"Now in its fourth year, the ParkLives initiative was spearheaded by Coca-Cola Great Britain in the wake of the company’s sponsorship of the London Olympics. The ambition was to leave a lasting, positive legacy, benefitting thousands of people in local communities, including those living in some of the country’s most deprived areas.
Based on the model of Birmingham’s Be Active campaign, ParkLives delivers activities in parks and open spaces, and the key is to be local, accessible and flexible. The aims are to offer engaging, fun and sociable activities, which are free to access, and also to break down the common barriers of money and time. People will never be asked to make a financial contribution.
This is Coca-Cola GB’s largest Corporate Social Responsibility programme and is part of a £20m commitment to invest in community-based programmes. The company has been hands-on in driving the initiative: creating the ethos, brand and direction. ukactive came on board to measure and evaluate success and manage the programme, while delivery is down to local partners, who build programmes relevant to the needs of their community.
Gaining momentum
ParkLives kicked off in 2014 in three locations: Birmingham, Newcastle and the London Borough of Newham. All programmes were run by local authorities. These were followed in 2015 by Manchester, Glasgow and Nottingham and in 2016 by Southampton, Dundee, Swansea and Stoke on Trent.
The programme also reaches 35 further locations through a partnership with StreetGames, the long-standing charity partner of Coca-Cola Great Britain, that brings sport to the doorsteps of disadvantaged communities across the UK.
All cities were chosen for the strength of their proposals, as well as their levels of social need, and with the aim of creating a geographical spread. Now that 10 cities and StreetGames are on board, the growth of the programme will be from within.
The diversity of activities has grown in the last three years and each area is different. Southampton and Swansea have taken advantage of the abundance of lakes and water in their catchment area by running sailing and stand-up paddle boarding sessions, while cities like Newham have broadened their activity set by introducing DJ workshops, graffiti arts and even donkey grooming.
Popular city activities include Nordic walking groups, which tend to run all year and have had success in alleviating social isolation, as well as Zumba and tai chi. The summer holidays see a broader mix of activities, such as adventure trails, Quidditch, rounders, Nerf wars and den-building. Going forward, ParkLives programme managers will be looking to strike up more local partnerships to engage larger and new audiences, offering fun activities for all ages and abilities.
Engaging with leisure operators
Local delivery partners would welcome discussions with sports and fitness operators, in areas where ParkLives programmes are taking place, who either have responsibility for parks and green space, or would like to expand their activities into these spaces.
Although sessions have to be free to the public, operators might want to use some one-off park-based sessions as a business development opportunity to meet new audiences in the community.
The growth of parklives
2014
Birmingham, Newcastle and the London Borough of Newham
2015
Manchester, Glasgow and Nottingham
2016
Southampton, Dundee, Swansea