practice reform.

We can also apply that on a higher policy and investment level, looking at how we challenge ourselves to engage broader groups of children. We need to be asking how inclusive the offering is and whether or not we’re putting the individual’s thoughts, feelings and their relationship with physical activity at the heart of decision making.

While we still need to work on opportunity, we’ve also got to focus on accessibility: considering how confident and capable the child or young person feels turning up to the opportunity. Unless they feel confident, capable and included it doesn’t matter how many opportunities are provided.