We are delighted to announce the appointment of Doug Patterson as the next Chair of the County Sports Partnership Network following an extensive recruitment process.
Doug has held the post as a Local Authority Chief Executive for the past 17 years, serving three different Councils, most recently for the London Borough of Bromley. In these roles he has developed extensive competencies, skills, knowledge and experience working in this challenging, political environment. Previously his roles have been Director of Community Services, Director of Health & Recreation; starting his Local Authority career in Sports Centre Management.
Doug’s first and committed passion has always been sport, starting his career teaching in the east-end of Glasgow and coaching a variety of sports at his local sports centre. In his wider community role, more recently he coached the Bromley Handball Squads for the London Youth Games. Doug is particularly driven by the contribution that sport makes to the social, physical and mental wellbeing of children and young people.
On a personal level, Doug is very keen on personal fitness, regularly cycling to work and when work commitments allow, he enjoys a round of golf.
The appointment comes as the network of CSPs are transitioning for the future following a period of review. CSP Network Chief Executive Lee Mason commented;
“Doug brings a very relevant background that will be enormously helpful as we support CSPs to create the conditions locally to help address worrying levels of inactivity, tackle the stubborn inequalities and maximise the social and economic impact of sport and physical activity within our communities.
With a redefined role and long term funding support from Sport England to support the local delivery of their strategy, CSPs will develop a detailed understanding of the needs of their communities, support the sector to respond to these needs, and broker relationships across sectors. With his understanding of the local landscape and of the impact sport and physical activity can have across the range of agendas, Doug will provide valuable leadership and guidance for the network and I am looking forward to working with him to further strengthen our partnerships and continue to grow our collective impact”.
Doug will take over from current chair Richard Saunders when he completes his current term of office at the end of March. As the Chief Executive of Greater Sport, Richard was the founding chair of the network, when it was originally formed as an informal association of CSPs, overseeing its transition to a charitable company with a strong national team. Richard was awarded an MBE for services to sport in Manchester in 2016.
Editor Notes
- The CSP Network represents 43 local County Sports Partnership teams across the country.
- Collectively, they contribute to the health of the nation by helping local partners, organisations and deliverers to promote the benefits of active lifestyles across local communities.
For more information on the CSP Network please call Nicki Couzens ncouzens@cspnetwork.org