Case Study – Get Doncaster Moving

The Story:

Example #1: Our approach to sharing physical activity messaging and opportunities with residents.

The challenge

The opportunity arose to support GPs to have physical activity conversations with patients who would benefit from moving more. GPs did not know where to signpost patients to. Patients (residents) did not know about local opportunities to be active – our COM-B research also highlighted motivation as a key barrier to being more active in our target areas.

What was done

Creation of materials initially for GPs to give to patients alongside a recommendation to be more active. This included: information about physical activity guidelines, signposting to local opportunities, stories of local people who have managed health conditions better by being active, showcasing local imagery of places and opportunities to move more – such as parks and green spaces, walking groups, signposting to additional support, and planning tools to support them to get started. All written in a compassionate and accessible way – targeting those least active, particularly those with a long-term health condition/s.

Four guides produced – one for each locality of Doncaster, to enable a more hyper-local approach – images, signposting etc.

After piloting and testing this in all four localities, the guides are now being rolled out across Doncaster and due to demand, we have expanded our approach to working across a wide number of partners – as well as GPs – who have requested copies to enable them to support residents and have active conversations, including Doncaster Mind, Community and Wellbeing teams,  Community Connectors, Department for Work and Pensions, St Leger Homes and Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) to name a few.

Impact and outcomes

As a result of the successful GP pilots, we’re rolling out the guides at scale, with our partners, to help support and encourage residents to move more – with targeted messaging and signposting at a local level. We recognise the importance of who delivers the message as well as what the message is – trusted, community-based partners can deliver this message with more impact, and relatable resident’s stories can provide reassurance (‘people like me’) – a key piece of learning. Early indicators point to success – increased website hits to promoted pages within the guides, number of requests received to access copies of the guides.

USEFUL LINK >>> Active in Doncaster Guides | Get Doncaster Moving

Example #2: Our approach to working with communities to develop parks and green spaces in Doncaster through ‘Doncaster Future Parks’.

The challenge

Parks and green spaces are under utilised by Doncaster residents. Doncaster has significant challenges around low levels of physical activity, particularly in areas of high deprivation – accessing parks and green spaces can help to address this, by providing no-cost/low-cost opportunities to be active locally. GDM have identified parks and green spaces (‘Doncaster Future Parks’) across Doncaster to be the recipients of Sport England funding to improve these spaces, such as addressing accessibility issues, the perception of safety, and activating parks to become places of recreation and activity. At the heart of this, is resident engagement and communication – a deep understanding of how communities feel about their local park, and how they would like to use it (and why they don’t), helps determine what improvements are made, and seeks to create sustainable conditions for the future – that is, parks are seen as important, valued and well-utilised assets, supporting the health and wellbeing of residents.

What was done

We have many examples of communications and engagement approaches we have taken to develop relationships with residents, to understand local needs, actively involve residents in the design process and support them in having an active role in the park’s future, such as:

• We recently worked with Pheasant Bank Academy School, where we engaged with 100 pupils on the designs for their local park. Through gamification of the design process, children redesigned what they wanted their local park to look like – the results of this are now being implemented within the park. The children first learnt about design guidelines and practical considerations, which their designs responded to – this meant the process was more meaningful and could lead to a deliverable outcome: https://getdoncastermoving.org/news-hub/2026/05/pheasant-bank-academy-students-help-design-pickle-park
• Partnering with Doncaster College, we worked with young people to gather their views on parks and green spaces, to better understand how young people wanted to interact with these spaces. This year-long project led to a number of insights and ultimately the installation of one of the student’s designs of a new social seating space within one of our parks – we were able to learn from and respond to the needs of young people.
• A group of local residents approached us to enquire about whether there were any opportunities to play pétanque in Doncaster, as the group were regularly travelling outside of the borough to play the sport. That initial enquiry led to further investigation and conversations with those residents and Yorkshire Pétanque, to investigate the need and scale of the sport, and the potential for its growth and sustainability locally. Fast forward to the present day, and Doncaster has a pétanque facility in Hexthorpe Park, complete with accessible ramps for wheelchair access. We worked closely with those local residents to support them to establish what is now Doncaster’s (and South Yorkshire’s) only Pétanque Club, which aims to raise the profile of – and grow – the sport in Doncaster. This example highlights how we deeply engage with communities and groups – from an initial enquiry about places to play petanque, to working with them to create a space to play and then supporting the development and sustainability of the sport through Doncaster Petanque Club.

Impact and outcomes

A deeper understanding of how residents want to interact with their local park/green space – meaning our work is collaborative, data-driven and sustainable well beyond the end of our programme of work. We have developed a number of partnerships, shared our approach and learning with others connected to our work, and supported the development of clubs and groups who are now bringing new life into the parks through community-led sports and activities. Parks improvements have been well received by local communities and early indicators show that we are beginning to impact upon the perception of safety within parks – by activating these spaces (making them busier places) and giving careful consideration to park design and accessibility, we are developing quality green space provision which responds to the real needs of local communities.