Who we work with & why
We believe that for the sector to thrive it needs to continually invest in kind, curious and brave people. These people will be the change agents for the communities they serve. They will build welcoming environments, nurture individuals, instil belief to pursue dreams and ultimately make the world a better place.
Our professional experiences and the work we do is with, and for, the people who make sport and physical activity happen. We love working with organisations and teams who are ambitious about their people plans – creating environments and cultures which allow paid and voluntary professionals to flourish.
TESTIMONIALS
“Sporting People have unparalleled knowledge and skill when it comes to workforce strategy development. The team at Sporting People led an extensive engagement and listening exercise to gather perspectives to support the design and development of the next iteration of Sport England’s ‘Coaching Plan for England’. I have no hesitation in recommending the team at Sporting People to any organisation in the sport and physical activity sector. You would be hard pressed to find a more expert and committed team of workforce development specialists.”
Stuart Armstrong, Head of Workforce Transformation, Sport England
“Over the past 4 years we have commissioned Sporting People to work with us on a number of workforce projects. In all of these projects, their approach when working with us has been robust, challenging, supportive and most importantly highly professional. This approach has been crucial to the success Workforce Governance project that required engagement and research with multiple stakeholders across all aspects of our sector to fully understand the size, scale and complexity of the challenges our sector faces in this area, and more importantly their ability to take these stakeholders on a journey to a proposed solution.”
Spencer Moore, Director of Strategy, CIMSPA
“BBC Children in Need worked closely with the Sporting People team throughout 2022 on a research project to better understand children’s barriers to sport. Sporting People brought significant expertise in marketing and designing sporting sessions which were appealing and empowering for young people. It was great to work with the team who were adaptable and provided excellent facilitation to ensure all participants and partners felt at ease. Their final report included a wealth of insight and practical recommendations to improve inclusion for all children.”
Dina Papamichael, Impact Evaluation Manager, Children in Need
“Bringing Sporting People on board to support the development of England Netball’s People Plan has been a game changer. They could have easily come in, and written a plan on our behalf. Instead, they have dedicated extensive time to coaching and mentoring the leadership group to deliver a forward thinking plan that sets out to tackle to biggest challenges the sport faces. I couldn’t recommend the organisation more to deliver People based projects, the expertise is second to none and all team members are positive, motivating and challenging in the best way possible. Exactly what sport needs!”
Katy Ryan, Director of Development, England Netball
“Sporting People supported Active Black Country in developing our People Plan. The purpose of this plan is to ensure over a longer term we can truly develop a workforce that is reflective of our local population, better able to engage and inspire opportunities for everyone to be active. Sporting People significantly helped us to progress our work in driving, creating and leading change. Their ability to understand and make connections across a breadth of strategic drivers and with local organisations was critical in developing a local plan that clearly articulates the need of local partners and people.”
Ian Carey, Director, Active Black Country
“The team at Sporting People have been instrumental in helping to form the People, Culture and Skills framework for the sport and physical activity sector in Essex. Mitch, Jane and Beth bring a wealth of knowledge, skills and expertise in this area. This combined with their passion and ability to frame and challenge thinking is a great combination. I would recommend them to anyone looking to explore their thinking around People, Culture and Skills.”
Simon King, Strategic Lead for Sport and Physical Activity Sector, Active Essex
“The team at Sporting People provided an excellent objective view on a research and insight project to drive our long-term strategic planning at Swim England West Midlands. This included a high-level of interpersonal skill to engage with stakeholders, their ability to connect directly with customer groups and their leadership and political acumen to navigate through a complex governance model to drive a strong set of future recommendations. I would strongly recommend Sporting People to anyone looking at manging any form of change through a people lead research approach.”
Chad Ehlertsen, Director, Swim England West Midlands