STRATEGIC PLAN 2014 16
INTRODUCTION CONTENTS Introduction 3 Vicsport s Purpose 4 STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Member Capacity 6 Non-affiliated Participation 7 Volunteering 8 Government Relations 9 Financial Diversity 10 Communication and Brand 11 Vicsport s task, which drives its direction and enthusiasm, is to encourage and assist more Victorians and Victorian communities to enjoy the enormous benefits that sport and active recreation can provide. Sport and active recreation is the single largest community sector in the state. For over 30 years Vicsport has represented the sector providing advice, assistance and support to its members and the broader sports community. The constituency includes 16,000 clubs and associations and an estimated 1.8 million participants, paid staff and volunteers who make a significant contribution to the social, physical, mental and economic well being of our communities. Vicsport (formally the Sports Federation of Victoria) has a strong history of representing sport and active recreation organisations on issues where a collective response is needed. Over the past several recent years Vicsport has provided these entities information and services with targeted work on governance, strategy and participation to enable sports bodies to increase their capacity to better manage themselves in the interests of their members and participants. In 2012 the Vicsport board embarked upon a programme to revitalise the organisation to ensure that it was able to continue to represent the sport and active recreation sector to the highest of standards. The result has been this strategic plan Vicsport 2014 2016. The process to develop Vicsport 2014 2016 included a number of innovative activities one being a stakeholder forum at the iconic Leo Berry s Gym in Richmond and the engagement of Sport Business Partners (with valued financial support from VicHealth) to support the development of Vicsport s new strategic direction. Vicsport 2014 16 not only aims to address challenges currently facing Vicsport but also SPORT AND ACTIVE RECREATION IS THE SINGLE LARGEST COMMUNITY SECTOR IN THE STATE. FOR OVER 30 YEARS VICSPORT HAS REPRESENTED THE SECTOR PROVIDING ADVICE, ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT TO ITS MEMBERS AND THE BROADER SPORTS COMMUNITY to tackle the compelling issues of the era being experienced by Vicsport members and the broader sports business community including non-organised participants and how to best harness the power of volunteers. Vicsport values and thanks its long term partners, Sport & Recreation Victoria and VicHealth, for their support over many years which has enabled Vicsport to deliver services which have helped state sport associations, in particular, grow and develop to ensure they in turn are best able to assist their members and stakeholders. The relationships with these two important organisations will continue to be paramount in coming years. In reading this document it is to be noted that the reference to members and stakeholders is to be read as broadly as possible as Vicsport looks to service these groups and the wider sports community and sports industry. After numerous discussions, workshops, drafts and re-drafts, the Vicsport Board is delighted to present Vicsport 2014 16 which will guide the organisation through the short term future and establish initiatives which aim to lay the foundation for Vicsport s long term future and success as Victoria s peak body for sport and active recreation. 2 3
VICSPORT S PURPOSE Vicsport s essential purpose is to advance Victorian sport and active recreation, by building the capacity and capability of members and stakeholders to encourage and enable greater participation. Vicsport s ultimate aim is to improve the experience of participants; the players, the coaches, the officials, the administrators and the volunteers. Vicsport provides benefits to members and stakeholders, who in turn provide benefits to participants as follows; STRATEGIC PRIORITIES THE BENEFIT DELIVERY MODEL Members and Stakeholders* INDIRECT INFLUENCE Organised Participants Non-organised Participants Including SSAs, LGAs, Clubs, Private Providers, government stakeholders etc. 4 5
NON-AFFILIATED PARTICIPATION There are growing numbers of non-affiliated participants, clubs, groups and associations in Victorian sport and active recreation. Vicsport will assist members and stakeholders to engage with them. MEMBER CAPACITY Vicsport will advance Victorian sport and active recreation by increasing the capacity and capability of members to be achieved by providing services and information that they cannot readily access or do not wish to access on their own. Vicsport will provide access to, and drive, research on key industry trends by Developing an online Vicsport Solution Centre which will contain current information on a small number of specific topics relevant to Victorian sport including; Case studies; Vicsport will develop the knowledge to become the leader in the non-affiliated participation space and will also develop solutions and facilitate strategic thinking on the issue Consider industry academic research Conduct focus sessions or one-on-one s with sports and active recreation entities to clarify the challenges being experienced and the specific issues Identify successful case studies including models from overseas or like industries Understand the needs of these participants i.e. why they choose not to belong to established organisations Develop the key principles for engaging the non-affiliated participant Display knowledge and solutions through the Solution Centre Research including summaries and advice for practical application; Other information relevant to members and stakeholders Formalise a referral process for frequent queries; Develop and conduct an annual organisation survey to identify issues and benchmark standards across the industry Vicsport will conduct SSA operations benchmarking against the industry Consult with Government agencies/departments regarding existing initiatives such as health checks for NSOs Develop a template as required for best-practice operations financial, HR, governance, online/social, database, marketing, business risk, policies & procedures, participation (pathways and events) Develop the process for conducting the benchmarking Conduct annual benchmarking with SSAs/other organisations Submit final benchmarking reports to each SSA/other organisation 6 7
VOLUNTEERING The change in the reasons why people volunteer, and the way they do it, is providing many challenges for sport. Vicsport will assist members and interested organisations to deal with the changing nature of volunteering in the face of further governance and compliance obligations. Highlight the importance of, and assist with the development of volunteer strategies Collate insights, recommendations and training tools from previous research and case studies and publish in the Solution Centre Develop a workshop program to assist State Sporting Associations (SSAs), Local Government Authorities (LGAs), Regional Sports Assemblies (RSAs), Clubs, Associations and private providers with changing trends e.g. micro-volunteering and volunteer levies Explore a more formalised program for volunteer training delivered by Vicsport Identify policy initiatives to encourage volunteering Research and test potential policy initiatives with members and stakeholders Develop a detailed policy initiative to reduce the barriers to volunteering e.g. council rates, tax relief, premium/fee reductions GOVERNMENT RELATIONS A core function of Vicsport is to represent its members and advocate on issues which will advance Victorian sport and active recreation. Vicsport will develop a government relations strategy for the three levels of government Understand Vicsport s value to the industry by conducting a cost-benefit analysis Develop key policy agendas Develop a specific engagement plan for communicating with government personnel Develop tailored messages and investment or partnership opportunities with government 8 9
FINANCIAL DIVERSITY Vicsport will seek to diversify revenue streams via government funding, commercial investment, fee for service and membership fees. The diversification and growth of revenue will allow Vicsport to provide high quality services and independent representation for members and stakeholders. Vicsport will develop a suite of services for clearly defined target markets within the broad sport and active recreation industry Identify the professional service needs of members and stakeholders establish a reference group and test concepts Develop a delivery model for each service Formalise the Vicsport-provided suite of services to move into fee-for-service model Develop a model for preferred suppliers of services Vicsport does not have the expertise or desire to provide (as required) Develop marketing collateral as appropriate Review membership categories, structure and rights Establish a working group to oversee the review Map the industry, with all potential member organisations and individual members identified Review Vicsport s value proposition Review membership categories, including preferred suppliers Review membership/service price points Update membership categories, structure and rights Update the constitution based on changes (as required) COMMUNICATIONS & BRAND In order to achieve all the initiatives within the strategic plan Vicsport requires a strong presence and maximum visibility in the community and in the sector. Vicsport will develop a communications and marketing strategy Conduct a communications audit and review to provide recommendations for future communications and marketing tools, applications, reach, messages, database, website Implement recommendations from the audit as required Conduct a full brand review Review current brand Implement recommended brand changes as required 10 11
Vicsport acknowledges the financial support for the development of Vicsport 2014 16 from VicHealth and the contribution of the following people; Vicsport Planning Team Margot Foster (Vicsport Chairman), Emma Sherry (Vicsport Director), Warwick Waters (Vicsport Director), Andrew Twaits (The Strategy Canvas), Patrick Skene (Red Elephant Projects), Anthony Bowd (Vicsport Business Development Manager), Nicole Bearzatto (Vicsport Member Services Officer) and Mark McAllion (Vicsport CEO). Consultant Sport Business Partners Martin Hirons, Steve Whately VicHealth and Sport & Recreation Victoria Staff Vicsport Members & Stakeholders Vicsport Board & Staff Vicsport Level 3 Sports House 375 Albert Rd South Melbourne 3205 Tel 9926 1376 Email admin@vicsport.asn.au Web vicsport.asn.au Twitter @vicsportau