Tackling inequalities with focus groups
Making sport and physical activity inclusive and accessible to everyone underpins everything we do.
A crucial part of our work involves tackling inequalities in physical activity and sport. These can take many forms; including disability, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and also faith.
Of course, there is still lots of work to be done, and there are always improvements to be made. It is for this reason we seek the voices of people in Norfolk through ‘focus groups’. These are groups made up of those who are impacted by these inequalities. They help us review our work and steer our aims in the right direction.
This is where you come in.
What Focus Groups do we run?
Focus Groups are small groups of people giving their impartial opinion on a topic, in order to help us explore and review new areas of work.
What encourages you to get active? Are there any barriers you face when looking for new sports or activities? What would help you? Our groups will be informal chats encouraging participants to discuss and share within these sort of topics. We’d love to hear about your thoughts and experiences with physical activity.
At present, we are hosting two focus groups. We have a disability and inclusivity focus group, and an upcoming group to work with women and girls. We have plans to establish further focus groups in the future, so stay tuned for further information.
Disability and Inclusivity
At present, we work with the DRAGONs (Disability Real Action Group of Norfolk) to review our activities, communications and websites from a disability and inclusivity perspective.
We would love to have more people to share their experiences of physical activity when living with a disability, or health condition.
Women and Girls
We are currently in the process of setting up this focus group, and would love a range of women from different backgrounds to sign up and offer their opinions.
In signing up, you will be asked to share your experiences of sport and physical activity as a woman, and suggest ways we can improve this in Norfolk.
LGBTQ+
We are currently in the process of setting up this focus group, and would love for anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ to share their experiences.
You will be asked to share your experiences of sport and physical activity, and whether your gender identity or sexual orientation has ever factored into this.
Ethnic minority groups
We are keen to establish a focus group for ethnic minority groups in Norfolk.
Whilst we appreciate that some people aren’t comfortable being defined by their ethnicity, we believe this focus group could be extremely useful for monitoring, discussing and addressing racial discrimination and inequalities within sport.
Please note, these focus groups are not a platform to request funding for your own group or organisation. We will be focussing on wider issues including how to tackle inequalities across Norfolk, rather than specific organisations. For funding opportunities, click here.
Frequently asked questions
Our focus groups are small, informal groups of up to 15 people who meet to discuss the chosen topic, and offer their opinions on how we can improve access to sport and physical activity for certain groups. The groups will be small and relaxed, and offer the opportunity to offer opinions in a no-pressure environment, whilst hearing about the work that we’re doing.
At present, our disability and inclusivity focus group meets in person every couple of months for a few hours to review our recent work. The group is hosted in venues around Norfolk, and the tea, coffee and snacks are on us!
However, we appreciate that for many people, this type of arrangement will not fit their busy schedule. With this in mind, our sign-up form will ask what sort of time, location and frequency would suit you, whether it’s in person or online. When setting up the group, we will take into account what arrangements suit the majority of respondents.
Just yourself, your ideas and your experiences! We want to hear about all types of experiences with physical activity from people across Norfolk, to get the best idea of the bigger picture.
These Focus Groups operate on a volunteer basis, in order to enable us to direct limited funds towards highlighted areas of concern or need. If transport is an issue, you may be able to join us online to save costs.
When setting up a meeting, we will try and arrange a date that best suits everyone.
However, we understand that life is busy and you might not be able to make every session! We simply ask that you let us know if you are unable to attend, so that we can plan ahead in terms of numbers.
To register your interest in one of our focus groups, please see the open groups and fill in the form at the bottom of this page. By doing so, you are not committing to anything just yet, and we will send you more details as and when we have them.
If the group you’re interested in is not listed below, it is because we are not currently inviting people to join this Focus Group. When we open up new groups, we will announce this across our platforms.
Please note, whilst we want as many attendees as possible, we may have to limit the number of people we invite to take part in a session in order to ensure it is productive and everyone has a chance to have their say. Please do not be offended if this is the case; you may be invited to a future group.
If you have any questions about the focus groups, please use our Contact Form and select ‘Focus Groups’. This will ensure your query is sent to the correct team members.
Sign up to a focus group
We would love to have you on one of our Focus Groups! To register your interest, please fill in the form below and let us know what times and locations would work best for you.