Engaging BME communities to increase participation

ASA Workshop

Nik Trivedi – Head of Consultancy

David Mbaziira – Head of Marketing & Communications

7th July, 2011

Who We Are

► Independent Charity – working with underrepresented communities to increase participation in sport and physical activity

► Work closely with the providers of sporting opportunities

from DCMS, Sport England and Sport Wales to the 46 national governing bodies of sport, county sports partnerships and professional clubs

► Linked into 5,000 BME organisations

What we do

► Supporting the sports and physical activity sectors to understand and respond to the needs of black and minority ethnic (BME) communities

► New infrastructure and range of support services which are customer led

► Access to grassroots and strategic organisations that work with BME communities

► Promote opportunities to play sport and be physically active to improve health & tackle inequalities

The context

► The BME population is growing and changing

► Different variables within this audience profile e.g. age - 13% of young people in England are BME

► Different ethnic groups have different needs which is reflected in participation rates that vary from 7% to 35%

► Fewer than 1 in 5 members of some BME communities are participating in physical activities as frequently as once a month

► An extensive and growing BME sports sector exists that NGBs and sports providers need to tap into

Local intelligence and data

► BME demographics

► Sport England Market Segments

► Latent demand

Local picture - Headlines

► Handsworth Wood is a diverse ward. The White British community only account for 28.88% of the population size. The largest BME communities are the Indian and Black Caribbean communities. It also has a noticeable Pakistani community.

► Lozells and East Handsworth has the highest BME population (82.6%) of all the Birmingham wards. The largest BME communities are the Pakistani, Indian, Black Caribbean and Bangladeshi Communities.

► Small Heath – 51% Pakistani, 9% Bangladeshi (largest mosque in UK)

► Sandwell has the third highest percentage of BME residents in the West Midlands (after Birmingham at 29.6% and Wolverhampton at 22.2%). Indian and Black Caribbean groups prominent.

Market Segments and Latent Demand

Name% non white

Swimming participation Latent demand

Ben 26% 13%13% of adults in this segment would like to do more swimming compared with 27% of all adults.

Jamie 40% 10%14% of adults in this segment would like to do more swimming compared to 27% of all adults.

Chloe 25% 24%Swimming is the top sport that Chloe would like to do more of (28%).

Leanne 35% 18%27% of adults in this segment would like to do more swimming.

Helena 24% 22%31% of adults in this segment would like to do more swimming compared with 27% of all adults.

Tim 23% 15%17% of adults in this segment would like to do more swimming compared to 27% to 17% of all adults.

Alison 22% 25%Of those in this segment who would like to do more sport, 32% would like to do more swimming compared to 27% of all adults.

Jackie 21% 20%35% of adults in this segment would like to do more swimming compared with 27% of all adults.

Kev 33% 10%21% of adults in this segment would like to do more swimming compared with 27% of all adults.

Paula 30% 17%35% of adults in this segment would like to do more swimming compared with 27% of all adults.

Brenda 24% 13%Swimming is the top sport that Brenda would like to do more of (38%).

Terry 21% 6%Swimming is the top sport that terry would like to do more of (21%).

Norma 21% 10%Swimming is the top sport that Norma would like to do more of (35%).

Barriers to participation in sport

► Fear and insecurity

► Knowledge, skills, training and lack of awareness

► Avoidance and denial

► Lack of resources

► Organisational priorities

Barriers...continued

► Lack of research on issues (e.g. the role of faith)

► Lack of representation in decision making forums

► Communications and message delivery

► Under representation from BME communities within coaching, staff levels and volunteers

► Lack of monitoring and evaluation

How important are personal circumstances?

► Lack of time and pressures of childcare and domestic duties has been cited as a major barrier to women from ethnic minority communities participating

► If you are from a Pakistani or Bangladeshi community evidence suggests that you are more likely to be unemployed, live below the poverty line, have poor health, live in over-crowded accommodation and have inhibited access to general services…all of which greatly impact on their quality of life and their ability to access or indeed prioritise sport and physical activity

Considerations to help engagement

► Broaden your awareness of faith communities

► Be flexible, avoid stereotypes

► Develop inclusive partnerships

► Use appropriate role models to change opinion

► Think about the engagement mechanism & your audience’s motivations

► Identify suitable resources and secure support

► Raise awareness of sport as a means of preventing poor health

► Investigate and utilise multi-faith and interfaith events

► Think about when & where consultation should take place so that no-one is at a disadvantage

The importance of Religion and Faith

► People increasingly define themselves by their faith rather than their ethnicity or background

► Faith centres no matter what their religious denomination (temple, mosque, gurdwara or church) are often at the centre of their communities

► Remember to think about– Dress and modesty– Personal safety– Diet and fasting– Holy Days and Religious Festivals

Religious and Faith engagement

► Be flexible► Be aware of cultural and

faith requirements► Schedule meetings to

avoid clashes with prayer times

► Observe the appropriate dietary requirements when serving refreshments

► Be prepared to arrange women only meetings

► Make sure events don’t fall on religious holidays or festivals

► Assess the venue for your session /or meeting and its appropriateness to the audience

► Consider any staffing or personnel implications including staff at the venue who are not actively delivering or involved in the session

Engagement and Participation

► Parental engagement is crucial to support and aid participation

– It is a powerful asset in widening participation in sport

– Develop a strategy for working with parents and winning their support as project champions and volunteers

– Support parents with the resources they need to champion projects to their peers, i.e. other parents

Marketing to BME communities

► What is considered to be mainstream mass market media will not resonate or achieve significant penetration within BME communities

► The influencer network is of far greater importance within BME communities, key gatekeepers need to be persuaded of the benefits of sport

► Language is a considerable barrier for first and second

generation members

► A tokenistic approach will be viewed as just that, a lacklustre gesture rather than a commitment to engage

Ethnic media

► BME communities have an established and growing variety of specialist media content providers, across broadcast, radio, online and social media

► A snapshot of Birmingham’s ethnic media serving the South Asian community– Broadcast: Star TV; SET Asia; ARY Digital; GEO TV; Brit Asia

TV; Sangat Television

– Print: Eastern Eye; Asian Voice; Weekly Bangladeshi

– Radio: Ambur Radio; Radio XL; Raj FM; Sunrise Radio; BBC Asian Network

Incentives and Motivation

► Key messages to encourage participation in sport

Communication and message delivery

Communications delivery

► Utilise insight to inform how your product should be delivered to your audience

► Important to engage faith, business and wider community leaders

► Utilise specialist ethnic media channels by region most appropriate to your audience

► Develop local opportunities to create localised radio features

► Position the benefits as being greater than just pure sport participation

► Try to identify local champions currently within the sport network

► Target and tailor your offer to local communities

► Consider how you can use informal and non traditional settings for your sport and communication opportunities around that

Engaging BME communities

► View all activities as community engagement opportunities

► Consult with communities and be culturally sensitive and proactive

► Ensure individuals and groups can access your organisation

► Communicate and publicise the benefits of engagement

► Work to remove the barriers your audience identifies and communicate your progress

► Share your experiences and examples of best practice across the board

► Work across voluntary sectors

► Tap into any available or existing networks

Creating Best Practice

► Characteristics of successful interventions

– Those where trust with the provider and its staff has been established and a group feel safe that their needs (cultural & religious) are understood and respected

– Those that take place in local facilities that are appropriate, familiar, easy to access and affordable

– Those that are developed and delivered through existing BME community groups

Creating Best Practice ... continued

► Characteristics of successful interventions

– Those that offer single sex sessions and make clear in the service information how the environment and delivery will take into account religious and cultural needs

– Those where transport is made available

– Those where BME individuals are represented on the staff of the facility

– Interventions that involved BME communities in the assessment of the needs and delivery of the intervention

A Consultative solutionProvision of insight and research including understanding of different ethnic/faith needs

Interpretation of Strategy BME focused project development

Changing attitudes

- Mapping/Audits (establishing baseline position – e.g. BME female representation)

- Focus Groups

- Resource production (briefings/factsheets)

- Training/education needs analysis (workforce development)

- Best Practice

- Race/Faith Equality Impact Assessment

- What is NGB approach to BME groups

- Equality Standard as performance improvement

- Consultation and access to BME gate-keepers (faith, business, community leaders)

- BME capacity building e.g. to access funding opportunities

- Cultural / community brokerage

- Integration into mainstream provision

- BME communications strategy including branding review and marketing support

- Delivering the message

- Media campaigns using ethnic media, faith centres & events

- Social marketing campaigns

Insight & Research Policy support Community Engagement

Marketing and Communications

Action planning Q&A

Engaging BME communities to increase participation

ASA Workshop

Nik Trivedi – Head of Consultancy

David Mbaziira – Head of Marketing & Communications

7th July, 2011