Get Active: a strategy for the future of sport and physical activity · first published 29 August 2023
Get Active is a national strategy published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in August 2023. It sets ambitions to get 2.5 million more active adults and 1 million more active children in England by 2030, and outlines how Sport England, UK Sport and other arm's-length bodies will direct public funding toward inactive and underrepresented groups. It is not a procurement policy note and does not change evaluation weightings, award criteria, contract thresholds or supplier requirements. Its relevance to small businesses is indirect: organisations that deliver sport, physical activity, community health or youth programmes may see funding flows shift toward grassroots facilities, children, disabled people, women and deprived areas — but this document does not open, close or alter any specific tender.
WHO THIS APPLIES TO
THE ENKII VIEW
For SMEs active in sport delivery, community health, outdoor activity or youth work, this strategy signals where Sport England and DCMS grant and commissioning money will be concentrated through 2030 — namely inactive groups, deprived geographies, disabled people and children. The £230 million multi-sport grassroots facilities programme and the requirement that at least 75% of Sport England place investment goes to areas with the lowest activity levels are the most concrete funding signals. However, because this is a strategy document rather than a procurement policy note, no bidding rules change today; the opportunity is to align your organisation's offer and evidence base with these stated priorities ahead of future funding rounds.
1. Audit your current programme data against the government's priority inactive groups (disabled people, women, adults 55+, least affluent NS-SEC 6-8, Asian and Black adults, children under 60 mins/day) and make sure you can produce evidence of reach and impact for each group you serve.
SMEs delivering sport, physical activity or community health programmes — The strategy explicitly states that all publicly funded organisations will be expected to account for how they are addressing inactivity ambitions, and that funding will be targeted at these specific groups.
2. Check Sport England's current funding rounds and pipeline, and position bids to show your work is located in or serves areas with the lowest physical activity levels — referencing Active Partnerships geographies where possible.
SMEs delivering grassroots sport or facility-based services in deprived areas — The strategy sets a target that at least 75% of Sport England place investment goes to areas with the lowest activity and social outcomes, signalling a strong geographic preference in future grant decisions.
3. Frame your funding applications around measurable outcomes tied to the five Sporting Future outcomes (physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, individual development, social/community development, economic development) and the 2030 participation targets, not just activity numbers.
SMEs in sport, outdoor activity or youth work seeking public funding — The strategy introduces a new evidence-based measure of success and states that public funding must demonstrate support for the strategy's ambitions and targets.
4. Align your school offer with the Chief Medical Officers' guideline of 60 minutes of physical activity per day for children, and engage with the School Games Organiser network and any forthcoming evaluation — being able to show your programme contributes to closing the children's inactivity gap strengthens future bids.
SMEs delivering children's sport or school-based physical activity programmes — The strategy targets over 1 million more active children by 2030 and is commissioning an independent evaluation of school sport programmes, which could open new commissioning opportunities.
5. Develop or document your inclusive offer — adaptive sessions, accessible facilities, trained coaches — as the strategy signals a specific target of 0.7 million more active disabled people and the £230 million grassroots facilities programme carries explicit targets on access for underrepresented groups.
SMEs with experience in disability sport, adaptive equipment or inclusive coaching — The strategy states that the £230 million multi-sport grassroots facilities programme has 'explicit targets on improving access for underrepresented groups', making disability inclusion a funded priority.
This briefing is enkii's interpretation of the official document — the official text always governs.
Source document © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0 via the GOV.UK Content API. enkii tracks every Procurement Policy Note and briefs changes the day they land — see all briefings.