Lack of Public Sector SupportHow Walk England overcame this barrier…

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

Veronica ReynoldsOperations Director

What is Walk England?

Walk England is a social enterprise that works in partnership with professionals across the country to create local opportunities for people to choose to walk, to walk more often, to walk to more places, and to feel safe while doing so.

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

Our current projects

1) Website: www.walkengland.org.uk (funded by BIG and DfT)

2) WEPNs (Walk England Professional Networks)(funded regionally e.g. TFL)

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

Our main national partners

• Department of Health• Department for Transport• BIG• ATC Consortium (8 active travel organisations)

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

How did we achieve support

Principals:1)Evidence : making walking visible2)Gain visual political support3)Make yourself widely known4)Share your vision5)Spend your budget!6)Don’t forget the small details

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

1) Evidence - making walking visible

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

Making walking visible

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

2) Gain visual political support

Walk England launched on 18th June 2008, with 2 Ministers present, having car shared to the venue. Be persistent!

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

3) Make yourself widely known

Before even officially launching, we arranged numerous meetings with the ‘movers & shakers’ in the walking world (across all sectors), thus filtering down to middle management.

Remember, the public sector needs a lot more attention and reassurance to fund a project than the private sector – expect long days!

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

4) Share your vision

We were brave and listed our ‘Top 10’ in the early days.

Importantly we got a respected expert panel to lend their support, and signatures to this list and agree to this being made public.

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

5) Spend your budget!

It is important to spend wisely, but in line with your future ambitions. Our launch, our first WEPN and our sister projects use stunning locations – with great food.

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

Buckingham Palace

One Great George St

Be unforgettable so people will return!

6) Don’t forget the small details

Examples:

- Send letters to politicians without even expecting or needing a response - Your look…the public sector like good looking ‘brands’ too. Be as professional as possible- Children at the launch, allotment walks at conferences and always smile!

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

Finally…

Don’t be afraid to:

Be proud of your ambitious aims

Share any concerns with potential funders so you show you are realistic

Be business-like (business plans, variety of funding options to choose from for various returns etc)

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

Finally…

Be clear about expansion and what you need to do so e.g. request from organisations to host/support next WEPN

ALWAYS adapt for your audience e.g. alter each letter so it’s personal to that person, ensure examples in presentations relate to the sector you are talking to

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

Any questions?

Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax

Veronica ReynoldsOperations Director

veronica.reynolds@walkengland.org.uk