In April, we bought key stakeholders and wider contacts together for our first Theory of Change workshop for East Lindsey.

This workshop was part of the Sport England Place Partnership development phase. As part of this, we are working to create Theory of Change for East Lindsey to apply for the next phase of the Place Expansion offer. This is an opportunity to secure additional funding to support happier, healthier communities through movement and physical activity.

We used the session to co-create the Theory of Change, drawing on our stakeholders’ expertise and local knowledge to help shape our work in East Lindsey.

During the session, we worked together to:

• Agree the longer-term outcomes we want to see
• Map the key activities and approaches already happening
• Explore the conditions and assumptions that need to be in place
• Capture this information in a way that’s easy to understand and use afterwards
  
  

Before the interactive session, we heard from our Community Connectors, who have spent the past six months capturing valuable insight and feedback from across our communities—helping us understand the barriers and challenges people face when trying to be physically active.

A Theory of Change is a simple way of telling the story of what we’re trying to achieve, how we think change happens, and what needs to be in place for that change to last.

Rather than starting with targets or measures, it helps us step back and ask:

• What problem are we really trying to solve?
• What does success look like?
• What activities or approaches help move us towards that change?
• What assumptions are we making along the way?

It was fantastic to see so much energy in the room. Working this way helps us to:

• Create a shared understanding across partners
• Make visible the connections between different activities and roles
• Identify what’s already working and where there may be gaps
• Provide a foundation for future learning, planning, and evaluation—helping ensure we’re pulling in the same direction, which is essential if we’re to achieve lasting, systemic change in our communities

Find out more about our Place Partnership work

We're working with Sport England to develop a place based approach to support communities in East Lindsey, Boston and South Holland to be active. Find out more about our work in place here.