What Is a Place Partnership?
A Place Partnership is a collaborative approach led by Active Partnerships to create the right conditions for people to lead more active, healthy lives in their local communities.
Through National Lottery and government funding, Sport England is investing up to £250 million into more than 90 communities across England where additional support is most needed. Place Partnerships are central to delivering this investment at a local level.
Each partnership focuses on understanding the unique strengths, challenges, and priorities of its community. By listening to local voices and using insight and evidence, partners work together to reduce barriers to physical activity and direct support proportionately to the areas facing the greatest inequalities.
This approach recognises that where someone lives can significantly influence their opportunities to be active. By working collaboratively across sectors, Place Partnerships help create sustainable, inclusive environments where being active becomes easier and part of everyday life.
How Place Partnerships Work
Active Partnerships work closely with local stakeholders, organisations, and communities to:
- Build strong relationships and networks that support long-term change
- Reduce inequalities in access to physical activity
- Design targeted support based on local knowledge and community insight
- Contribute to national efforts to increase activity levels among children and adults
Each Place Partnership is supported by dedicated facilitators. These professionals bring expertise in leadership, community engagement, and systems change, helping to plan, coordinate, and deliver locally led initiatives.
By working together in this way, Place Partnerships help create sustainable, inclusive environments where being active is easier, more welcoming, and part of everyday life.
Our Role in East Staffordshire
In November 2025, our Active Partnership was selected for Phase 2 of this national initiative, enabling us to lead place-based working in East Staffordshire.
“Place” refers to a specific area with its own unique context, needs, and strengths. In East Staffordshire, this includes communities in Burton-upon-Trent and Uttoxeter, which have been identified as areas facing significant barriers to physical activity.
Working through partnership, our place-based work is delivered through Sport England’s Award Programmes and facilitated by Together Active.
We work with a wide range of partners, including:
- Local authorities
- NHS Trusts
- Schools and education providers
- Voluntary and community organisations
- Social enterprises and grassroots groups
This collaborative approach allows each partner to contribute their strengths while working as equals towards shared goals.
Why This Work Matters
Where you live and your individual circumstances have a fundamental impact on your ability to be active.
Across England, some communities face far greater barriers than others. These barriers can be social, financial, environmental, or systemic. Our place-based work tackles these deep-rooted challenges by:
- Addressing inequality and exclusion
- Making physical activity everybody’s business
- Changing how decisions are made locally
- Embedding activity into everyday systems
We are part of a wider local and national network working collectively to reduce inactivity and improve health outcomes.
Driving Sustainable Change
This programme prioritises long-term, systemic change through:
- Shared evaluation and learning
- Joint decision-making
- Community-led leadership
- Sustainable delivery models
Community groups and system partners are supported to work to their strengths, while meeting in the middle to co-create solutions.
By fostering autonomy, trust, and partnership, we aim to create lasting impact with and for communities.
Community Involvement
At present, our core partners are those able to commit time and capacity to the Development Award. However, we are continually working to widen engagement.
We actively reach out to raise awareness, invite new voices, and create opportunities for community involvement. This ensures equitable decision-making, shared ownership, and meaningful participation in designing out inactivity.
Our ambition is simple: to ensure that everyone, regardless of where they live, has the opportunity to be active, healthy, and well.