TOWARDS AN ACTIVE GRONINGEN

LAURA LORENZATO, ARSEN GAINTATZIS, DAVID BELOSIC, STANISLAVA ČARNECKÁ

CONTENT

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Assignment 21.1. Improved strategies1.2. Groningen compared to Aalborg1.3. Statistical approach & proposed strategy

2. Assignment 32.1. Kardinge Sportcentrum2.2. Vision of Stakeholders2.3. Our vision2.4. Project Plan2.5. Financing

3. Peer Assessments4. Bibliography5. Appendix

6.1. Interviews

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6.2. Tables

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1. ASSIGNMENT 2: MULTIPLE YEAR PROGRAMMEOur consulting group attended a meeting in the town hall with the policy makers who are in charge of the Multiple Year Programme, a sports and exercise project which started in 2016 and will continue until 2020. The main aim of this programme is to achieve an active groningen in which sport and movement are accessible for all. We were asked to analyze their strategies, find improvements and create a new strategy which is in line with their ideas. To do so we analyzed the political situation in groningen and compared Groningens’ strategies to another similar city to see the improvements or problems which should be tackled.

1. 1. IMPROVED STRATEGIES

Based on the aims of the biggest political parties programmes: GroenLinks and D66, our Consulting Team decided to enrich two strategies; FACILITATING CLUBS and REDESIGNING PUBLIC SPACE TO STIMULATE SPORTS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.

GroenLinks believes that good and accessible sports facilities must be available in all neighborhoods and villages are and want the municipality to take good care of the current sports fields, swimming pools and sports halls. Especially in smaller cores, sports facilities are of great importance for the quality of life (GroenLinks Groningen, 2018).

D66 wants to get even more people moving in the way that suits them. This can be done through sports clubs or by working together with sports companies, such as fitness centers and independent bootcamp and walking trainers. D66 puts the bike on one. D66 wants optimal facilities for cyclists in Groningen. Cycling has a positive influence on space, air quality, health and quality of life. At the same time, the municipality's growth also requires investments in public transport and the car (Ruim baan voor sport en bewegen, 2018)

For the first strategy mentioned above our Consulting Team suggests to work on the creation of a Sports organisation app, which will include lists of sports clubs, gyms, bike shops, sports shops. Based on users reviews, people will see which sport facilities and bike shops are the best. With reviews customers can get a more realistic perspective about the environment in sports organisations and feel less intimidated by a new experience. To make it more realistic or municipality we provided the example of Thuisbezorgd visit website:

This application will bring benefits to both the Sports organisations as well as the inhabitants of groningen. On the one hand, as already the example of Thuisbezorgd proved, it will be able to bring more clients to the sports organisations of the app, especially clients who, based on the reviews, are more suitable for that specific sports organisation. On the other hand it will incentivize Groningen’s inhabitants to want to experience more Sports organisations based on people reviews which they can relate to. Each organisations will pay a fee to be part of this app, which will contribute to the financing of its creation as well as advertisement insertions. Before

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creating an app a survey will be made between possible organisations to understand how many would be prepared to invest money into the creation of this app by the municipality. The approximative cost for this application would be of about 30.000 euro, considering costs and aesthetics of the app.

For the second Consulting Team came with the idea of adding multifunctional pit stops to coming projects for building biking highways. They could be used for any emergency but also recreational use. They are not expensive and its installment is not difficult either. Municipality could cooperate with food orientated companies, preferably with healthier brands to help them to be more profitable and promote healthy food options. The selected ones will install and invest in vending machines by themselves. For the recreation purpose installments of benches were suggested. The Consulting Team has the idea of cooperation between Municipality and Hanze University of Applied Sciences. Students from Design and Art Programme could participate and create artistic benches and distance signs to determine how close a pit stop or village is. Solar panels to illuminate bike paths in darkness could be nice supplement as well! This is not compulsory.

1.2 GRONINGEN COMPARED TO AALBORG

To compare the city of Groningen with a different city, The Consulting Team have chosen danish city of Aalborg because of the similar size and number of inhabitants. Both cities are very cycling-friendly cities investing a lot of money into improvements of cycling environment. Sports participation rates are almost at the same level as well as most of the sports clubs are financed by the state. Furthermore, levels of competences of sport medical staff and sport equipment and treatment methods are also equal.

On the other hand, a distribution of sport facilities is better in the danish city, sport parks and outdoor gyms are spread throughout all neighbourhoods. While in Groningen the most popular sport is football, in Aalborg an ice hockey and a handball are the most attractive sports. Moreover, Groningen can be proud of how its inhabitants achieve National Health recommendation rates, since the results are better than in the city of Aalborg.

Groningen (NL) - Aalborg (DK) Comparison

Similarities Differences

● Climatic Conditions ● Dominant sport (e.g. ice hockey)

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● Topographic relief● Population● Cycling-friendly● Participation rates● State-funding for clubs● Equal levels of competency/skill of

sport medical staff● Equal levels of sport equipment and

treatment methods

● Medical expenditure● Sport facility distribution● National Health recommendation

achievement rates● 40,000 compared to 20,000

students

1.3 STATISTICAL APPROACH & PROPOSED STRATEGY

The foundation of any strategy is a well structured and clearly defined analysis that will determine which areas require attention and the best way to tackle their respective arising issues. This way, the internal drivers can be distinguished, revealing how the environment shapes approaches to physical activity in the Province of Groningen, in combination with what is currently being done in terms of counter-measures.

The team used national health records of physical activity to compare the rates of national daily physical activity with the rates within the Groningen province. There were three areas of focus in our analysis:

1. Health inequities between age groups2. Sports with the highest participation in Groningen3. Occupancy rates of sport facilities managed by the Municipality

The first are shifted focus to the younger age groups, namely 12-17, where rates of physical activity were significantly lower than any other age group in the Netherlands. In detail, only 32.3% of males and 23,8% of females reached the national recommendations of physical activity.

Secondly, research showed that the three sports standing out in terms of participation are cycling, swimming and fitness-aerobics. So we decided to draw attention to these, as in terms of probabilities they are the most likely to intrigue a Dutch target group.

Lastly, statistics showed a drop in participation of sports facilities managed by the municipality. This is crucial information considering that the aim of the intervention is to improve municipality-made policies.

Proposed strategy: The name of our strategy is Spotify. Because we are appealing to young age groups, the platform of our strategy is digital, in an effort to appease the technological trend among the young. It’s function is quite simple but effective. Sportify is a physical activity monitoring app, downloadable for any smartphone, where it measures either distance, time or calories. Like a diary, it keeps records of daily physical activity. When certain milestones are reached, such as a month of consecutive every-day achievement of physical activity, the participant would receive a small reward offered by the project’s partners. This is done to help local sport businesses advertise the product and develop their

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prestige among the sporting population of Groningen, while at the same time motivating individuals to reach more milestones. The bigger the milestone, the bigger the reward. To put this in practical terms, the reaching of a month of consecutive physical activity could be rewarded with a gift card for a local retail shop, and a year of reaching consecutive physical activity goals can be rewarded with a new bike or a yearly membership to one of Groningen’s municipality owned sport facilities.

This way, this strategy has the potential to appeal to a younger audience, while promoting the Municipality’s gym facilities. Moreover, a financial analysis of this strategy shows that it is very effective, as the only costs required are the development, design and maintenance of the application.

2.1 KARDINGE SPORTCENTRUM

Sportcentrum Kardinge is the biggest multifunctional sportcentrum in Northern Holland located in north-east of the city of Groningen. It provides a wide range of sports for its visitors including football, golf, ice-skating, climbing and many more. By covering all kind of sports, Sportcentrum Kardinge attracts kids, adolescents, adults and also elderly people which means that everyone can choose his/her own sport activity. Furthermore, in this sportcentrum the biggest climbing wall is located and it is a big attraction for tourists. Thanks to variety of sports Karginge offers in one place, the sportcentrum is visited by 500,000 people every year which makes this place even more unique.

Over Kardinge. (date unknown). Available on the Internet: Over sport- en recreatiegebied Kardinge: https://www.kardinge050.nl/over-kardinge

2. 2. VISION OF STAKEHOLDERS

The team collaborated within class and divided stakeholders to work more effectively. Together we were able to get information from several stakeholders, but the most relevant information was obtained by BJOEKS Climbing Centrum, Tennis Squash Centrum Kardinge and football club GVAV Rapiditas.

Here Consulting Team summarized information from interviews and in the appendix you can find the whole ones.* BJOEKS Climbing Centrum (klimcentrum)

· Manager feels disconnection from the rest of the sport complex - no value to the connection

· No interest of new business type: satisfied by customers· They do not want to change the centres atmosphere with cooperotions

(DUTCH NGO)· NO change wanted - No progress

* TENNIS SQUASH CENTRUM Kardinge· Disconnected from sports clubs → cooperation did not work· Normal marketing techniques: website, advertisement, ecc· PROBLEM: accessibility to area is not easy and not attractive

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· Stakeholders do not share the same vision* GVAV Rapiditas

· Single clubs are not involved in marketing· Location is not a problem for clubs which are already well-known: (not

giving importance to look for new customers)· Everyone thinks about themselves without any cooperation → no

relationship to the rest of Kardinge

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSISWe used the stakeholder analysis which assesses the importance of stakeholders, their interest, impact and their possible engagement levels to assess to what extent and how they can participate to the project actively.

Mendelow, A.L. (1981). 'Environmental Scanning - The Impact of the Stakeholder Concept,' ICIS 1981 Proceedings, 20.

2.3. OUR VISIONAfter having analyzed the vision of the Stakeholders in Kardinge our Consultancy Team came up with a vision for a better Kardinge. Our solution is to create a plan to make stakeholders want to work together and find the benefits in doing so, even

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though to date they do not value the cooperation enough. Our consultancy group is of the vision that cooperative enterprises build a better world. As Henry Ford states: COMING TOGETHER IS A BEGINNING, KEEPING TOGETHER IS A PROGRESS ,WORKING TOGETHER IS SUCCESS. If we are able to make the different stakeholders work together Kardinge could transform into a more efficient and betterworking place. In line with our vision we created a project plan for Kardinge-

2.4. PROJECT PLANKardinge presence should represent and capture the sporting culture of Groningen.

One way to encourage engagement is through Mega-Events. Our proposal encompasses an expo (open day) where all the sport organizations provide a set of activities for the attendants to do, as well as short presentations and different stands for the attendants to explore. To ensure attendance, each organization could have a guest athlete to present their respective sport.Lastly, to ensure frequent and fluent transport to and from Kardinge, we propose a shuttle bus leaving every half an hour from the center, going directly to Kardinge and vice versa. Members of Kardinge would have a discount to ensure easy access for them all-year round.

2.5. FINANCINGIn the following paragraph the financing of the mega event will be explored:

Fixed Costs Variable Costs

Space Rent 1,300€ (216€/ Hour ) Food & Beverage 3,500€

Staff 25€/ hour for catering employees hired for event (approx. 50)

7,500€

Marketing / speakers

3,250€

AudioVisual Setup 2,500€

Total Fixed Costs: 8,800€ Total Variable Costs: 9,750€

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Space rental: The assumed price of the space rental is around 200€ an hour, because an expo of this size would require the rental of multiple facilities at once so that the tour can take place. Considering that the rent prices per hour on average (according to Dutch statistics from Eindhoven) for football 5v5 (40€/hour), basketball -volleyball (80€/hour), badminton (12€/h) and the ice skating rink (30€/hour) already add up to 162€. Along with the main hall where the stands will be displayed and the presentations will be done, it is projected to cost around 54€ on average. In total, this makes around 216€/ hour. The event is going to last for 6 hours, putting the rental price for the whole event up to 1,296€.

Food & Beverages: This section will require hiring staff for catering, as well as paying for the available snacks and drinks. A typical catering company will ask for 3,000€-3,500€ for the food only. Considering that this mega event is aimed at a very wide audience, and taking the capacity of Kardinge in consideration, the projected number of people to join the event is around 1,500-2,000, meaning that catering requires at least 50 employees. A catering employee gets paid around 25€. hour, therefore the total budget for staffing would be around 1250€/hour, therefore 7,500€ for the total event. Combined with the food costs, this would make about 11,000€ for provision of adequate catering for an event of this size

Staff: For general assistance and coordination of the event, volunteers could be used that are very familiar with the area and have obtained plenty of knowledge concerning Kardinge. They could provide cost-effective assistance and direction to the attendants.

Audio-Visual Setup: This section is referring to the visual design of Kardinge for the event. To create a better impression, the main hall has to be temporarily redesigned to cause a memorable impression. This would include ribbons, stages,

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banners etc. On average the cost of redesigning a hall of that size would be from 1,500€-2,000€. When it comes to audio setup, we’re referring to microphones for guest speakers, projectors for presentations and videos by the facility’s clubs and big speakers to play music. A complete audio-visual setup would cost approx. 2,500€

Marketing-Promotion: Costs in this area may vary, but the main costs will come from redesigning and maintaining and event website, manufacturing of tickets and merchandise and lastly some social marketing schemes within the city of Groningen, such as billboards or posters. The production of the latter cost about 500€-750€ each, making the total cost of promoting the Kardinge expo around 1500€ to 2250€.

Speakers-entertainment: Some extra costs may go out to the guest athletes who might require a small fee to attend the event, especially football players. Moreover, the remaining costs would be used for unpredictable events that may require quick funding as a response. Overall these costs would amount to around 1,500€.

Overall: The projected overall cost of putting an event of this size together is around: 18,050€.

Shuttle Bus project-Finance: To help promote the event it was proposed to buy a certain amount of shuttle buses, specifically 2, that would leave to and from the center of Groningen directly to Kardinge. The proposed model for these shuttle buses is a Mercedes Sprinter, that can fit around 20+ people. The price starts at 23,778€. 2 of them would cost approx. 47,556€. However, used shuttle buses, or any other buses that are currently not in use by the municipality would also do.

3. PEER ASSESSMENTSAssessment by: Arsen Gaintatzis

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Assessment by: Laura Lorenzato

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Assessment by: Stanislava Čarnecká

Assessment by David Belosic:

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4. BIBLIOGRAPHYhttps://www.rtvnoord.nl/nieuws/199879/GroenLinks-Groningen-verkiezingsprogramma-en-standpunten-in-het-kortGroenLinks Groningen: Verkiezingsprogramma en standpunten in het kort. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.rtvnoord.nl/nieuws/199879/GroenLinks-Groningen-verkiezingsprogramma-en-standpunten-in-het-korthttps://verkiezingsprogramma.d66.nl/groningen/programma/ruim-baan-voor-sport-en-bewegen/ Ruim baan voor sport en bewegen. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://verkiezingsprogramma.d66.nl/groningen/programma/ruim-baan-voor-sport-en-bewegen/ Eindhoven sport (2016). “Average rental sporthal prices”. Retrieved from: https://eindhovensport.nl/en/renting-sports-hall-or-gymCity Sport (2014). “Sports Hall prices”. Retrieved from: https://www.citysport.org.uk/facilities/sports-hall-pricesOver Kardinge. (date unknown). Available on the Internet: Over sport- en

recreatiegebied Kardinge: https://www.kardinge050.nl/over-kardinge

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4. Bibliography

1. GroenLinks Groningen: Verkiezingsprogramma en standpunten in het kort. (n.d.). Retrieve from https://www.rtvnoord.nl/nieuws/199879/GroenLinks-Groningen-verkiezingsprogramma-en-standpunten-in-het-kort

2. Ruim baan voor sport en bewegen. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://verkiezingsprogramma.d66.nl/groningen/programma/ruim-baan-voor-sport-en-bewegen/

3. Mendelow, A.L. (1981). 'Environmental Scanning - The Impact of the Stakeholder Concept,' ICIS 1981 Proceedings, 20. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3579/ca37344c69961bbc2468ef9addf212200e39.pdf

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