APNO seeks supplier for club culture assessment approach

The Active Partnerships National Organisation (APNO) has launched an invitation to tender (ITT) as it seeks a supplier to develop a club culture assessment approach for the Sport Welfare Officer (SWO) network.

The SWO network is a nationwide workforce employed through Active Partnerships across England, to support national governing bodies (NGBs) and local clubs. This workforce promotes good practice and safe sport for children, young people, and adults at a local level.

The successful supplier will also work closely with key partners on this project, including Sport England, which funded and supported the development of the SWO network, and the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) and the Ann Craft Trust (ACT) which are both part of its oversight group, providing ongoing advice and support.

Other key partners the successful applicant would need to collaborate with include Ecorys UK and Professor Melanie Lang from Edgehill University, who together are the appointed Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Partners for the Sport Welfare Officer network.

The chosen club culture assessment supplier will also be responsible for the following key areas of work:

• The development of the methodology
• The development of a culture assessment tool
• The development of practitioner resources
• Capacity building for SWOs, to support with the delivery of the approach
• Support for SWOs in implementing the approach with pilot clubs
• Working with our monitoring, evaluation and learning partner to align the culture assessment tool with the SWO network evaluation study
• Sharing of findings and lessons with key audiences

The club culture assessment approach forms an important part of the project as it will allow for consistent delivery across the network. It is also an important component of the evaluation study, as partners are seeking to understand the contribution of the network towards improved welfare practice and strong welfare culture among the clubs it works with.

Laura Middleton, Strategic Lead for Welfare for the APNO, said: “We are currently seeking a supplier to lead on developing a club culture assessment methodology and accompanying resources, to support sports clubs in creating safer and more inclusive cultures in clubs and improved experiences for all.

“We want the approach to be meaningful and useable for all our Sport Welfare Officers across the network, and we’re looking to provide learning and best practice for the wider sector. It’s also important that the approach is adaptive as we work alongside many different sports and we know that clubs across the country are at different stages when it comes to developing their safeguarding and welfare culture.”

To find out more about this opportunity, download the ITT documentation pack (link to be inserted). You can also take a look at the supporting information: annex 1, annex 2 and annex 3. The deadline for applications is Monday 17 March at 16:00. The project is due to commence on 1 April 2025.