More people to Get Out Get Active as programme goes lives across UK

October marks the start of the Get Out Get Active (GOGA) programme following January’s successful funding announcement.   It’s an initiative designed to increase physical and mental wellbeing by supporting physically inactive people around the UK to improve their health.  Inclusion will be at the heart of the programme through activity and volunteering.

Spirit of 2012 is funding the £4.5 million initiative, which brings together 18 GOGA localities in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and numerous national partners. In the first of its kind on such a scale, GOGA will support disabled and non-disabled people to enjoy being active together. Developed to get some of the UK's least active people moving more, GOGA will concentrate on fun and inclusive activities delivered over three-years.

Earlier this year, Spirit of 2012 - a funding charity, established with a £47m endowment from the Big Lottery Fund, awarded the programme to the UK wide consortium. Spirit fund partners across the UK that provide opportunities in sports, physical activity, arts and culture, volunteering and social action.  
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) is the lead GOGA partner, teaming up with an extensive range of organisations to help us reach more people, who have the greatest need to get out and get active. These partners offer in-depth local knowledge and national expertise.

All home nation disability sport organisations are backing the programme as well as Volunteering Matters, Disability Rights UK, Women and Sport, Sporting Equals and Age UK. Additional partners include National Governing Bodies of sport and national charities. Recently, one hundred people involved in GOGA met in Manchester for the first group conference to start the programme’s journey.

Debbie Lye, Chief Executive for Spirit of 2012 said: "Get Out Get Active launches after months of careful planning.  It’s a very ambitious initiative and we want to make getting active appealing, accessible, fun and inclusive for people of all ages and abilities. Spirit of 2012 is funding Get Out Get Active in response to overwhelming evidence that inactive people need encouragement and support to take those first steps into active, healthy lifestyles."

Barry Horne, Chief Executive for EFDS said: “It is a powerful proposition- to get so many more people out and active and we are proud to be leading on such a major investment. The programme has the potential to change how we encourage, enable and engage more people through active recreation opportunities.  For many of those we are trying to attract, these opportunities have been out of reach or unappealing. Changing people’s mindsets is not an overnight solution and that’s why we’ve called upon so many partners to help make it happen."

Statistics continually show disabled people to be the least active population and two thirds of disabled people stated they wanted to take part with non-disabled people in EFDS’s Lifestyle Report 2013.
Working together, the partners aim to increase the number of people who are able to access and enjoy local opportunities. This could be through local authority or independent provision, sports clubs or perhaps volunteering. Providers want to motivate people by tapping into their values and the things that matter most to them. This includes building friendships, maintaining health, having fun and progressing in life.

Importantly, a large proportion of the investment is for monitoring and evaluation, assessing the impact and allowing for more organisations to learn from the outcomes.

For more information on Get Out and Get Active, visit www.efds.co.uk/GOGA