Regional Response Group

Notepad, pen and whistle

The Sport Wellington-chaired COVID-19 Regional Response Group has been established to drive collaboration across Wellington’s physical activity system in order to support a connected and joined-up response, where possible, to COVID-19.

Together the group has identified eight pieces of work to collaborate on, with each piece of work having a designated co-ordinator and respective sub-group.

Organisations on the COVID-19 Regional Response Group are:

Capital and Coast District Health Board
Hutt Valley District Health Board
South Wairarapa District Health Board
Healthy Families Hutt Valley
Regional Public Health
Wellington City Council
Porirua City Council
Hutt City Council
Upper Hutt City Council
Kapiti Coast District Council
South Wairarapa District Council
Carterton District Council
Masterton District Council
Netball Central Zone
Cricket Wellington
Wellington Rugby Football Union
Y Central
Wellington Community Trust
Sport New Zealand

Living Well - our region’s physical activity strategy

Living Well is the outcome we want for people in the region where ‘Living Well’ means...

improving physical and mental wellbeing;
personal development and achievement;
and social and community cohesion and development;

...through regular physical activity – play, active recreation (including active transport), and sport. It provides a framework for coordinating action to develop our regional physical activity system to improve the health and wellbeing of people across our region.

The purpose of the Living Well Strategy is to achieve greater collective impact on wellbeing outcomes acquired through physical activity. All eight of the Regional Response Group pieces of work connect to a Living Well strategic objective:

INFORMED COMMUNITIES

OPTIMISED AND CONNECTED SPACES AND PLACES

ACTIVE PEOPLE

AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT

Progress Updates

The Regional Response Group meets every Friday morning to collectively discuss progress and actions against each piece of work. As part of our commitment to transparency and open communication, we will adjust the table below weekly to reflect relevant updates associated to each piece of work.

Updated as of Friday 15 May.

Meeting chaired by Rodger Thompson, Sport Wellington.

Agreed pieces of work for Regional Response Group collaboration	Coordinator on behalf of Regional Response Group	Purpose	*Fit with Living Well* regional physical activity strategy?**	Action points
Guidelines for physical activity at different alert levels.	Pembroke Chambers Sport Wellington	Collaborate in establishing a central reference point on the Sport Wellington COVID-19 webpage for stakeholders to access the latest information relating to physical activity parameters for play, active recreation and sport across the alert levels.	ACTIVE PEOPLE PRIORITY	Sport NZ will promote updated guidance once the Government has made their 25 May decisions regarding any potential changes to the Alert Level 2 guidelines for play, recreation and sport.
Contact tracing software options	Sport Wellington	Sharing updates to leverage where possible	ACTIVE PEOPLE PRIORITY	Wgtn CC has promoted to other Councils in the greater Wellington region the use of ‘Rippl’, a contact tracing app. Sport NZ will soon provide the sector with advice regarding the use of the Government contact tracing app in terms of its use by play, recreation and sport orgs, and whether these orgs should also still continue with their own app. Sport Wellington will continue to promote options through their e-newsletter and also options identified by Sport NZ.
End-to-end health and safety planning for delivering sport and recreation	Sport Wellington	Sharing examples to leverage. Signage – Consistency and bulk supply opportunities.	AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT PRIORITY	Sport Wellington is working with four organisations to help them develop end-to-end health and safety processes (including contact tracing) which, when developed, will be shared widely. Other examples of health and safety plans and approaches have already been posted on the Sport Wgtn COVID-19 webpage from Tennis, Golf and Netball. See resources.
Working with Councils and RSOs on sports field allocations and management of winter and summer season demand.	Sarah Murray Wellington City Council	An opportunity to influence joined-up thinking on sports field allocation for winter and summer sports across the region.	OPTIMISED and CONNECTED SPACES AND PLACES PRIORITY	Councils have met and agreed on set dates for winter/summer seasons. Councils working regionally and collaboratively with RSOs Sport Wgtn will promote early next week to all stakeholders the key Council contacts for facility bookings to help with communication.
Adapting how play, active recreation, and sport opportunities are provided against the alert levels. Exploring options to adapt competitive sport opportunities	Mark Watson Sport Wellington	An opportunity to collaborate in identifying how competitive sports could be adapted and delivered to meet the alert level parameters.	ACTIVE PEOPLE PRIORITY	This subgroup is now working together to identify how the delivery of sports can be adjusted to meet the AL2 requirements while also meeting the needs of participants. This includes promoting examples now for sports to pick up and adapt.  Netball presented their examples at a Sport Wgtn webinar today and these were promoted in the Sport Wgtn e-newsletter this afternoon for stakeholders to take and adapt. View webinar recording
Regular and consistent messaging via a variety of channels – advocacy.	Mark Curr Hutt City Council	Collaborate in consolidating our messaging to stakeholders, funders, etc, regarding the importance, value and impact of physical activity.	INFORMED COMMUNITIES PRIORITY	Key messages relating to the value of physical activity (play, recreation and sport), have been developed, and circulated for the Regional Response Group to use within advocacy, marketing and comms. Council annual planning submission processes (currently underway); are an opportunity to seed these messages. Group meeting next week to consider immediate advocacy priorities for Regional Response Group to collaborate on.
Policy and funding alignment e.g. working with Councils and other funders on economic relief packages to support the physical activity system. Single view of Funders distributing	Nicky Sherriff Sport Wellington	An opportunity to collaborate in creating a single view of ‘live funding opportunities’’ for our stakeholders, which we can update and communicate weekly.	AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT PRIORITY	Sport Wellington is now administering the Sport NZ Community Resilience Fund. Questions can be sent to crf@sportwellington.org.nz Sport Wellington is scanning interest in a funders forum that includes Councils as funders of physical activity. Sport Wellington will continue to update information relating to Council relief packages available to sport and recreation (as these come to hand).
Central online repository promoting opportunities and ideas for physical activity (play, active recreation, sport).	Ashleigh Baker Sport Wellington	An opportunity for the Sport Wellington COVID-19 webpage to be used as a hub of relevant, trusted information for the sector and community to guide physical activity opportunities.	ACTIVE PEOPLE PRIORITY	Wellness Hub has gone live on Sport Wellington’s website and is being actively promoted via Facebook.   Sport Wellington will continue to work with Regional Response Groups members and others to maximise promotion and reach to Wellingtonians.
Adapting the system that supports play, active recreation, and sport. NZ Transport Agency Fund opportunity	Hayley Buchan Healthy Families Hutt Valley	An opportunity to collaborate on the Innovating Streets for People pilot fund being run by NZTA (8 May and 3 July funding rounds with $7M available).	AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT PRIORITY	Waiting for announcements regarding the first round of funding. Second round of funding closes 3 July.
Insights gathering to inform our responses and enable collaboration.	Andy Reid Sport Wellington	Collaborate to share insights as they come in across the group. Avoid duplication. Build single view of impact across the region to help inform decision making.	INFORMED COMMUNITIES PRIORITY	Findings of any material insight gathering by RRG members to be proactively shared across the group as and when undertaken to help build on our regional picture and understanding.  RRG members to bring emerging insights to share at our Friday weekly meeting.