Our commitment to the public sector leisure industry is confirmed with our announcement of support for a unique research project into the effectiveness of investment in leisure centres for driving participation. The 18-month long research, will be undertaken by Ian Hodgkinson, PhD research student from Loughborough University Business School.
“The delivery of public leisure services is a complex and fragmented process, with three broad management options available to local authorities, involving various levels of private sector involvement and/or Government support. The purpose of the research is to identify relative effectiveness in terms of leisure centre ‘performance’ under the different management options available to local authorities,” commented Ian.
In order to measure effectiveness, Ian will be establishing a set of indicators on which to quantify leisure centre performance. The indicators will be established along with the Audit Commission, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and leisure management contractors. Leisure management contractor research partners are being sought for the project to provide information regarding the indicators.
The research will investigate the level of government support received by leisure management contractor, local authority and leisure trust managed facilities in order to assess overall value for money. The research will aim to determine what value the investment in the facility has had on participation levels for different socio-economic groups and to make comparisons between the different types of management.
The overall intention is to influence future public policy in delivering effective leisure centre facilities. The involvement of The Leisure Database Company in providing vital market intelligence and introductions to key individuals and organisations in the industry will ensure the robustness and inclusivity of the research. It is seen that the project has a high chance of influencing national and local government policy when the research findings are published in two years time.
Contacts
IAN HODGKINSON
PhD Research Student
Loughborough University Business School
Direct Tel: +44 (0)7866 466197
Direct Fax: +44 (0)20 7395 6174
DAVID MINTON
The Leisure Database Company Ltd
Direct Tel: +44 (0) 20 7395 6171
Mobile: + 44 (0) 7860 237008
Main Office: +44 (0)20 7379 3197
Notes to Editors
Ian's project is jointly supervised by Professor Trevor Buck and Dr Paul Hughes at Loughborough University's Business School. This was founded in 1971, and now has over 80 academic staff and 1,500 students. In addition, over 1,000 managers, directors and executives of leading firms across the UK attend our Executive Education courses each year The Business School shares with Loughborough's famous School of Sport and Exercise Sciences two undergraduate degrees, a BSc Sports Science and a BSc Management Sport and Leisure Management. As with most Business School undergraduate degrees, the latter is a four-year course involving a year's placement in industry or commerce.
