NSW Office of Sport. Sport Plus.

Making sport part of a bigger impact. From participation to leading indicators of equity, wellbeing and community connection.

The context

Two pieces of work for the NSW Office of Sport. One for the Play Her Way women's strategy, one for the Aboriginal Outcomes team. Both exploring how sport creates impact beyond participation, through genuine partnership across government and community.

The work

Run My Way was part of the Play Her Way women's sport strategy in NSW, a new partnership with Transport for NSW. I built the evidence base from national and global research, then applied it through co-design with government, councils, runners and service providers. One finding reframed the problem. Only 5% of sexual assault and harassment experienced by women while running is reported. This wasn't a sports participation issue. It was a public safety and equity issue, reinforcing the case for aligning sport with the Safer Cities program and access to public spaces for women. The partnership secured $1.3M for ongoing programs.

The Aboriginal Outcomes Strategy came next. A new team, a new direction, and an opportunity to help elevate the team from delivering programs to becoming a strategic system leader. The brief: how to elevate the role of sport in creating Aboriginal outcomes, align with Reconciliation Australia and Closing the Gap, and work in true partnership across government. Always with the community's voice at the heart of the design.

Under new leadership from Marty Jeffrey and support from the exec, the Aboriginal Outcomes team was ready to explore cross-government partnerships. They already had deep relationships across the sector and community. That was the real foundation on which the strategy was built.

My job wasn't to arrive with a strategy. It was to listen and curate through the lens of strategic frameworks and design. I interviewed Aboriginal Affairs, state sporting organisations, Reconciliation Australia, and others, and brought the voices of the Aboriginal Outcomes team and the community to the centre of the work.

The insight

The challenge wasn't a lack of passion or commitment. It was a system issue.

The team's shift was into the role of Connector, Custodian, and Catalyst, a system stewardship position that allowed them to have a greater impact, one that, over time, could reduce duplication and fragmentation of programs, connect across government, and improve overall outcomes.

Sport becomes a lead indicator only when it runs through genuine partnership with education, health and community. We called it Sport Plus, a connecting theme across government. It positions sport as a platform for cultural connection, learning and wellbeing, not a standalone outcome. Sport, being a vehicle for community engagement, perhaps also a model for how government can build alliances across portfolios, with lived experience at the centre, to deliver outcomes that matter.

The outcome

The work gave the Aboriginal Outcomes team a new vision, program of work and direction, designed to make a bigger impact across the system, and for Aboriginal athletes and communities across NSW.

This kind of shift takes time. Trust has to be built, and new ways of working have to be embedded. The strategy gave the team the foundation to do that properly. Not more programs, but building partnerships that make the programs count.

↗ A new strategy for the Aboriginal Outcomes team

↗ Sport Plus, a connecting theme across government for sport-led outcomes

↗ $1.3M secured for Run My Way through the Play Her Way and Safer Cities partnership

“Lisa brings real clarity to complex work and helps align people around a shared vision.”

Marty Jeffrey, Senior Project Officer, Aboriginal Outcomes, NSW Office of Sport.