Sport Ireland launched a new Statement of Strategy last week which will set the tone for the next four years and bring its own planning up to the conclusion of the ten-year National Sports Policy which has been a consistent guide since it was first launched in 2018.

Over the course of this week and next, we are looking at a number of key elements within the Statement of Strategy, diving into the 28 High-Level Strategic Objectives across three Core Focus Areas of Sport Development Services; Leadership and Governance; and Social Responsibility.

It is appropriate today, that on the day we are writing about the ‘Staffing Crisis’ being called out in advance of the Budget, that we should be looking at the three areas outlined for Volunteering and Workforce development

 

Sport Ireland Strategy – Volunteering and Workforce Development

Volunteer development – To invest in supporting the sport sector to improve the volunteer experience, to make it more enjoyable and meaningful. Support the building of a more diverse volunteer base.

 

Volunteering took a major hit during Covid, breaking the link that drew people into giving more time than they might have imagined across local community, sporting and other groups.

It has not bounced back in the same way as participation has and this means that the provision of enough services to meet demand is being severely compromised.

People realised that they could do other things with their time, though the hope remains that the benefit gained from being a volunteer, sometimes more difficult to explain than to experience, will lead to a return to the numbers that once were there and which are sorely needed.

The Strategy highlights the need of working closer with National Volunteer Agencies and make it more open to others beyond the traditional family networks.

It will be challenging given the more onerous demands of regulation in the areas of Garda Vetting and Safeguarding but perhaps a more up-to-date vetting process that can apply across multiple activities needs to be pressed for.

 

 

To support the sport sector to improve their capability by providing support, interventions and organisational development programmes.

 

Sport was described yesterday by the CEO of one particular sport as a ‘yellow pack’ employer, meaning that wages and opportunities are low, and benefits from health insurance to pension are very limited.

It attracts good people but is finding it harder in times of full employment to hold onto them.

Creating networks and developing transferrable skills are important but increased funding towards staff is essential in order to back up the funding of programmes and facilities that the Government has made available.

 

Design, facilitate and evaluate a range of fit-for-purpose, role-specific networks to build collaboration and capability within and between funded organisations in the sport sector and with other sectors.

 

Creating networks and developing transferrable skills are important but increased funding towards staff is essential in order to back up the funding of programmes and facilities that the Government has made available.

Sport Ireland is an enabler of the sporting organisations.  The aspiration in the Strategic Plan is good but it will be increasingly urgent to make concrete development progress as the drain of trained and enthusiastic staff is a real danger.