Substance has been at the forefront of developing social impact and valuing models for the sport and physical activity sectors since its foundation in 2005.
Building on the team’s experience and expertise in assessing the social and economic dimensions of sport and physical activity we have worked alongside some of the most respected universities, academics and sporting entities to identify a range of measures and develop models that provide credible representations of social impact and value.
Our services What we can do for you
Our services include theories of change and outcome mapping; data gap analysis; development and implementation of indicator and measurement frameworks; building social value and SROI models; online and offline social value reporting and development of rate cards to support outcomes contracting.
Our approach is structured in a streamlined fashion whilst remaining flexible enough to be tailored to individual needs and capacities.
We can work with you end-to-end through the various stages of a social valuing project or support you with the provision of specific services.
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The Social Impact and Value Team
We have a highly skilled team to deliver those approaches, made up of experienced researchers, social, sport and data scientists.
We are experienced in delivering developing social valuing models, processing complex and messy data sets and employing qualitative and quantitative research methods to deliver outputs that meet audience needs – whether that be highly engaging visually attractive summaries or detailed scientific reports for more formal purposes.
Tim is Chief Executive and one of the founders of Substance. He was formerly Professor of the Sociology of Sport and Popular Culture at Sheffield Hallam University.
He has thirty years’ experience of leading multi-disciplinary research teams investigating the social aspects of sport and physical activity. Alongside his core role Tim is heavily involved in company operations, leading Substance’s social valuing work alongside strategic input into our work with GM Moving, a whole systems approach to tackling inactivity in Greater Manchester, and the Chances social outcomes partnership.
He previously lead research and evaluation projects focused on the use of sport and physical activity as a social policy tool for the Home Office; chaired the consortium leading the DfE Information and Signposting Project to promote youth activities; led the research and development of Sportworks for Sported; and helped initiate and lead the Inspiring Impact programme. With a succession of publications to his name, Tim is widely regarded as one of the leading authorities in relation to the research, development and analysis of sport and activity-based policy initiatives.
At the weekend he is generally to be found riding the roller coaster that is Crystal Palace Football Club.
Luke joined Substance in 2021 as a Senior Account Manager. His background is in Sport Business Management (BSc Hons) with a keen focus on legacies that sporting events can leave in a particular area from both an environment and economic standpoint.
. He has also worked on projects in which social change within communities through sport has been measured and the local impacts they have. Luke has a huge passion for sport, in particularly football & cricket so when not in work – he’ll normally be at the one of the ‘Old Trafford’s’ or watching at home.
Why Luke works for Substance
“Having worked as an account manager in the tech space for the last 4 year, I was keen to put my degree into practice and get back into the sporting world. When the opportunity with Substance came up, I absolutely had to go for it. The opportunity to work in the sector where my passion lies, whilst still be able to look after clients, identify new opportunities and make a difference in the social impact space was a no brainer”.