ukactive and 4GLOBAL have announced a three-year strategic collaboration to strengthen reporting, benchmarking, and lobbying evidence for the physical activity sector.

The collaboration will focus on building and increasing the value and visibility of data and evidence across the sector.

Contributing members will have access to indepth analysis, with aggregated data providing trends and sector performance that will be shared at regular events and key moments throughout the year.

4GLOBAL is a UK-based data company focused on the promotion and measurement of physical activity.

And its expertise will support ukactive’s Private Sector Benchmarking work that began in 2021 when facilities re-opened following the pandemic.

Initially, this will involve the quarterly collection of performance data from private-sector operators, including number of facilities, members, and the total member income they receive.

The data will help ukactive to track the sector’s recovery, performance and emerging sector trends.

A benchmark for the future

Through this strategic collaboration with 4GLOBAL, the data collection is set to be expanded to independent operators and, when combined with the data already collected as part of Sport England’s ‘Moving Communities’, means that, for the first time, there will be a quarterly database showing the performance of the sector as a whole across the UK.

The high-quality data resulting from the partnership will be useful in supporting a range of ukactive stakeholders’ own plans and projects. 

And the anonymised data from the partnership will also feed into ukactive’s regular reporting to the Government in support of the sector’s policy work and lobbying.

There’s so much more to come from having 4GLOBAL alongside us, an organisation that specialises in the promotion and measurement of physical activity, so we’re confident that this is the best way to put the UK fitness and leisure sector at the forefront of insight and evidence generation

Huw Edwards, chief executive of ukactive, said: “Our partnership with 4GLOBAL is a pivotal moment for us and demonstrates to our members how serious we are about using data and insight to support the growth and development of the sector.

“Consistent, regular, credible data sets that cover public, private, independent operators, and are broadened with fresh consumer polling, will give this sector the foundation it requires and deserves.

“The data and insight from this partnership will also form a critical component of our work with the Government over the coming years to ensure the best-possible landscape for our members to grow and develop.”

Making an impact

Dr Matthew Wade, head of research and development at ukactive, added: “We’re already seeing the real benefits of the partnership in our Private Sector Benchmarking project, where we’re now able to understand the performance, trends, and impact that the sector is actually having.

“There’s so much more to come from having 4GLOBAL alongside us, an organisation that specialises in the promotion and measurement of physical activity, so we’re confident that this is the best way to put the UK fitness and leisure sector at the forefront of insight and evidence generation.”

The data and insight from this partnership will also form a critical component of our work with the Government over the coming years to ensure the best-possible landscape for our members to grow and develop

And Dr Steven Mann, global partnership director at 4GLOBAL told paf: “It’s a distinct privilege for all of us at 4GLOBAL to be deepening our relationship with ukactive.

“This important expansion will see data and trends affecting the whole sector being brought together into one place, enabling us to track and analyse how this vitally-important sector is continuing to recover, both from COVID and also the inflation and energy pressures we’ve seen shortly after the pandemic.

“We’ve long admired how ukactive has played a leading role in championing physical activity and fitness through some difficult years and we at 4GLOBAL share their passion for ensuring people lead more-active and healthier lives, so we can’t wait to broaden and deepen our relationship in the months ahead.”