Nurturing and Supporting the Deliverers of Services

Mike Evans & Dr. Gavin Mellor

This workshop reflected on how the Football League Trust approaches its role as a commissioner/funder of delivery. The Trust was established in 2007 to oversee community delivery by the 72 clubs which make up the Football League.

Rather than imposing uniform programmes upon its member clubs, the Trust has encouraged innovation under ‘themed’ priority areas of delivery and has invested heavily in building the capacity of clubs’ community trusts.

The workshop drew on this experience and debated how commissioners/funders can provide delivery partners with supportive contexts to enable them to deliver the best possible outcomes.