UK Deaf Sport: Sport and Physical Activity Survey

UK Deaf Sport is therefore looking for an experienced company/consultant to develop a survey/methodology to inform UK Deaf Sport about the level of deaf people’s awareness of opportunities to be active and their actual participation in sport and physical activity and the challenges they face.

About UK Deaf Sport

UK Deaf Sport is the national governing body for deaf sport in the UK and aims to get more deaf people participating in sport at all levels from grassroots to elite level and selects and manages the DeaflympicsGB Team.

UK Deaf Sport use the term ‘¹deaf’ to represent all people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a hearing loss, whether this is acquired or from birth and the term ‘deaf community’ to represent all people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a hearing loss or anyone who has a lived experience of deafness such as family members, friends, allies, colleagues and other professionals.

Our vision is every deaf person active and inspired by sport and physical activity.

Our mission is leading opportunities for more deaf people to participate in sport throughout their lives and more deaf athletes to perform on the world stage.

There are more than 12 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK, and more than 50,000 deaf and hard of hearing children. The Sport England Active Lives Survey 2023 shows:

• 53% of people aged 16+ with a hearing impairment were inactive (less than 30 minutes a week) compared to 15% of people without a disability.

• 33% of people aged 16+ with a hearing impairment did not participate in sport or physical activity compared to 5% of people without a disability.

• Children with a hearing impairment are just as likely to be active as those without a disability, but of those children who are less active, 43% of deaf children participate in no activity at all compared to 26% of children with no disability.

UK Deaf Sport works in partnership with key organisations to ensure that deaf children, young people and adults have equal opportunities to participate and excel in sport and physical activity as their hearing counterparts from grassroots to elite level. This includes working with decision-makers and professionals such as national sport governing bodies to support them to remove the challenges and barriers that prevent deaf people taking part in sport and physical activity. We also raise awareness and campaigning for fairness.

Research and insight are central to informing our operational plans and evidence of impact. However, UK Deaf Sport is a small charity with one part-time Governance and Insight Manager so has limited insight and research capacity in-house. We currently use the information from surveys and research carried out by other organisations such as Sport England and the Activity Alliance, however, the number of deaf people included in these surveys is very small and they do not provide the kind of detailed insight we need to inform our work on awareness of opportunities to be active and actual participation levels in the deaf community. For example, 76% of the sample of D/deaf people in the Activity Alliance Survey were 55 years or older, providing little information on participation and barriers for younger deaf people.

The survey/methodology needs to:

• Inform UKDS about the deaf community’s awareness of opportunities to be active as well as actual participation levels by levels of deafness and personal characteristics.

• Provide data and insight around intersectionality to understand the ways in which gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, gender identity, disability, class and other characteristics “intersect” with their level of deafness and impact on their ability to be aware of opportunities to be active and also to be active. Also geographical differences.

• Target and engage deaf people with different levels of deafness across the UK.

The results of the initial survey will provide a baseline on deaf people’s levels of awareness of opportunities to be active as well as participation levels in sport and physical activity from which UK Deaf Sport can review the impact of their work on these measures on an annual basis.

UK Deaf Sport currently has a website https://ukdeafsport.org.uk, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Requirements

UK Deaf Sport is seeking costed proposals from experienced consultants/companies to deliver the following options:

Option 1: To develop the survey/wider methodology and complete them and compile the results. UK Deaf Sport will analyse the results and write the survey results report.

Option 2: To develop the survey/wider methodology and complete them and compile and analyse the results and write the results report.

Each option should be costed separately. For both options your proposal will need to provide a clear explanation of how the survey will be developed, the processes and methodology that will be used to engage deaf people with different levels of deafness and personal characteristics, compilation of results, and where applicable analysis of results and writing of the results report.

Proposals for both Option 1 and Option 2 must include the following:

• The development of the methodology including the survey questions and:

o Identification of the personal characteristics of the respondents including levels of deafness that will be used.

o Awareness levels of opportunities to be involved in sport and physical activity. o Levels of current participation in sport and physical activity.

o Barriers to being aware of opportunities to be active and barriers to actual participation in sport and physical activity.

• How you will work with UK Deaf Sport to ensure the survey/methodology is appropriate and provides the information required.

• The methodology to ensure that the survey reaches as many deaf people as possible with different levels of deafness and personal characteristics including gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class age.

• Delivery of the survey and any other methodology such as focus groups.

• Compilation of the raw results.

For Option 2 the Consultancy Support must also deliver:

• Analysis of the results.

• A written results report.

Timescales and Costed Proposal

The costed proposal (no more than 5 sides of A4) must include:

• Information about the consultant/company.

• An overview of the consultants/company’s track record, expertise and experience undertaking similar work including in disability sport.

• Identification of the process and/or methodologies which the consultant/company will use and the timescales to achieve the stated outcomes.

• An explanation of how the consultant/company will develop the survey, engage the deaf community and ensure any survey/focus groups or whatever methodology is proposed is appropriate for the deaf community.

• Information that explains specifically how the consultant/company intends to engage the deaf community in large numbers.

• A breakdown of all associated costs.

• Outline of any value-added which the consultant/company can bring to the project. • Two client reference contacts with permissions for UK Deaf Sport to contact prior to the consultant/company being offered the contract.

UK Deaf Sport will require the successful company/consultant to undertake our 4 short online training modules on Deaf People’s Inclusion in Sport prior to them undertaking the work.

All delivery for either Option 1 or 2 must be completed by 29^thFebruary 2024 and be reported to the UK Deaf Sport Board at their meeting on 13^thMarch 2024.

UK Deaf Sport is a small charity with very limited resources and consideration will be given to organisations who will offer pro bono support, part sponsorship for this project or provide support for a discounted rate.