Strengthen & Adapt | Updates

After months of consultation, research, planning and preparation, the basketball community’s Strengthen and Adapt (S&A) Plan has been given the green light to proceed with a $3 million budget.

The wide-reaching plan, released publicly at the Basketball New Zealand AGM in May, targets eight critical areas of improvement.

Today, the first of nine community-focused basketball roles were advertised. The people filling these roles will make up an initial community workforce tasked with powering some of the Plan’s new basketball projects, resulting in more basketball opportunities for all Kiwis.

The Strengthen and Adapt Plan is the result of an extensive nationwide consultation that was carried out after Sport New Zealand announced the fund last year.

The Plan was presented to Sport New Zealand earlier this year. Sport NZ agreed to fund three key projects with $1.35m over three years. Basketball New Zealand and other partners then sourced further funding to bring the total investment to $3m.

Basketball New Zealand GM of Community Basketball, Brad Edwards, says to get to this point is a significant achievement.

“This Plan, supported by this level of funding, is a massive deal for basketball. To get to this stage of resourcing projects with more great people in the regions is really exciting.

“Before we could access funding, Sport NZ wanted to see we had a strong understanding for what was holding basketball back and what our communities need. The work to develop the Plan was extensive, so this really is the basketball community’s solutions to those barriers and opportunities. Their feedback identified the eight critical areas outlined in the Plan. Now those have been accepted by Sport NZ, the Board and the community, the job now is to implement them,” says Edwards.

Phase one of the project involves:

• Regional development of three focus areas | Working within targeted regions to increase the level of direct support, programmes and services, initially across three core areas:
  • growing the game for women and girls (page 12 of the plan)
  • connections to community clubs (page 20 of the plan)
  • spaces to play basketball. (page 22 of the plan)

Already 14 of the 35 BBNZ member associations are involved in this. Further member associations in other parts of the country will become part of this work.

• External review of the basketball delivery structure and the role of independent providers (page 16 – 19 of the plan) | Basketball New Zealand is in the process of contracting an external provider to deliver a plan for this, hopefully to be presented at the Basketball New Zealand AGM in May 2022.
• Basketball for people with disabilities (page 24 of the plan) | Partnering with Sport NZ to complete a review of basketballs’ current and potential role and how to better connect, support and enable providers. Project to commence early 2022.

Basketball New Zealand is also dedicating team members to drive the Plan nationally, in collaboration with the new regional roles.

Seven of the newly advertised roles are spread throughout South Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury.

Damien Ekenasio, GM Capital Zone Basketball Trust, is one of those who helped source additional funding for their region, resulting in two roles created to service the wider Wellington zone.

“Real collaboration and an open partnership approach with Basketball NZ has enabled us to identify wider opportunity to grow the game with two new community focused leadership roles. We’re excited to be part of a Nationally led focus over the next three years to enhance and strengthen basketball in our Capital Zone.”

Edwards says investment into the Plan’s target areas will grow and the resulting projects will be sustainable long after the three-year plan runs its course.

“Ultimately this is a once in a generation opportunity to enable our vision of a hoop in the heart of every community. We are actively supporting our member organisations to take the Plan and run with it, partnering with us and bringing their own local funders in to support it, as Capital Basketball has already done in their community.

“The total investment into the Basketball Strengthen & Adapt Plan could be $6 million or more over the next three years,” says Edwards.

More information on the Strengthen and Adapt project, including the Plan and vacancies, can be found here.

Kia ora,

this is a quick update outlining the Basketball Strengthen and Adapt project’s progress to date and what the anticipated timeline is in the coming weeks.

At the end of last week, the Strengthen and Adapt (S&A) project team met the deadline and submitted the Basketball Strengthen and Adapt Plan to Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ).

Sport NZ will now assess the application ahead of the S&A team’s presentation to the Sport NZ panel, which is scheduled for next week, Tuesday 9 March.

During the last five months, the S&A team have consulted with a large and diverse range of our community including face to face forums, online focus groups, online meetings with Association GMs, the Community Advisory Group (CAG), Association’ Board Chairs, and regular updates to the Steering Group and the BBNZ Board.

The project team would like to express their sincere thanks for the high level of engagement throughout this process. There has been strong support for the plan as an accurate reflection on this extensive consultation and for identifying what needs to happen for us to thrive.

One of the key parts of the plan is reminding Sport NZ how basketball is already thriving. The S&A Plan opens with evidence of the incredible growth basketball has experienced during the past decade, with highlighted examples of the increase in basketball participation, media interest, broadcast presence and fans.

These quick highlights are an example of where basketball is at in New Zealand, and how our community is now presented with a great opportunity to build a sustainable future and foster more quality opportunities for our tamariki and rangatahi. We will make it clear to Sport NZ that basketball’s foundation is strong and set to build upon with eight key projects outlined in the S&A Plan. With Sport NZ support, our community can work together to continue propelling basketball’s growth.

As communicated in past updates, the eight targeted improvement areas have been narrowed down from 23 that emerged from the project’s wider consultation. The additional areas identified outside the S&A priorities will be responded to through Basketball New Zealand planning processes. Each of the 23 Areas are outlined in this strategy map.

Right now, the S&A team continue to put the final touches to our presentation for Sport New Zealand. This is an important opportunity to present basketball as a vibrant and growing sport that can be fuelled to deliver further growth and ensure a sustainable future.

For more information on the process and details of what makes up eight areas we have submitted to Sport NZ, including brief outlines of the improvement opportunity and what the improvement would deliver, click here. (Note – this is not the final plan. It is a PDF outlining more information for Associations for the purposes of this update).

We plan to release the full plan to our community in early April, following final investment decisions by Sport NZ.

All our S&A electronic updates can be found here.

In May 2020, the Government announced funding in the form of a Recovery Package to assist play, active recreation and sport organisations to deal with the impacts of COVID-19. Sport NZ has formulated an approach to assist an initial group of National Partners to make the best use of the Recovery Package, which includes a National Partner Strengthen and Adapt Programme.

Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) was chosen by Sport NZ to be part of this programme opportunity based on:
• BBNZ’s alignment to Sport NZ’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan.
• The potential of BBNZ and the basketball community to help reach target participation groups and a significant mass of participants.
• BBNZ’s capability and general readiness for this process.

Through this Strengthen and Adapt Programme, Sport NZ seeks to move New Zealand sports organisations towards being:
• Fit for purpose and future-proofed.
• Stable and capable to support the needs of participants and athletes into the future.
• Able to drive increase participation through creating quality experiences.
• Address historical inequities, and inclusion and diversity gaps in the basketball system.

Consultation
After an extensive series of basketball community consultations throughout New Zealand, 23 areas of potential improvement in basketball have surfaced. Within the 23, there are now 13 areas being considered to identify a small number of key priorities for a Strengthen and Adapt funding bid to meaningfully strengthen basketball.

To narrow the 23 areas of potential improvement, the project team applied further research, assessed the weight of feedback and evidence for each area, and discussed each area with the Basketball NZ Board. These areas are further detailed in a full report on the BBNZ Website – click on link below.

Areas of improvement identified above that are not included in the final Basketball Strengthen and Adapt funding bid will be responded to by BBNZ working with the wider basketball community.

Focus Group Discussions & Basketball Think Tank

To assist with the development of possible solutions across the 13 areas identified, a further six online focus group discussions took place. These groups were made up of a cross-section of people within the basketball community and across the sporting sector.

This culminated on Wednesday 9 December, with 40 key stakeholders from a diverse range of backgrounds across basketball and the sport sector attending a full-day Basketball Think Tank. The purpose of the Think Tank was to generate additional ideas and solutions across eight areas of improvement, ultimately informing Basketball’s Strengthen and Adapt Plan.

Two work streams were a key focus of the Think Tank – Growing the game for women and girls and Structure of the basketball system. The women and girls session included a guest presentation from Rachel Froggatt, CEO Women in Sport Aotearoa and included six inspiring young women from local secondary and tertiary institutions. The system session involved a range of stakeholders from Associations, independent providers, schools and other partners.

Next Steps
Project Manager, Rodger Thompson, and the Strengthen and Adapt project team, are now tasked with distilling ideas and recommending to the BBNZ Board areas for transformation, including those to be included within the finalised Strengthen and Adapt Plan and application due to Sport NZ before the end of February 2021.

A nationwide consultation process has revealed a list of improvements that could strengthen basketball in New Zealand.

After an extensive series of basketball community consultations throughout New Zealand, 23 areas of potential improvement in basketball have surfaced. Within the 23, there are now 13 areas being considered to identify a small number of key priorities for a Strengthen and Adapt funding bid to meaningfully strengthen basketball.

The consultations spanned face-to-face meetings with a mix of people from different basketball backgrounds. These meetings were held in the Northern, Mid-North, Central, Capital, Mainland and Southern zones. The consultations involved interviews with representatives of associations, clubs, schools, tertiary, Maori, Pasifika, Wheelchair basketball, Deaf basketball, independent providers, and discussions with our Community Advisory Group (made up of a number of representatives from Associations), plus a public survey that garnered 713 responses.

To narrow the 23 areas of potential improvement, the project team applied further research, assessed the weight of feedback and evidence for each area, and discussed each area with the Basketball NZ Board. In short, the 13 areas identified to explore further are:

• Provide participants with a regular active voice and involve them in the design and improvement of BBNZ and association services.
• Ensure everyone in the basketball ecosystem knows the data they need to collect and share so that everyone has access to the information they need to operate and make better decisions.
• A new service delivery model and structure that ensures clarity of roles and responsibilities, and consistent delivery of basketball across the country, including the establishment of a dedicated focus to understand and address the unique long-term challenges and opportunities of growth in Auckland and other main centres.
• Determine how basketball can more effectively work with independent providers to deliver better basketball experiences to more New Zealanders.
• Develop a healthy, contemporary community club and local provider structure across New Zealand that includes strong connections with schools.
• Create a long-term plan and attract investment and support from Territorial Authorities to create a broad range of courts that are accessible to diverse communities.
• Elevate the status of 3X3 and its importance, and fully commit to growing the game within New Zealand.
• Introduce modified casual versions of the game to make the game more social and accessible.
• Connect with and support ethnic groups to help them grow the sport in their communities.
• Create basketball offerings tailored to the factors that motivate women and girls at different ages to continue to play.
• Ensure there is significant female representation at all levels of leadership to provide a strong female voice shaping the direction of the game.
• Implement a dedicated outreach programme (beyond Kiwi Hoops) to schools and clubs to help them improve their coaches and officials.
• Provide a range of programmes to support player wellbeing and ensure that we are giving all tamariki and rangatahi opportunities to have an awesome basketball experience.

These areas are further detailed in the full report available here.

Areas of improvement identified above that are not included in the final Basketball Strengthen and Adapt funding bid will be responded to by BBNZ working with the wider basketball community.

Project Manager, Rodger Thompson, and the Strengthen and Adapt project team, are now tasked with taking the 13 areas identified and developing possible solutions with input from focus groups made up of a cross-section of people within the basketball community and across the sporting sector. This work will help identify a small number of areas that could deliver transformational change and inform the Strengthen and Adapt Plan and application due to Sport NZ before the end of February 2021.

The Strengthen and Adapt programme is now through the consultation stage. We are considering the feedback we have collated and working towards our meeting with Sport NZ. We thought this might be a good time to recap what has happened so far and outline the next steps…

Background

In May 2020, the Government announced funding in the form of a Recovery Package to assist play, active recreation and sport organisations to deal with the impacts of COVID-19. Sport NZ has formulated an approach to assist an initial group of National Partners to make the best use of the Recovery Package, which includes a National Partner Strengthen and Adapt Programme.

Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) was chosen by Sport NZ to be part of this programme opportunity based on:

• BBNZ’s alignment to Sport NZ’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan.
• The potential of BBNZ and the basketball community to help reach target participation groups and a significant mass of participants.
• BBNZ’s capability and general readiness for this process.

Through this Strengthen and Adapt Programme, Sport NZ seeks to move New Zealand sports organisations towards being:

• Fit for purpose and future-proofed.
• Stable and capable to support the needs of participants and athletes into the future.
• Able to drive increase participation through creating quality experiences.
• Address historical inequities, and inclusion and diversity gaps in the basketball system.

The following three basketball areas are ‘in scope’ for Strengthen and Adapt and all contribute to our vision of ’a hoop in the heart of every neighbourhood’:

1. Improve NZ’s basketball infrastructure to ensure BBNZ and providers have the capability and financial resources to sustainably deliver the game.
2. Expand community basketball to provide opportunities for all New Zealanders to participate in and enjoy the benefits of basketball in their communities.
3. Shape representative basketball based on approaches that capitalizes on New Zealand’s strengths.

Consultation to date

Over the last six weeks, the basketball community has had the opportunity to be part of a consultation process to provide feedback on how basketball in New Zealand could be transformed to better meet the needs of participants and our communities in the future.

Project Manager, Rodger Thompson, says this first stage has included consulting with our basketball communities, as well as bringing all basketball research and data together.

“The aim has been to thoroughly understand the current state of basketball, the possible future state of basketball, and identify a small number of key areas within the basketball system that we could transform to be more effective in delivering quality basketball experiences to New Zealanders.

“Next will be taking the key areas identified and scoping these to inform a small number of initiatives that will form part of our Basketball Strengthen and Adapt Plan, for Sport NZ to consider supporting. This Plan is due to Sport NZ by the end of February 2021,” says Thompson.

The consultation process to date has been extensive and thanks goes out to the host Associations who held focus groups for their Basketball Zones: John Hunt, Harbour (Northern Zone); Mark Rogers, Tauranga City (Mid-North Zone); Mike Ryan, Manawatu (Central Zone), Damien Ekenasio, Capital Zone; Clive Beaumont, Canterbury (Mainland Zone); Peter Drew, Otago (Southern Zone). The consultation has also involved a public basketball stakeholder survey, interviews with representatives of schools, tertiary, Maori, Pacifica, Wheelchair basketball, independent providers, and discussions with our Community Advisory Group (made up of a number of representatives from Associations).

Next Steps

Thompson says the consultations’ research and analysis will likely be communicated to everyone by the end of November.

“Working these findings through to identify and scope the key areas for change is the next step, and this will involve further consultation with our Basketball Community Advisory Group and a range of representatives from across the basketball community through a Think Tank and online focus groups in the coming weeks,” says Thompson.

He added that the goal is to take the best ideas to Sport NZ to consider. Sport NZ will be weighing up these ideas with how they might apply the investment among sports throughout the sector.

The Basketball Strengthen and Adapt consultation is moving its way up New Zealand. It is being conducted through a series of focus groups in all six zones hosted by Associations, as well as through interviews with a range of stakeholders and surveys.

Led by Sport New Zealand-appointed Project Manager, Rodger Thompson, feedback is being sought from all areas of our sport. That includes a public survey that has been running this week (ends at midnight tonight).

Steve Tew has been appointed by Sport NZ to work with a handful of sports. Part of his role is to convey Sport NZ’s expectations during the consultation and what they want to see before potentially investing into different sports. Tew says the sport sector should understand that there are firm expectations around research, assurances of sustainability and putting forward a strong case of ‘transformational change’.

“This project is about getting sports to do their research and consultation to really understand where their sport is at. And when I say ‘sport’, I mean the sport generally, not just the NSO or the Associations that are part of that organisation.

“Basketball needs to show it understands the critical insights needed to address change for the better. Sport NZ will want to see proof of that. Then, with that information showing the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead, sports will need to present potential initiatives that could really transform the sport.”

Ultimately Sport NZ wants to see Wellbeing outcomes achieved through sport. Tew says the solutions could lie across a range of providers or innovations, and expectations should be managed.

“NSOs and associations obviously play a critical role, but this opportunity may be for any providers or influencers in the sport. It also needs to be pointed out that there is not an endless pot of money for this programme. There is a challenge in how a limited amount of investment can be used.

“Any possible investment will be done in the belief that it will help better future-proof basketball, so that the sport is an active contributor to the Wellbeing goals that this Government has for New Zealand. Also, it will only be for initiatives that have long-term financial sustainability.”

So how can basketball prove that it can be transformed and create innovative solutions to foster wellbeing? It’s likely it will need to be a combination of the community working together and ensuring the sport has the gear to do it. Further answers will hopefully come from the wider basketball community during the consultation. That consultation process, in Tew’s mind, has so far been commendable.

“I’ve listened to some really robust conversations about basketball and it’s clear there are some excellent things being achieved in the sport. The community is proud of their game and many are already helping to make a difference in New Zealand. The question is, where can the sport improve?

“To help find the answer, we are asking people. The survey is out, the consulting team has been conducting focus groups throughout the country and canvasing opinions from a wide cross-section of people in the basketball community. They are digging into existing and emerging research. It looks to be thorough and it’s good to see the process is not being rushed.”

The first stage of the consultation process is set to conclude at the end of the month.

Information from the consultation will then be collated and analysed along with existing data like participation figures, information on facilities and more. A report is expected to Sport NZ before the end of the year and our Basketball Strengthen and Adapt Plan will be submitted to Sport NZ in February.

Updates can be found here.

The Government is asking the basketball community how we can transform our game to be better for all Kiwis. We want everyone to have a say. Please fill out this quick survey – it takes five minutes to answer ten quick questions. Complete it to be in the draw to win an awesome prize pack including a Tall Blacks World Cup singlet signed by the whole team!

Click here to complete the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HFPL628

Consultation with the basketball community around the country is now underway.

The Sport New Zealand Strengthen and Adapt Programme is being called a once in 20-year opportunity to transform our sport and help basketball achieve sustainable growth towards our vision of a hoop in the heart of every community.

Project lead Rodger Thompson, appointed by Sport New Zealand, says focus groups and interviews have been held with people throughout the basketball community to listen to their big ideas for basketball’s future and what parts of basketball could be transformed.

“Last week over 100 participants in the basketball community attended three Zone Forums in Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington. Each Forum included sessions for players, coaches and officials, Associations, and other representatives involved in the management and governance of the game. The focus groups generated so many ideas for what our future could look like.

“This week we complete the Zone Forums with sessions in Auckland, Tauranga and Palmerston North. Interviews are also being held with the New Zealander Breakers, Sports Pathways, School Sport NZ and other stakeholders,” says Thompson.

This stakeholder feedback, along with our analyses of all available basketball research and data, will help inform the Strengthen and Adapt Report for Basketball.

In May 2020, the New Zealand Government announced funding in the form of a Recovery Package to assist play, active recreation and sport organisations to deal with the impacts of COVID-19. Sport NZ has formulated am approach to assist an initial group of National Partners to make the best use of the Recovery Package, which includes a National Partner Strengthen and Adapt Programme.

Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) has been chosen by Sport NZ to be part of this programme opportunity based on:

• BBNZ’s alignment to Sport NZ’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan
• The potential of BBNZ and the basketball community to help reach target participation groups and a significant mass of participants
• BBNZ’s capability and general readiness for this process.

Sport NZ has made it clear that the future of the sport sector will not be maximised if we simply replay the current approach. They want to see innovation. The disruption caused by COVID-19 has created a once in 30-year opportunity for organisations to rethink and reimagine their future.

Through this Strengthen and Adapt Programme, Sport NZ seeks to ensure basketball in New Zealand is:

• fit for purpose and future-proofed
• stable and capable to support the needs of basketball participants and athletes into the future
• able to drive increased basketball participation through creating quality experiences
• address historical inequities, and inclusion and diversity gaps in the basketball system.

The following three areas are ‘in scope’ for this Strengthen and Adapt Project and all contribute to our vision of ’a hoop in the heart of every neighbourhood’:

1. Improve NZ’s basketball infrastructure to ensure BBNZ and providers have the capability and financial resources to sustainably deliver the game.
2. Expand community basketball to provide opportunities for all New Zealanders to participate in and enjoy the benefits of basketball in their communities.
3. Shape representative basketball based on approaches that capitalizes on New Zealand’s strengths.

Consultation

Over the next month, the basketball community will have the opportunity to be part of a consultation process before BBNZ submits a report to Sport NZ at the end of October on how basketball in New Zealand could be transformed to better meet the needs of participants and our communities.

Sport NZ is supporting this Basketball Strengthen and Adapt Project through providing Steve Tew as an independent advisor and Rodger Thompson as project manager. Thompson says the project will be done in two steps.

“Step one will include consulting with our basketball communities, as well as bringing all basketball research and data together. The aim is to thoroughly understand the current state of basketball, the possible future state of basketball, and identify a small number of key areas within the basketball system that we could transform to be more effective in delivering quality basketball experiences to New Zealanders. Our Basketball Strengthen and Adapt Report is due to Sport NZ by the end of October.

“Step two will be taking the key areas identified within our Strengthen and Adapt Report and working with our communities to co-design a small number of system-transforming initiatives to form part of our Basketball Strengthen and Adapt Plan, for Sport NZ to consider supporting. The development of this Plan will begin in November.

“There will be the potential for BBNZ to access Strengthen and Adapt Programme investment to support transformational system changes identified in our Plan. But Sport NZ will only  consider supporting sports that clearly demonstrate a plan to do things differently, to embrace and join up a wider delivery model, to reach a more diverse number of participant groups and to ensure any changes are financially sustainable”.

The consultation process is planned for October and will involve face to face meetings with basketball stakeholders in each basketball Zone (Northern, Mid-North, Central, Capital, Mainland and Southern), a basketball stakeholder survey, interviews with representatives of schools, tertiary, Maori, Pacifica, private providers, and discussions with the Community Advisory Group (made up of a number of representatives from Associations).