Sport Wales: Partner Support Project Pilot
Background & Context
Sport Wales commissioned M·E·L Research to deliver a pilot project designed to open up dialogue with funded partners and better understand their experiences of receiving support. The wider context for this work was a desire to ensure that support provision remained relevant, effective and responsive to the evolving needs of a diverse partner base, including National Governing Bodies (NGBs), National Partners and Regional Sport Partnerships.
The core business need was to generate evidence-based insights that could help shape and improve the support offer. Specifically, Sport Wales wanted to understand how their support was adding value, what tangible changes it had enabled, and how it could be refined to better meet partner needs. There was also a focus on understanding how well Sport Wales currently understood partner requirements, and how effectively their support facilitated collaboration across the sector.
The Approach
The project involved engaging organisations of varying sizes and remits, which introduced some complexity. Partners differed significantly in their capacity, priorities and reliance on Sport Wales, and some topics—such as funding pressures, perceived declines in support, and organisational challenges—required careful handling to ensure open and honest feedback. Additionally, engaging busy stakeholders across multiple organisations required a flexible and considerate approach to participation.
M·E·L Research designed a qualitative-led pilot methodology, supported by a short quantitative element, to enable both depth and context in understanding partner experiences.
The approach comprised the following stages:
- Pre-session survey: A short online survey was distributed to participants ahead of qualitative sessions. This captured baseline metrics on awareness, usage and perceived helpfulness of different types of support. The survey data was used to inform and guide subsequent discussions, ensuring sessions were focused and relevant.
- Depth interviews: One-to-one interviews were conducted to allow participants to share detailed feedback in a confidential setting. This format enabled probing on sensitive topics and ensured participants could speak openly without influence from others
- Mini focus groups: These sessions encouraged discussion and interaction between partners, generating additional insights through shared experiences and collaborative reflection. They also allowed exploration of sector-wide themes such as collaboration and shared challenges.
Participants were drawn from a mix of funded partner organisations, including NGBs, National Partners and Regional Sport Partnerships, ensuring a breadth of perspectives. The discussions explored experiences of accessing support, perceived value, areas for improvement, and future priorities.
Analysis combined both qualitative and quantitative elements:
- Qualitative analysis: A thematic analysis approach was used to identify key patterns, themes and insights across interviews and focus groups. This enabled a detailed understanding of partner experiences, including perceived strengths, gaps and opportunities within the support offer.
- Quantitative analysis: Survey data was used descriptively to provide context and quantify engagement with different types of support.
Outputs
Outputs were delivered in a structured report format (PowerPoint), designed to clearly communicate findings and support strategic decision-making. The report included:
- A detailed methodology and evaluation of the pilot approach
- Insights into current experiences of accessing support
- Evidence of the impact of support on partner organisations
- Forward-looking recommendations on how support could be improved
The findings were used by Sport Wales to reflect on and refine their support model. This included identifying opportunities to improve communication and awareness of available support, considering how to better tailor support to organisations of different sizes, and exploring ways to enhance collaboration and shared learning across the sector.
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