In May 2019, Sport NZ began investigating the future of play, active recreation and sport in Aotearoa New Zealand.

We are living in a world of accelerating change, and there are many influences such as climate change, technology and changes in society which will influence and shape the future of our sector.  

The COVID-19 global pandemic has made this work even more important, and this Futures work is now a key part of our response to the pandemic and an integral component in our Different and Better recovery workstream. As well as shaping our work with the Sport Recovery Package, this will also help us with our medium- and long-term strategic planning to ensure that the sector is well positioned to respond and adapt to ongoing change.

This is a once in a generation opportunity for the sector to step outside of business as usual and plan for the future so that we can prepare for a range of future scenarios. The work is aimed at providing a greater understanding of the likely drivers of change, the possible implications of those drivers, and the alternative futures that may result. There are four phases to this work.

As the Futures initiative is for the benefit of the entire sector, it will be strengthened by the diversity of voices from within.  Part of the engagement process involved a series of workshops involving many participants. 

Sport NZ Ihi Aotearoa is committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and firmly believe that a strong bi-cultural foundation is critical to our national identity and wellbeing.  To reflect this, Sport NZ co-designed a bi-cultural process that enabled Māori and other perspectives to be voiced in a way that is effective, appropriate and of equal importance, mana o rite.

Progress to date

Sport NZ has consulted with a broad range of sector stakeholders to ensure we consider all perspectives. This has included broad sector consultation, via a five-question survey, as well as external participant group workshops and webinars.

The survey, run by the market research company Kantar, was open throughout October 2020 and had 439 responses. Read the overview of the key findings from this survey

The feedback from the external participant groups was considered by a Working Group and Te Tuarā Futures Group, alongside inputs from broader membership groups.

The workshops with these groups were held between August and December 2021. Find out more about the learnings and key themes.

We also conducted environmental scans to explore possible drivers of change and the implications they might have on play, active recreation and sport.

We published three summary reports in February 2021, which outline the key insights, challenges and opportunities to progress toward our preferred future. The three reports are:

A brief Summary Report

A Scenarios Report, focused on alternative scenarios and a preferred future. This also outlines the actions that the sector can take to move from our current state to a preferred future state

The Papa Noho Report, which outlines a path to a truly bicultural future.

We are now starting to work with stakeholders across our sector to help them explore how they can make the most of this work to shape the future of play, active recreation and sport in Aotearoa New Zealand.

What will this work mean?

We anticipate this work will provide a range of innovative reforms and options that guide the play, active recreation, and sport sector to remain relevant, fit for purpose and regenerative as we recover from the effects of COVID-19 and beyond.