High quality expertise and insight
Read about how we use our high-quality expertise and insight to educate and inform decision-making, and influence policy.
We use our sector-leading insight to develop resources, programmes, and events that informs and embeds inclusive practice into organisations at all levels, from strategic decision making to operational delivery.
Embedding Inclusive Practice
Our research team focus on driving awareness of the challenges and inequalities disabled people face to being active. We are immensely proud of the work we do to inform and shine a light on inequalities that exist within society for disabled people. This spans various topics from attitudes to cost of living.
Annual Disability and Activity Survey
We release our Annual Disability and Activity Survey (ADAS) every year. The survey is the primary source of insight for organisations working to achieve fairness for disabled people in sport and activity, and complements Sport England’s Active Lives Adult Survey.
In 2022, 998 disabled and 976 non-disabled adults took part in the survey.
The results showed we are not seeing enough positive trends in disabled people’s perceptions and experiences of being active. Greater effort is needed by leaders and organisations to tackle inequalities that affect disabled people, especially to reduce loneliness and the impact of the rising cost of living. The report is split into seven key themes and outlines our commitments and asks to the sport and activity sector.
Online Events
Following the release of our Annual Activity and Disability Survey report 2022-23 in June, we began to host a series of free online events, each one focusing on key theme from the survey results. The events aim to bring Activity Alliance, key partners and disabled people together to share key insight and expertise, and help to scope future needs and strategies for our work and for others.
Influencing Policy
We continue to engage in public affairs activity and advocate for meaningful change for disabled people.
This includes being part of influential working groups for policy across the sector. Throughout the year, we also collaborated with partners on several reports and responses. In 2022, this included supporting the launch of a Sport England report on the future public sector leisure. We also joined Sport and Recreation Alliance to urge the Government to rethink the exclusion of sport and leisure centres from the Energy Bill Discount Scheme in January 2023.
We joined 200 other organisations in an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for greater support for grassroots facilities and clubs.
In August 2023, we responded to the government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport new sport strategy. Our CEO said:
“It’s incredibly important that a clear and unambiguous figure has been put on what should be achieved by 2030. We want to work alongside Government to help see 700,000 more disabled people being active in sport and activity by that date.”
On 3 December, the United Nation’s International Day of Disabled People is celebrated globally to promote the rights and wellbeing of disabled people. In 2023, we called on the government to give disabled people more support to enable them to be involved in sport and activity. Our Vice President John Amaechi OBE called for action:
"The government have rightly committed to focusing on increasing activity levels across the board, but without addressing the specific inequalities that disabled people face in sport, you risk leaving behind those who are hit the hardest by inactivity.”
This followed with us joining 57 organisation across the UK’s sport and activity community, including ParalympicsGB, in signing an open letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to reconsider the downgrading of the Minister for Disabled People role.
Our Impact
The following quotes were taken from our Stakeholder Survey 2023.
“Activity Alliance fairly and rightly challenge us and others to consider the 'disability lens' to our work.”
“Activity Alliance is a very valuable partner in our work. They've been hugely supportive, attending meetings, always sharing useful insight."
Impact Stories
Read how we use our high-quality expertise and insight to educate and inform decision-making and influence policy.
