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Place Need Assessments

This approach helps to identify priority groups and areas, ensuring interventions and investments have the greatest impact on reducing inequalities in sport and physical activity.

What are Place Need Assessments?

The Place Need Assessments offer a structured process for understanding and addressing inequalities in sport and physical activity at both local authority and neighbourhood levels. They provide a robust framework for: 

  • gathering and interpreting relevant data
  • pinpointing priorities for action
  • informing local interventions to increase physical activity. 

This approach is designed to support local authorities, sports organisations, and community stakeholders. While we use national datasets due to their coverage and to make robust comparisons, partners can build on the steps with local knowledge and data to gain deeper insights.

How to use the resources

Place Need Assessments help identify and understand inequalities in sport and physical activity in different places.  

Using a six-step approach, these assessments offer a structured way to pinpoint areas with the greatest need and guide efforts to tackle disparities in participation. 

To help organisations apply the Inequalities Metric and Place Need Classification, we have developed a range of resources to complete a Place Need Assessment:

What you need to know

A short introduction to the approach and key takeaways from example place need assessments. 

What you need to know

Step-by-step guide

A practical resource outlining the steps to use the metric and classification effectively. 

Step-by-step guide

Real-world examples

A detailed document featuring three Place Need Assessments, tools and data-driven case studies.

Real-world examples

Data tables

Explore the data relevant to your area. 

Data tables

By using these resources, organisations can identify priority groups and areas, ensuring interventions and investments have the greatest impact on reducing inequalities in sport and physical activity.

 

We have also developed three example Place Need Assessments to guide you through the steps and to illustrate how the type of need varies across different areas: 

  • Blackburn with Darwen 
  • East Lindsey 
  • Tower Hamlets 

These assessments utilise our Inequalities Metric and Place Need Classification alongside wider datasets to provide a detailed analysis of where intervention is most needed.  

By examining a range of demographic, social, and health data, we can better understand how different factors influence physical activity levels and identify where support will have the greatest impact. 

Place Need Assessments in action

Step 1: Understand your local context

Begin by exploring the broader context of an area, including demographics, geographical factors and barriers and enablers to physical activity. 

Step 2: Identify priority groups based on activity levels

Assess activity levels and inequalities for adults and children and identify priority groups using the Place Need Classification and population data. 

Step 3: Examine smaller areas of sporting need

Drill down into neighbourhood-level data to identify specific communities where intervention could be most effective.

Step 4: Assess social and economic needs

Use social need data to understand wider challenges such as income deprivation, health outcomes, and social infrastructure.

Step 5: Examine smaller areas of social need

Examine social need at smaller-area levels to identify specific locations where social outcomes could be maximised.

Step 6: Identify where sporting and social need intersect

Overlay physical activity data with social need indicators to help prioritise areas for intervention.

 

Following these six steps provides a clear, evidence-based roadmap for addressing inequalities in sport and physical activity. However, other relevant local data and information should be considered alongside this. 

Integrating local knowledge, community insights and lived experiences can further ensure solutions to tackling inequalities are relevant and effective. 

By focusing efforts where sporting and social need intersect, these assessments offer a powerful tool for driving change. 

Use the resources above to identify priority groups in the areas you’re interested in – ensuring interventions and investments have the greatest impact on reducing inequalities in sport and physical activity. 

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the purpose of the six-step approach?

    The six-step process helps partners understand and address inequalities through data and insight. 

    It provides a structured method for identifying needs, setting priorities and taking action.

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  • Who is this guidance for?

    While designed to support Sport England investments, the guidance is useful for any organisation using place-based approaches to increase physical activity and reduce inequalities.

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  • How does it help identify priority audiences?

    It shows how to assess sporting need and identify population groups with high levels of inequality characteristics. 

    Groups are prioritised based on their prevalence locally and over-representation relative to the national average. The process is flexible and can be tailored to each place.

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  • How do you find where sporting and social need intersect?

    By overlaying the data on sporting and social need, users can identify high-need areas that require targeted support. 

    This is demonstrated in Step 6.

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  • Why look at smaller areas like MSOAs and LSOAs?

    Smaller geographies help uncover hidden need within larger averages. 

    This allows for more targeted and effective local action.

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  • Can the approach be adapted locally?

    Yes. It is designed to be used flexibly.

    Local data, insight, and collaboration can strengthen the approach and make it more relevant to specific contexts.

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  • How does this relate to the Local Area Insights Tool?

    There is some overlap in data sources, but the Place Need Assessment includes additional structured data from the Inequalities Metric and Place Needs Classification. 

    The format is tailored to guide users through each step of the assessment process.

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