Tender: Sport England Practice‑Led Report on Place‑Based Leadership to Tackle Physical Activity Inequalities (2026)

About

Sport England is seeking a supplier for an applied, practice‑led report and thought piece that defines what effective place‑based leadership looks like in practice for addressing inequalities in physical activity. The commission will surface insights, behaviours and patterns from different Place contexts (Original/Existing Place Partnerships, New/Expansion Place Partnerships and Place Universal Offer areas), illustrate how distributed and collective leadership enables policy makers, practitioners, volunteers and communities to influence decisions shaping active lives, and support leaders to strengthen relational, collaborative and place‑specific leadership practices. Outputs must use national evidence, local learning and lived experience to generate practical insights, prompts and tools that leaders can adapt, and identify how Sport England’s place‑based leadership support can be extended or enhanced. Applicants must demonstrate strong experience in the sport and physical activity system, understanding of place‑based working, systems change and Sport England’s Place Partnership approach, awareness of the Leading the Movement programme and relevant E&L resources, expertise in leadership or organisational development, experience at strategic and/or community leadership levels, ability to synthesize complex insights into high‑quality written outputs, and an appropriate level of independence and objectivity. Applications must include a CV and a cover letter (max 4–5 pages) outlining relevant experience, understanding of the commission, proposed approach and methodology including how it supports diversity, equity and inclusion, suggested optional outputs, proposed timeline and examples of previous relevant work. Bid submission deadline: 9am, Friday 26th June 2026.