Free support for small groups in Barking and Dagenham
Thank you for your interest in this 3 month capacity building programme delivered by BDCVS. This programme is part of the B&D Moves initiative led by London Sport and funded by Sport England. The B&D Moves partnership aims to understand what it is that stops residents in B&D from being more physically active and what can be changed to get more inactive residents moving more often.
This capacity building program will provide 10 to 12 community groups in Barking and Dagenham with:
- Three months of free support to strengthen your organisation in areas such as safeguarding, governance, communications, basic finance training, and grant writing,
- Payment for your time,
- A 1-on-1 assessment of your organisation needs so the development plan is tailored to meet your priorities,
- A mentor to provide some coaching and support,
- Learn why residents are inactive, how being active benefits physical and mental health, and how you can get involved in the partnership.
Criteria
- You are based in Barking and Dagenham and work with one or more of the groups below:
- adults living with a long-term health condition,
- children, youth and their families,
- residents of Marks Gate
- residents of Heath Park.
- You are trusted by the residents you work with,
- You want to help people get moving and get connected,
- You are a micro or small organisation with limited resources – incorporated or unincorporated,
- You can commit to 2 to 3 – 90 minute training sessions, 1 mentor session, and one group meeting a month for three months
Reducing inactivity among residents is particularly important in Barking and Dagenham, where Sport England’s Active Lives Adult Survey (November 2022–2023) reported that only 49% of adults were physically active, the lowest proportion of any local authority area in England at that time.
Our programme aims to strengthen the role small community groups like yours can play in helping to get residents moving. The programme will build the capacity and sustainability of your organisation, helping you do even more for residents facing the greatest barriers to being active.
This programme will help strengthen your organisation AND help your organisation to play a greater role in addressing inactivity with the residents you work with.
Participation in this phase will be limited to 10-12 small organisations. If you are interested in being considered, we would love to hear from you. Please fill out the short application here. The deadline for applications is September 30, 2026. Applicants will be contacted by October 2, 2026. The program will start early October.
If you would like to talk to someone about this, please contact Mala Alina, Manager of Community Engagement and Participation at 020 8532 7321 or by email at mala.alina@bdcvs.org.uk
B&D MOVES
A community-led movement helping people across Barking & Dagenham move more, more often.
Apply here
Please submit your application using the form below. We will contact you within two days to follow up.