kempsey sr project 290114_final

KEMPSEY SPORT AND RECREATION PROJECT

Evaluation report

KEMPSEY SPORT AND RECREATION PROJECT EVALUATION REPORT | 2 |

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3

Overview 3

The project 3

How we did the evaluation 3

WHAT WE FOUND 4

Measuring success 4

A sustained increase in grant applications 4

Continued increase in Sport and Recreation-run and/or facilitated programs and activities 5

Continued increase in participation in Sport and Recreation and other programs 6

FOUR KEY ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS 7

Using sport and recreation to empower young people 7

The power of volunteering and mentoring in community capacity building 8

Building on community strengths 9

A place-based coordinator 10

THE CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABILITY 11

Examples of ongoing change for individuals and organisations 12

LESSONS LEARNED 13

PREPARED BY PERFORMANCE AND PLANNING, POLICY AND REFORM


INTRODUCTION

OVERVIEWThe Kempsey Place-based Project (which is also referred to as the Macleay Valley project) was an innovative project, which ran from late 2009 to June 2012. It was initiated and run by the Office of Communities, Sport and Recreation Division, in partnership with the Youth Planning and Advisory Group (otherwise referred to as the Youth Advisory Committee or YAC) and a wide range of community organisations and individuals.

Over the course of the project there were increases in grant applications, programs offered and numbers of participants. Four elements were seen as contributing to its success—using sport and recreation as a tool to empower young people; using volunteering and mentoring to build capacity; building on strengths of the community, rather than focusing on needs or weaknesses; and a place-based coordinator to drive the project and encourage organisations to work together outside their usual spheres of operation. Despite the many successes of the project, there are significant challenges in sustaining its benefits in the longer term.

THE PROJECTThe Kempsey project aimed to promote young people as leaders of their community, provide sport and recreation opportunities for increased community cohesion and assist with the development of individuals and communities.

The project was managed by a Sport and Recreation Senior Project Officer, with support from the North Coast Office. The project officer worked closely with Kempsey Shire Council to develop the YAC as the key decision-making body for the project. The project applied an asset-based community development approach focused on discovering the strengths of the community, connecting people with each other and the community, and bringing people together to build on knowledge and skills. The aim was to use sport and recreation as a tool with which to accomplish this, and a range of programs were developed and implemented in partnership with community organisations and government departments.

The project was incorporated in the NSW2021 Mid North Coast Regional Action Plan, which included a commitment to evaluate it. In June 2012 the project was prematurely brought to a close when the project officer was offered a voluntary redundancy and the position was deleted. A transition plan was developed by Sport and Recreation that enabled elements of the project to continue within available resources.

HOW WE DID THE EVALUATIONThe evaluation was based on case study methodology, which suits a small, unique project with limited resources, in an unpredictable environment, and where the impacts of the project are difficult to measure and attribute to the project.

Key documents, primarily Office of Communities files and financial reports, were reviewed, along with data from the Sport and Recreation Customer Information Management System (CIMS) and Sport and Recreation Grants Online system (including Youth Opportunities and Community Building Partnerships programs). In addition, semi-structured interviews1 with 11 key informants who lived or worked in the Kempsey area were conducted. These included people from Office of Communities (past and present), other government departments and key community organisations. Informants were selected from the project management documentation, where some were listed as key partners and others were referred by key people involved in the project. Given limited resources and the time that has passed since the project finished, interviews with young people were not included in the evaluation.


WHAT WE FOUND

Achievement of the project objective has been measured in the following way:

• number of successful grant applications (Sport and Recreation, Youth Opportunities, Community Building Partnerships and others)

• number of Sport and Recreation-run and/or facilitated programs and activities

• number and range of participants in Sport and Recreation and other programs

• number/strength of community partnerships

• number of people volunteering in community activities

• extent of use of venues and facilities for community events.

MEASURING SUCCESSThe project achieved success in relation to all of the above indicators and was generally highly regarded by key informants. The first three indicators are supported by quantitative data from the Office of Communities and this information is presented below.

The indicators relating to community partnerships, volunteering and use of venues and facilities for community events are supported by qualitative data from interviews and the document review. It is clear that there was an increase in both the number and strength of community partnerships and number of people volunteering while the project was running. Limited data was available on the extent of use of venues and facilities, but it was apparent that a wide range of community venues and facilities were used. These indicators are discussed in more detail under the section, Four key elements of success.

A SUSTAINED INCREASE IN GRANT APPLICATIONSTotal applications for three Office of Communities grant programs2 rose from 16 in 2009-10 to 37 in 2012-13. This indicates that awareness and accessing of Sport and Recreation funding programs increased over the period of the project, and was sustained.

Figure 1 shows that in 2009-10, 38% of total applications were successful, with a steep rise to 89% in 2010-11, before dropping again to 54% in 2011-12 and 30% in 2012-13. It is possible that the increase in 2010-11 reflects the work that the Sport and Recreation project officer was doing in the early part of the project to help organisations become aware of funding opportunities and apply for funding. In addition, the increased number of unsuccessful applications from 2011-12 might reflect that there was more competition for the same pool of funding. It is not clear if this is part of a state-wide trend.

Figure 1: Total Office of Communities grant applications for the Kempsey LGA (2009-10 to 2012-13)


CONTINUED INCREASE IN SPORT AND RECREATION-RUN AND/OR FACILITATED PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

In 2009 there were a total of 12 Sport and Recreation-run and/or facilitated programs3 in the Kempsey area, as shown in Figure 2. This increased to 18 in 2010 and 41 in 2011. In 2012, 24 of the 28 programs were delivered before the project officer finished in June, with the remaining four delivered between July and October. In 2013 there were 25 programs delivered from January to June 2013, indicating a continued increase in the number of programs in the first half of 2013.

As the project was implemented there was a shift in the types of programs offered, as shown in Figure 3, from Swim and Survive programs to Sports Development programs:

• In 2009 and 2010 there were similar numbers each year of learn to swim programs and programs with a sports development focus.

• In 2011, 61% were Sports Development programs compared to 27% Swim and Survive programs. This indicates the concentration of sports administration, leadership training, sports safety and coach/official education programs.

• In 2012, while there was a consistency with 2011 in the types of programs offered, the number of programs on offer began to decrease as the project finished.

• In 2013, there were no Sports Development programs delivered.

Sport and Recreation data for costs associated with the Kempsey project shows similar patterns to the program data discussed above:

• Expenditure was at its highest in 2010-11 and 2011-12, at $36,415 and $43,678 respectively.

• It declined again in 2012-13 to $18,801, and was at its lowest in 2009-10 at $6,353.

Figure 2: Total number of Sport and Recreation-run programs for the Kempsey LGA (2009-June 2013)

Figure 3: Types of Sport and Recreation programs for the Kempsey LGA (2009-June 2013)


CONTINUED INCREASE IN PARTICIPATION IN SPORT AND RECREATION AND OTHER PROGRAMS

As expected, the pattern outlined above was also supported by the participation data, as shown in Figure 4:

• In 2009, there were 156 participants, 402 in 2010, with a peak in 2011 of 766.

• This declined again in 2012 to 478, with 70% of these participants taking part in programs before June 2012.

• In January to June 2013, participant numbers peaked at 352.

Figure 4: Number of participants by age group in Sport and Recreation programs in the Kempsey LGA (2009-June 2013)


FOUR KEY ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS

In reviewing feedback, four elements emerged as contributing to the success of the project:

• using sport and recreation as a tool to empower young people

• using volunteering and mentoring to build capacity

• building on strengths of the community, rather than focusing on needs or weaknesses

• a place-based coordinator to drive the project and encourage organisations to work together outside their usual spheres of operation.

USING SPORT AND RECREATION TO EMPOWER YOUNG PEOPLE While sport was valued by key informants for its physical and health benefits, it was also highly regarded as a tool to help strengthen and develop younger people and the community more generally—Sport was the tool to run other things off—and particularly to improve outcomes for Indigenous young people—Sport is one way kids can be social and participate.

The project officer worked creatively in developing programs and partnerships to deliver flexible and innovative programs at a low cost to participants. Programs were targeted specifically to groups of individuals and organisations. In the key implementation phase of the project, spanning approximately 18 months from January 2011 to June 2012, 65 sport and recreation programs were run in partnership with local organisations and schools.

Informants reported that training young people to deliver courses such as Riversafe, first aid and Traditional Indigenous Games had multiple benefits and was highly valued by both young people and their parents:

• tailored mentoring and training programs provided tangible and practical skills for participants, developing their knowledge and leadership skills and increasing proficiency in particular sports, as well as giving them someone to use as a referee for gaining employment

• the programs and opportunities to volunteer helped young people feel involved in the community and proud of the courses they had undertaken, and provided harder to measure benefits such as an increase in self esteem

• it provided a pool of young people who could run programs at schools and community events

• it built networks between organisations as a result of better communication.

The YAC, which was run through Kempsey Shire Council, was the key formal structure developed to empower young people to influence decisions made in the community—The Youth Advisory Committee did all things youth; they were the driving force. During the period the project was running there was an increase in YAC membership, from three to 53. This provides some evidence that the structure was enabling young people to have a voice in the community and articulate their needs around activities they wanted.

They felt they were part of something; a big deal for them to be proud of what they were doing.


THE POWER OF VOLUNTEERING AND MENTORING IN COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDINGA variety of capacity building programs and training courses were delivered to a large cross-section of the community. These included a number of volunteering, leadership, train-the-trainer and mentoring courses, as well as more technical sports courses and sport skills development programs—Youth were trained as leaders. These courses served to engage not only the young people involved, but often their parents and other adults as well.

Mentoring by adults was a key part of the development of young people’s skills and knowledge. Formal courses such as a TAFE course on mentoring and Sport and Recreation mentoring and leadership programs, including teaching mentoring through Traditional Indigenous Games, provided opportunities for young people to gain qualifications. In addition, mentoring for young people involved in the YAC was provided by the Youth Development Officer at Kempsey Shire Council, and by the Sport and Recreation project officer. They were able to meet with the YAC students at each of the two schools they attended, to enable the students to participate actively in the YAC within school hours. Formal qualifications also helped to increase YAC membership.

Volunteering opportunities also provided a valuable mechanism for young people to develop further experience in mentoring and leadership. Key informants related a marked increase in volunteering over the time that the project was running, which not only enabled young people to participate in their community, but also provided opportunities for organisations to link into a pool of potential youth volunteers. Examples included:

• volunteering in gala sports days, leading Traditional Indigenous Games days at schools, first aid and after-school and swimming programs

• volunteering to organise and run sporting programs and recreational activities at PCYC, including a disco—The young people ran a disco, they organised it; adults only needed to provide support—and after-school sport programs, which provide activities and also have a crime prevention outcome for young people

• being involved in youth events such as NAIDOC Week and Youth Week, including the 2011 Aprilla Festival in which 30 young people were involved in the planning and 40 volunteers at the festival, with over 500 13-18 year-olds attending.

The Macleay Valley Sports Inc. was also initiated by the project officer with the aim of developing an independent structure that would bring together leaders of the community and local organisations to continue the community development work, using sport as a tool to run events with and for the community. Its aim was to bring a number of organisations together to work on variety of projects, including state and local government and sporting and youth organisations.

Some volunteering as a direct result of the project has continued, for example at the PCYC, in which participants from train-the-trainer volunteer now to set up equipment and assist young people to use it. The training and skills gained through the project were seen to be still in the community.

Volunteering also created pathways for some, with an informant reporting some young people were at university as a direct result of some programs and others on the right path for future development and leadership in the community —the aim was to get the younger people skilled up and the project did that. There was seen to be an increase in decision-making roles for young people, at least during the course of the project, not only in the context of the YAC, but also in an individual sense in terms of young people making decisions to work together and to look after their own wellbeing by investing in healthy lifestyles.

The project fulfilled a need by providing a forum for youth services in the Macleay Valley to meet up and begin to find some common ground on which they could work together for the benefit of young people in the region.


BUILDING ON COMMUNITY STRENGTHSIn a presentation at the beginning of the project, the YAC noted the perception of Kempsey as a disadvantaged community and a high-need area. This is reflected by socio-economic data in which Kempsey is listed as one of the top three most disadvantaged towns in New South Wales4.

The project explicitly used an asset-based community development (ABCD) approach, focusing on the strengths of the community (people, organisations, infrastructure, economy, culture) and using these as a starting point to help the community articulate what it cares about, what to act on and how to implement changes to achieve its goals. The project was able to capitalise on the emerging use of an ABCD approach by some agencies and organisations in the community, for example Kempsey Shire Council and the Benevolent Society. It was clear that community members had a concrete understanding of the project’s framework and impact on the community, beyond the provision of sport and recreation activities.

A major strength in Kempsey was that community members were engaged and keen to work together. They demonstrated their passion, commitment and willingness to participate, volunteering their time to the project outside of their working hours. Improving prospects for and building up young people as future leaders of the community were seen as very important, both by young people themselves and by the broader community. This gave community members and organisations a common goal, something that worked for the long-term benefit of the whole community.

The project used an asset map to highlight community strengths (see Figure 5). This identified a diversity of community members within the Kempsey community, and a wide variety of groups and organisations. The abundance of sport and recreation venues and facilities in the natural and built environments was also captured.

Figure 5: Macleay Valley asset map

Everyone was focused on the same thing, we were all around empowering kids; looking at how to get the best outcome and move people forward.


A PLACE-BASED COORDINATORAlthough it was clear that community members were keen to work together for their community, people also identified that having a place-based project coordinator was crucial for the success of this project. This provided:

• one person to articulate an overall goal and tailor the project and programs to meet different needs within the community—acknowledging that individuals often have their own priorities; and that organisations tend to focus on their core goals, particularly in a resource-constrained environment, and are often also competing for limited resources

• one person to drive, coordinate and follow up all the project management elements, making it easier for people to be involved—many of whom were volunteering their time on top of busy lives, and were involved in more than one project.

A number of informants said it was helpful that the project officer was not from the area, and was therefore not aligned with any one group or organisation in the community. The project officer did, however, stay in Kempsey for an average of several days per fortnight, which was seen as necessary for developing local relationships and working closely with the community.

The role and approach of the project officer were very much appreciated by the community, particularly her passion, enthusiasm and commitment. Other skills included her capacity to listen actively to the community, get people together to discuss the issues, be proactive, and follow through on actions and make things happen. She always delivered. The project also needed resources and other support from all sectors of the community, including local and state government and other local organisations. One of the biggest strengths of this project was that the project officer was able to clearly articulate potential links between sport and recreation programs and other programs. As a result, a number of local agencies and organisations began working together to provide young people with opportunities for engagement and to develop leadership skills. This was greatly appreciated by the community members involved in the project. Organisations working together—this was a major outcome for me; Different organisations started working together where they hadn’t before—it is possible that it was because this project wasn’t part of their core business and therefore they weren’t in competition. Organisations were able to pool their resources and do things together. When groups start working together you can achieve amazing things.

Skills and knowledge identified by informants as being valuable for place-based work

APPROACH: PEOPLE:

• working off the strengths of the community to achieve what the community wants to achieve

• having the knowledge and ability to implement an asset-based community development approach.

• finding the right people to be involved

• having an understanding of local politics and agendas

• understanding the community structure and how it works

• hearing as many voices as possible to get a picture of the whole community and an understanding of what is important to the whole community

• having appropriate cultural training and understanding.

RESEARCH: SKILLS:

• looking at what already exists in the community rather than reinventing the wheel

• researching the community’s key assets—social and physical

• understanding the knowledge and skills that the community already possesses

• researching community organisations to see where they could best help.

• being flexible and willing to negotiate and provide/facilitate solutions

• listening actively to community members and organisations

• communicating effectively with a wide range of people, being approachable and ensuring that partners share the same vision

• working with a variety of community members in a way that they can relate to and works for them

• managing projects effectively

• being an active and positive problem solver.


THE CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABILITY

The project officer position was a unique one within the structure of Sport and Recreation; no other area had a dedicated officer to undertake such intensive, place-based, work. Without this position Sport and Recreation was limited to running some of the programs that were already booked in, and may have had to cancel a number of other programs and meetings. Sport and Recreation continues the work as best it can to ensure a level of continuity for the community, although it has been difficult to do so within existing resources and without the in-depth local knowledge possessed by the project officer.

In addition, the unplanned stop to the project affected the ongoing development of the structures that had not fully been embedded in the community, such as the YAC and Macleay Valley Sports Inc. The latter had been close to having a board appointed and Terms of Reference developed, but as a number of informants noted, without the project officer this organisation could not continue. There is still community interest in reviving this body, but there is some debate about what its main focus would be.

Informants raised a range of issues related to the sustainability of the project:

• The continued success of the project was dependent on the existence of the project officer position.

• Risk management and succession planning would have helped with some of the continuity issues such as funding and program delivery, as discussed below.

• Building rapport and trust with the community takes time and a willingness to understand and listen. When a resource is taken away, it adds to the community’s perception that government is not as committed to the longer term benefit of the community.

• The role of government in this kind of community development work is not necessarily consistent over time, which is a continuing issue for the community.

There were also a number of factors outside Sport and Recreation’s control that affected the sustainability of the project, including people from other organisations moving positions. This included the Youth Development Officer at Kempsey Shire Council who was a key partner in the project and who had responsibility for the YAC, which dropped membership from 53 in 2012 to four in 2013. In addition there were changes to other organisations’ structures (e.g. NSW Health), which meant that they no longer had the capacity to be involved in the project or to take on more responsibility within the project—If we had a health worker at the time it could have been passed on.

All of these factors made it harder to keep the continuity across the many elements of the project. In the absence of a detailed, longer term plan, it was difficult to sustain connections and some funding was allocated to other priorities. For example, the sudden termination of the project meant that some training for young people stopped. Longer term plans for young people to complete their volunteering hours through sporting programs, and for bringing more young people through volunteering and mentoring training, have also been put on hold for the time being.


EXAMPLES OF ONGOING CHANGE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANISATIONSSome informants did report evidence of sustained change for individuals and organisations that can be attributed to the project. This included a continued willingness for people and organisations to work together to achieve community-focused outcomes; an increased knowledge about grants and funding for programs; and skills that have been gained by the community from training courses and some increase in individual and organisational capacity as a result.

SUSTAINING THE BENEFITS—BELLBROOK SCHOOL

As a rural, isolated school, was nice to have someone who cared and brought programs to the school.

Bellbrook School is an hour’s drive from Kempsey and located near the river where a lot of children swim. Approximately 70% of its student population is Indigenous.

During the course of the project, Riversafe, Swimsafe and other intensive learn-to-swim projects were conducted, along with first aid courses for students and parents. These programs significantly developed swimming skills and understanding of safety around the river for students and their parents. The Principal felt that the programs were tailor-made for the school and its context, and the practical style of the courses was valued by both parents and students.

At this time, two Austswim teachers were trained, one of whom is still with the school enabling it to continue providing swimming programs. The Principal is also planning to build on the knowledge provided by the Riversafe program by linking in with a Fisheries program Get Hooked, get fishing.

The school also worked with the YAC, with students being trained as mentors and in delivering Traditional Indigenous Games. The Principal reported that this was beneficial for past and current students, with former students coming back in a leadership role to provide mentoring for current students.

The Principal also reported that the training provided staff with valuable professional development and learning. There have also been more parents volunteering for swimming programs, and some evidence of children having higher level of decision-making skills as a result of the program and making informed and more positive decisions.

A number of people remain passionate about empowering young people as leaders, and committed to working with others to achieve change. Despite the fact that, as in any community, people and organisations have different agendas and needs, there is a perception that the project could be started up again—It wouldn’t be hard to get it started again, the same people are in the community even if in different roles.

Community members clearly understand the power of working with other people and organisations to achieve their goals, and there is a desire to get people working together again. There is also evidence of an increased knowledge about grants programs and greater capacity within the community to negotiate the application process. This is evidenced by a continued increase in the total number of applications for Sport and Recreation funded programs, as discussed previously.

As discussed above, volunteering and mentoring programs have left the community with skills for individuals and organisations, including young people volunteering their time to deliver programs such as Traditional Indigenous Games to schools. The Kempsey PCYC reported that, as a result of the project, they increased their employment of young people from three to nine, seven of whom were Indigenous. As a result of being able to secure some additional funding, PCYC still has five Indigenous staff doing outreach afterschool programs. The additional staff had all undertaken training courses during the project and this was reported as a key factor in their employment. Following Sports Ability training, the PCYC became a Sports Ability Hub and now continues to deliver programs to organisations such as Kempsey Respite. In addition, the skills gained in these courses had longer term potential for employment for participants, with the PCYC and Mission Australia being used as referees for some participants.


LESSONS LEARNED

This case study highlights a number of both positive practices and things that can be improved to ensure that community capacity building projects are sustainable. Given the context of limited government resources, it is important to be able to add to our understanding about different ways that we can achieve and sustain positive outcomes.

• Having a place-based coordinator with appropriate skills and knowledge to drive the project was identified as a key element for its success. This person was able to drive and coordinate the project and follow up on any decisions made by the community. This took the pressure off time-poor individuals who often had a number of competing priorities and ensured an overall consistency.

• The project officer worked closely in partnership with a number of community members, organisations and other government departments to plan how best to achieve the goal of empowering young people through sport and recreation. As part of this, the project officer was working with others to embed two community-run structures within the community, to provide a forum for discussion and decision-making that would help the project to become sustainable. The development of these independent structures, run by the community, required intensive work over a long period of time.

• Risk management and succession planning are challenging to implement when a project is outside an organisation’s priorities and considered to be outside its core deliverables.

• When a project begins, it is vital to develop a full project plan that includes strategie for long-term sustainability, as well as transition strategies to ensure the community is able to continue with the project independently of government support.

• Helping the community choose a positive focus that is important to it, such as to give young people more opportunities, helped to engage a wide cross-section of the community.

• There is a tension for organisations, operating with limited resources, between achieving their core objectives and working with others on shared goals.

• Programs that provide a potential pathway to further education and/or employment such as those used in the project (including volunteering, leadership and mentoring training and Traditional Indigenous Games) are beneficial both for individuals and for the community as a whole. On the one hand, individuals receive training and learn valuable skills. On the other hand, the community benefits from a skilled pool of trained people available to deliver programs. This helps the creation of vital networks between organisations and individuals. All of this helps programs become more sustainable.

• Stable, well-resourced organisations, for example, schools and the PCYC, have a greater potential to sustain changes over time.

Overall informants indicated that, while they were disappointed with the way the project ended, they were left with a sense of how well it can work when people and organisations join together for the benefit of the broader community. In addition, Sport and Recreation demonstrated that the flexible and responsive use of its grants and programs could contribute significantly to community strengthening.


1 Key informants were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews and comment on a number of questions, a copy of which had been sent to them before the interview. Questions focused on informants’ understanding of how and why the project started, whether the project strengthened the community, identifying the factors contributing to or inhibiting effective partnerships and the project in general, what key skills and knowledge are required for place-based work. Questions about the longer-term effects of the project were also included, particularly focusing on what changes there had been to the decision-making capacity of local organisations and individuals, the level of engagement in the community by young people and whether there has been an increase in volunteering as a result of the project. Final questions focused on whether any other benefits came out of the project, and whether any of these continued past the end of the project.

2 Data was obtained in relation to three Office of Communities funding programs:

• Community Building Partnership program: programs are required to focus on delivering a positive result for the local community, particularly through social, recreational, environmental or employment outcomes.

• Participation and Facility Program: aims to provide increased opportunities for participation in sport and recreation and assist with the funding for development of local and regional level sport and recreation facilities.

• Youth Week funding: is to assist young people to plan and coordinate local events and activities for Youth Week in conjunction with their local Councils.

3 Sport and Recreation offers a number of different types of programs:

• Swim and Survive: learn to swim programs for children 18 months-12 years.

• Participation Opportunity Holiday: school holiday activities for children 12-17 years, including cricket clinics, touch football, soccer and baseball.

• Participation Opportunity: activities run outside school holidays for all ages, including Traditional Indigenous Games training, Primary Girls Footy Festival, Boxercise and Fundamental Skills.

• Participation Opportunity—Special Population: activities run outside school holidays for special population, including Indigenous swimming programs, Basic Skills, boxing and Fundamental Skills.

• Sports Development: programs for administration, coaching/official education and leadership training, including forums on alcohol and sport and disability, volunteer training, child protection seminars, active youth workshops, first aid, youth leadership training, mentoring, sports medicine, sports taping, Traditional Indigenous Games Presenter/Assessor training and Austswim.

4 Tony Vinson, Dropping off the Edge; NSW Health Report of the Chief Officer.

kempsey sr project 290114_final

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