The Tackling Inequalities Fund forms part of a £210 million support package provided by Sport England to help the sport and physical activity sector through the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.
Shortly after restrictions on exercising and guidelines around social distancing were introduced in late March, Sport England commissioned Savanta ComRes to conduct regular surveys assessing people’s activity levels and attitudes to physical activity.
Based on early insight from the survey, it quickly become clear that certain groups of people were being disproportionately affected by the pandemic and it was significantly impacting their ability to be physically active.
In response, the Tackling Inequalities Fund has been created to try and help reduce the negative impact on activity levels in these under-represented groups, with a specific focus on:
Lower socio-economic groups
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities
Disabled people
People with long-term health conditions
This £20m fund of National Lottery money will enable community groups working with these audiences to continue to exist and engage with their communities, with a view to keeping them active during both the lockdown and early recovery stages.
This is a targeted fund that's been designed to deal with the ‘here and now’ issues caused as a result of coronavirus and aims to support community organisations working with priority audiences so they have a future to plan for. This support is intended to meet immediate need up until October.
Each partner we're working with has an extensive network and reach to community organisations where we know there's an immediate need, and who may not be reached through traditional channels.
Active Partnerships
In order to reach those community groups in most need, Sport England will be working through their network of 43 Active Partnerships to connect funding to where it's needed locally. Utilising their expertise, networks and local insight, Active Partnerships will play a key role in connecting local systems and allocating funds.
While the need for this funding will be defined locally, the types of activity that might be funded could include:
Funding for community groups to find new ways of keeping active during this time
Offering advice and training support
Increasing resilience, capacity and capability of delivery bodies
National Partners
Sport England will be working with a number of national partners who have specific expertise engaging with their priority audiences. Sport England will continue to identify new national partners that can provide the additional reach into specific communities, helping them to distribute funding to where it's needed across England.
Information sourced at sportengland.org