Active Lincolnshire 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.

We will receive expertise, support and an investment of £2.7m of government and National Lottery funding from Sport England over the next 5 years to co-deliver its ambitious 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.

Active Lincolnshire will work with organisations and groups through our local strategy for physical activity Let’s Move Lincolnshire, to provide access and opportunities for everyone to be active. Together, we seek to build physical activity back into the daily lives of Lincolnshire residents; through working in partnership with sectors such as health and care, community and voluntary organisations, local authorities and the physical activity, leisure and sport sector. We know that some people face greater barriers to participation in physical activity and we will focus our efforts on making access to opportunities to be active as inclusive and equitable as possible.

Increased activity levels will support more cohesive communities, skills and employability, have a positive impact on economic prosperity – and, really importantly, help people feel positive and support their mental health and overall sense of wellbeing. Let’s Move Lincolnshire will help more people enjoy the benefits of being more active, more often, in ways that they enjoy.

Over £550million is being invested in total, with the partners including Active Lincolnshire 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. But we know that certain groups – like women, older adults, people with long-term health conditions, people with a disability, people from ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups are more likely to be inactive. 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.”

Emma Tatlow, Chief Executive of Active Lincolnshire said “This very welcome five year investment from Sport England enables Active Lincolnshire to provide the strategic coordination and communication for physical activity. We connect across multiple sectors, enabling people to build physical activity into their own work. Our role is around influence, advocacy and bringing organisations together to create long term sustainable change. We aim to tackle inequalities that people face in participation, advocating for equity and to really understand the people we are working to support. The Let’s Move Lincolnshire movement is a collaborative response to tackling the challenge of inactivity; and the Sport England investment into Active Lincolnshire will enable us to drive that strategy forward.”

image: courtesy Hub Dance Team, Sleaford