How we work
Our key principles underline all areas of our work:
- We believe in the power of sport and physical activity
- We value people and their experiences
- We listen and respond to our communities
- We believe that real change happens through real work
- We focus our efforts on supporting those with the energy to drive change
- We are committed to the highest standards of governance and safeguarding
We are a collaborative organisation who values the partnerships we have and looks to deliver real value and impact for those we are working with.
The ASF is committed to the highest standards of governance and is working towards achieving the highest tier of SportEngland’s Code for Sports Governance. We are at all times open and transparent about our work and pride ourselves on our work to be inclusive and accessible to all. Our focus is on supporting people and organisations fromAsian backgrounds in England as this is where our expertise and lived experience lies, however we at all times look for ways that we can bring communities together and promote better understanding and cultural awareness and are open to working with all communities as part of our holistic approach to driving change in sport and physical activity.
The ASF is a strategic organisation who works with a wide variety of partners and organisations to drive change and increase participation and activity levels in sport and physical activity amongst Asian communities in England. We do this by both working with national sporting bodies, government agencies and professional sports clubs whilstalso supporting our national delivery network of inspiring individuals and trusted community organisations.
The key areas that we focus on are:
- Research & Insight
- Training
- Capacity Building
- Delivery
Research & Insight
We are not against academic studies by any means, but that is not what we are talking about here. Our research and insight focus on talking with and listening to our communities, working to elevate the voices of those that may not otherwise be heard and ensuring that our partners are better informed to deliver inclusive and impactful sport and physical activity opportunities. We work with our delivery network at a hyper-local level to understand the needs of our communities, working together to develop smart, people-led solutions to addressing any barriers that do exist.
We have the capacity to support national sporting bodies, professional sports clubs and any other organisations looking to better engage with Asian communities in England.This takes time though and we are only interested in working with committed partners who have a genuine commitment to changing the ways they work; we are no longer prepared tosupport tokenistic campaigns or short-term interventions.
Training
We can provide tailored training courses (online and face-to-face) for organisations looking to better engage withAsian communities. Training can cover key equality and diversity topics as well as working with organisations to build up greater cultural awareness and understanding. All our training is developed and delivered by people with lived experience of trying to navigate the sport and physical activity landscape as someone from a South Asian background.
Capacity Building
Supporting the individuals and organisations within our national delivery network to grow and develop is a crucial aspect of our work. We know that too often these people andorganisations are frustrated by short-term interventions and campaigns that stop just as they are building momentum.We are committed to a different way of working, one whichsees us working with and for our network to unlock long-term funding and commitment from national partners to allow for true change to happen. We will work with our delivery
network to develop their own capacity to become sustainable community organisations providing more opportunities for people to get active and play sport.
Delivery
Our national network of delivery partners is made up almost entirely of inspiring individuals and small organisations who are embedded within the communities they serve. These people and organisations are amazing and inspiring, yet often need support to access the funding they need to reach their potential. As an organisation we are committed to working with our delivery network to collectively build our capacity around all key aspects of governance and safeguarding so that we can unlock the funding, which is required to drive positive, long-term behavioural change in our communities.
We have developed a tiered membership offer which sees us provide bespoke support packages for a range of organisations, depending on their own individual needs.
