Why the Laois Sports Partnership was established.

The LSP initiative was developed by the Sport Ireland in order to create a national structure to co-ordinate and promote the development of sport at local level.
Sport Ireland identified that the effective development of sport and recreation at the local level would be best delivered through the adoption of a partnership approach between all bodies and organisations involved in the delivery of sport and recreation.

The key aims of the LSP’s will be to increase participation in sport and to ensure that local resources are used to best effect.

The outcomes that Sport Ireland seek from LSP’s are:

• Enhanced planning of sport at local level
• Increased levels of local participation, especially amongst specific target groups – older people, girls and women, people with disabilities, unemployed people and those who live in identified disadvantaged communities
• Enhanced local coach deployment
• Club development
• Volunteer training
• Local Directories of sports bodies and facilities
• Better use of existing facilities
• Clear priorities for local facility provision and improvement
• School/club/community and possibly school-NGB link
• Local sports events
In order that these aims are fulfilled, the three main functions of LSP’s are summarised by Sport Ireland as:
Information: – To include an audit of resources and a needs analysis which can be used as the basis for planning at local level

Education: – To provide training opportunities and courses and to facilitate participation

Implementation: – The Strategic Plan will be used to implement local programmes based on local requirements, to maximise the impact and benefit of national programmes at the local level, and to market and promote sport and physical activity.