Do sport locally by building simpler services

Harry Trimble
Aug 24, 2017 · 2 min read
End to end and front to back; simpler sport services, data and providers.

Right now doing sport locally is hard, but as I said in another blogpost it can be simpler.

Here’s prototype to show how — sportplaces.uk

Here’s what I hope can happen next in order to build sportplaces.uk or services like it.

First some reckons

The open data should be held in commons. This is only right, given so many sport places are funded by public money. Then other more specific sport services could be built and run using the data. For example one for booking kids swimming lessons.

Services built on top of the data could be commercial or public. A percentage of revenue could go to building the platform. The rest to the places themselves.

Also no accounts. People shouldn’t be made to create account just to do some sport.

There would be wider benefits beyond people using and providing simpler sport services. More efficient public services. Less IT procurement for local authorities and small businesses. Data to inform better policy decisions.

Research and testing

There are lots of assumptions in what I’ve prototyped — sportplaces.uk might be the completely wrong thing to solve the problems I’ve talked about.

What is needed is some proper, contextual user research — interview and observe people as they try to find and run places to do sport.
Having analysed that research, they’ll be informed assumptions to test with prototypes.

Talking with the right people

I’m interested in hearing from people about how to get this service made:

  • People who build software to discuss what and how much work might be involved building a first version of the service
  • People who run local sport venues, to better understand their needs
  • People who work in organisations that might be able to help support or fund first getting services running and data opened up
  • Anyone who knows a similar project that has tried this before

If this sounds like you, do get in contact — harryroberttrimble at gmail dot com

p.s. thanks, Mark, Sarah, Ella and Richard for help writing these blogposts and shaping the thoughts in them.

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Harry Trimble

Written by

Lead service designer at Red Cross, previously @projectsbyif, @gdsteam. Fairness fan

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