Active Devon Sports Partnership

Active Devon Sports Partnership

Active Devon is the body which is recognised as the County Sports Partnership (CSP) in Devon. In this context we are one of a network of 49 CSPs in England.  Our geographic scope is the county of Devon.  In respect of public administrative areas this includes Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.

Active Devon in its current form was established in 2006.  Before that the Devon Active Sports Partnership was formed in 2000 in order to deliver an extensive, Lottery funded community sports development programme across the county.  Between 2004 and 2006 the remit of Devon Active Sports Partnership broadened steadily, providing a vehicle for the delivery of other sports development programmes and initiatives and also promoting the importance of physical activity in its widest sense.

In its early years the focus was heavily weighted towards development of sport for young people.  Since 2009 there has been a significant, though not exclusive, shift towards developing participation in sport and physical activity for people over 16.

Whilst delivery at grassroots level can sometimes seem fragmented, disjointed or complicated, Active Devon seeks to provide a strong focus for all organisations and people involved in getting and keeping people active. By drawing together key stakeholders from within and beyond the sport sector we try and make sure that the efforts and resources invested in supporting more active lifestyles achieve maximum impact. Active Devon also plays an important role in shaping and influencing sport and physical activity policy.

A quality experience or positive and motivational support helps people to sustain their participation. A lot of Active Devon's work focuses on supporting people like coaches, officials and volunteers or organisations such as community sports clubs. We organise training programmes, provide support and advice and even access to funding.

The most rewarding and important work Active Devon undertakes comes in the delivery of programmes that provide opportunities for people to play sport or become more active. They organise events, secure resources for our partners to deliver programmes and offer a comprehensive website with information about getting and staying active, in addition to a resource-based website specifically for our partners and key stakeholders.

Active Devon - Supporting and Inspiring for an Active Devon

As the principal funder, Sport England has been a key stakeholder throughout Active Devon's history and as such many of the delivery programmes which we deliver are shaped by its strategies and priorities.

Sport England have recently developed a new strategy which you can view here - Home | Uniting the Movement | Sport England

Torridge District Council works closely with Active Devon and Sport England to try and provide opportunities with funding, such as, the Connecting Activity to Nature programme - The Connecting Actively to Nature (CAN) Programme (activedevon.org)