Doing Sport Differently Advice and Support

VicHealth has released six principles for the design and delivery of social sport programs to engage people who are less active. The principles were developed in partnership with La Trobe University’s Centre for Sport and Social Impact and based on years of evaluation of innovative sport programs.

For more information about Doing Sport Differently, visit the VicHealth website.

As the peak body for sport in Victoria, we know what life is like in a sport organisation. Our staff have worked for State Sport Associations, Regional Sports Assemblies and many of us volunteer our time in clubs over the weekend.

We are here to mentor and guide sports administrators and aim to make your job easier wherever we can. We're also working towards the same goal - more Victorians enjoying the benefits of sport and active recreation. We are offering the following:

• One-off coffee catch-up to discuss your current projects and brainstorm solutions or things you can try.
• Three coffee meetings to unpack your challenges and provide tailored guidance (we can do some research for you between meetings).

We thoroughly believe in the benefits of the Doing Sport Differently principles as a high-level guide for the design and delivery of participation programs. We’re here to help you unpack what this means in the context of your current or future projects.

We can host workshops at a time and place that suits you. Ideally this will involve multiple staff from your organisation. You might also include board members, coaches or club volunteers. Each workshop will generally run for two to three hours.

Workshop topics available include:

• Engaging you target audience. Successful social sport programs are based on the needs and motivations of specific target markets. In this workshop we’ll focus on who your target market is, where you might find them and how to engage with them. You’ll leave with a plan to engage your target audience and develop useful insights using techniques such as empathy mapping.
• Planning for feedback. We all make assumptions, and while some may be correct, a wrong assumption un-checked can bring a good idea undone. In this workshop we’ll identify assumptions, refine and prioritise them, and develop a plan for you to test assumptions with your target market. You’ll leave with a sharper focus and a plan to systematically gather critical feedback.
• Customer Experience. In a world where group fitness has gone global (think CrossFit, F45), consumers demand a quality experience and don’t discriminate between professional and volunteer run activities. This workshop will allow you to review your programs against the five customer experience touchpoints identified in Principle 2 of Doing Sport Differently. You’ll leave with a plan to strengthen your execution of these touchpoints by putting customers’ needs at the heart of your program.
• Participation pathway. Traditional sport pathways end with elite participation and people tend to either funnel towards that or drop off. Yet, people who are less active tend to seek different forms of social and/or competitive participation across their lifetime. In this workshop, we’ll assess the gaps an opportunities your organisation has to offer more than just pathways to club membership. You’ll leave with a plan for how your current or new social sport programs can be designed to retain participants interested in social participation.
• Bespoke workshop. Would you like to workshop a challenge related to social sport which does not fit with the above? Let us know and we’ll be happy to tailor something to suit your needs.

We’d love to spread the message far and wide and help get your workforce on board with Doing Sport Differently. We can provide a presentation highlighting the insights and examples of successful social sport programs like Soccer Mums, Rock Up Netball or Bowling with Babies.

Presentations can run for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes and include time for Q&A.

Consider this for:

• Staff meetings or Friday drinks
• Club development forums
• Your next AGM