Development and Diplomacy

Create national or international strategies and programmes that leverage sport for social and policy outcomes - ranging from increasing diplomatic soft power to reducing health costs.

We know that community sport is one of the most underutilised assets in global development & diplomacy - especially in health, for social cohesion and for building bridges within and between communities.

We help foreign & development ministries, sports ministries, municipal authorities, and international bodies design frameworks that deliver high impact public policy outcomes, in line with their priorities.

We work with our practitioner partners to deliver multi-sport programmes and projects to realise this strategic ambition.

International Strategic Advisory

Leveraging 20+ years of UK Foreign Office (FCDO) and diplomatic expertise at the UN, we advise government and administrative bodies on integrating grassroots sport into international soft power, development, international trade, and multilateral policy agendas. We create strategies and have the partners to implement them.

National Action Plans

We help governments design and deliver community-level sport based initiatives, with our academic and practitioner partners, that measurably reduce healthcare burden and foster social cohesion - whilst providing economic return on investment.

Additional Advisory Capabilities

Creating social legacy programmes from large sporting events: engaging community in the build up to major tournaments and building lasting, impactful social legacy through the creation of community owned initiatives.
Cross-Departmental Engagement: Positioning community sport as a cost effective tool to deliver priority social outcomes, uniting government departments and unlocking major non-sport funding streams (ie across Health, Foreign Affairs, Social Cohesion policy holders).
Government to Government Engagement: promoting inter-governmental and multi-lateral relations through mutually beneficial sport-based opportunities.
Government, NGB and Community Sport Organisation Alignment: Bridging communication gaps between state priorities and grassroots practice.

Highlights

UK Sports Diplomacy

We provide strategic advice to the UK Foreign Office and Department for Culture, Media & Sport on how to leverage community sport for social development and soft power, sitting alongside representatives of professional sporting associations on the Government's strategic working group.
Run With Us

Working with the Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development alongside Emirati and international colleagues, we co-designed the award-winning Degayeg programme. Targeted at inactive communities but open to all, this also included a free weekly timed 5k event, Run With Us, operating in parks and open spaces across the Emirate.
Griot, Kenya

We provided a roadmap for engaging UK community sport practitioners with communities across Kenya to deliver social programmes that supplement the work and aims of Griot - an environmental and clean water production consultancy.
Leeds Summit on Community Sport for Development & Diplomacy

Together with The University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, we co-hosted the inaugural Summit on Community Sport for Development & Diplomacy, attended by over 80 leaders in sport and resulting in the 'Leeds Declaration' and call to action.
2030 World Cup Legacy Planning

Hosted by the UK Government, we provided advice on how to create social legacy resulting from the 2030 World Cup during a UK Morocco trade and investment summit in Rabat and Casablanca.
Wilton Park / Embassy of Qatar

Participating at a Wilton Park and Government of Qatar event to think strategically around how community sport can be a force for diplomatic soft power and global good, alongside UN and University colleagues.
Community Sport for UN Diplomacy

We have worked with the United Nations to include community sport as an element within their sport diplomacy strategy and contributed to their Masters programme for diplomat practitioners.
This Woman Runs

Working closely with the Founder and CEO of This Woman Runs, Mel Bound, we delivered a full review of their impact and operations. As a result of this we supported their recruitment of a full-time operations manager, and the development of a more scalable and sustainable programme design.
MOVE Against Cancer

We supported their Chair, Founders, and executive team through a successful recruitment process for a new Chief Executive, David Henderson. Once David was in post, we then provided ongoing strategic support to MOVE Against Cancer around future direction and programme design.
Tim Holtam

Tom has supported Tim over a number of years as he has supported, grown, and developed his brilliant community initiative, Brighton Table Tennis Club. This process has focussed on effective decision making, culture change, identifying values and priorities, and strategy development.
ParkPlay

Working with Board and executive team at ParkPlay, we carried out a full programme review, reflecting on everything from charitable objects to detailed operational processes. This work is ongoing as we support strategic decision making aimed at delivering sustainable impact at scale.
Park Yoga

Supporting Park Yoga’s Executive Director, Cathi Farrer-Michel, through regular one-to-one calls and contributions to strategic leadership discussions with board members and other key stakeholders.
The Sunday K (Australia)

Working with the leadership team at The Sunday K, we provide ongoing support around the challenges faced (now and in the future) when taking a local grass-roots community sport initiative to national (and perhaps one day international) scale.
The Man Walk (Australia)

Working closely with The Man Walk Founder and CEO, we provide ongoing support across all areas of strategic and day-to-day decision making, with a specific focus on participation data capture and analysis.