Partnership Day 2025

North Yorkshire Sport hosted our Partnership Day for 2025 on 10th October at the York Biotech Campus, York. The attracted 150+ delegates and system partners, featuring a line up of speakers who inspired, educated and challenged the audience.

Keynote Speaker Presentations:

David Skaith

Is the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire. He was elected in May 2024 to serve as the first ever Mayor of York and North Yorkshire to champion the region and bring a host of benefits to hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses. David grew up in Harrogate and now lives outside of York, where he runs his small business. He has a real love for the region and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by residents. As Mayor of York and North Yorkshire and through the Combined Authority, David has devolved powers and responsibilities including strategic transport, housing, economy, adult skills, and community safety. The Mayors Vision is to enable healthy and thriving communities. David wants to develop healthy and resilient communities, that are connected to opportunity, where people live in warm and affordable homes, where people are connected to the outdoors and where there are safe places for all.

The Mayor launched the Moving Forward campaign, for more information please visit here. Moving Forward has been developed in collaboration with partners from a range of organisations across two groups, the Sports Steering Group and Men’s Mental Health Taskforce.

The first milestone is £2.75 million Movement, Activity and Sport funding. Investment will be targeted to support more women and girls to take part in movement, activity and sport, remove barriers for Disabled people by supporting inclusive activities, tackle rural isolation, support early intervention and prevention for health, anti-social behaviour and crime, and enhance skills development and training in the sector.

To find out more about the Movement, Activity and Sport Fund please visit here.

Dr Andy Daly-Smith

Is a professor of physical activity and child health. He leads the Wolfson Centre for Applied Research Healthy Childhood theme. His research focuses on the design, development and evaluation of behaviour change interventions for physical activity and health in children. He is heavily involved in the Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research and Born in Bradford as a Research Director on the Sport England-funded Join Us: Move Play programme. Recently, Andy led the co-development of the first UK-based whole-school physical activity framework with 50 regional, national and international stakeholders. In May 2018 he co-delivered a TEDxEducation talk on physically active learning.

NYS Partnership Day – Andy Daly Smith

Professor Stacey Clemes

Is a Professor of Active Living and Public Health at Loughborough University. Stacy’s research focuses on the development, implementation and evaluation of pragmatic behaviour change programmes, predominantly designed to encourage people to sit less and move more. She has investigated the impact of sit-stand desks in the classroom and workplace, along with family and community-based activity interventions. Stacey has led a large programme of research, focusing on hard-to-reach and at-risk occupational groups.

NYS Partnership Day – Stacy Clemes

Joel Brookfield

Is the Director of Recreation and Wellbeing at the North York Moors National Parks Authority. Joel leads the Authority’s strategy in relation to recreation, engagement and wellbeing and ensuring effective delivery of all activities and services in these areas. This includes recreation and access, national trails, ranger services, visitor centres and car parks, outdoor learning, community engagement, and outreach. Prior to this role, Joel worked for 17 years at Sport England across a range of roles including his last role as Strategic lead for Yorkshire and the North East. Joel chairs the Moving North Yorkshire Strategy Group.

NYS Partnership Day – Joel Brookfield

Dr Chris Mackintosh

Is a Director of a social research consultancy that explores community sport and physical activity evaluation. This independent policy advice, project evaluation work started in 2000 when he was appointed special policy advisor to the House of Lords select community sport, health and wellbeing. He is also an academic based at Manchester Metropolitan University where he is a senior lecturer in community sport development. His research interests span social policy outcomes, military veterans, impact of the Invictus games and national government policy in the Uk and abroad. He specialises in collaborative methodologies in community co-design, co-production and the use of ethnographies in social policy interventions.

NYS Partnership Day – Chris Mackintosh

Reframing Movement – Physical activity among military and veteran communities

Following on form the presentation by Dr Chris Mackintosh at the NYS partnership day we would like to invite you to be involved the research being led by Dr Rebecca O’Hanlon. We are aiming to identify and share stories that reframe participation in movement, physical activity and sport to evidence the needs of veterans, military personnel and their families in North Yorkshire.

The research will invite you to complete a story – this means that you read the opening sentences and then write what happens next. There is no right or wrong way to do this, and you can be as creative as you like. We are interested in the range of different stories that people tell.

Don’t spend too long thinking about what might happen next – just write about whatever first comes to mind. Because collecting detailed stories is important for my research, you are asked to WRITE A STORY THAT IS AT LEAST 200 WORDS LONG. This is likely to be approximately 3 small paragraphs or 10-15 sentences, but you can exceed this and write more if you wish. Some details of the opening sentence are deliberately vague; it’s up to you to be creative and fill in the blanks!

3 story openings have been provided; you do not have to complete them all. Please select and complete one of your choice – that may be the one that resonates with you most or simply sparks your interest. Once you have finished, please make sure you press the submit button at the bottom of the page.

To take part in the research to explore the reframing movement theme please click the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/dfJ3kJf9Fu

David Watson

Has held the role of Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Sport for 20 years and prior to that managed sport facilities at Harrogate Borough Council, as part of a 34-year career in the sector. Alongside his role at North Yorkshire Sport he is the Chair of Swim England North-East and a Trustee of Community First Yorkshire. David is currently studying for a Professional Doctorate in Sport at Leeds Beckett University and is producing a study entitled “An investigation of referral partners’, patients’, and policymakers’ perceptions and attitudes toward the integration of community-based physical activity into care pathways.”