Presumably you have heard the Build Back Better mantra? What does it mean?
Are you expecting the world to change as a result of events since March 2020? Or do you think things will look pretty similar to 2019 once we get coronavirus under control or at least learn to live with it?
Some things have changed for certain as far as recreational cricket is concerned. The game will be grappling with the financial impact of Covid-19 for some time. That probably means less money available for clubs unless ECB can capture a sizeable chunk of the £300 million HMG funding for sport recently announced……and see investment in the recreational game as a core priority. So what other options are there?
Many clubs…..or at least forward thinking people within clubs…..are beginning to embrace Build Back Better. Can you use it to galvanise a broader commitment to create a sustainable long-term future for your club?
What might that look like? Does it go beyond short-term financial solvency? Revisiting plans for your facilities and, perhaps, becoming more ambitious? Fundamentally reviewing your business and operating model? Assessing how fit-for-purpose your ownership structure is? How can you future-proof your sport, recruit and better retain players, given the foreseeable challenges from within and outside cricket?
Are you considering you could well be asked within the next 5 years to develop a Net Zero Club Development Plan? Not a high risk yet, maybe, but still significant. At a more immediate practical level, if you have to plan replacement of your heating and hot water boiler, what are you going to do? And while climate change is already having an impact – just ask your groundsman (and your insurance company) – are you going to actively think about water harvesting, renewable energy, and travel to away games? And not just as risk issues, and potential costs, but as a business opportunity, too?
All of these issues will be included in a wide-ranging Network forum session on May 27 designed to stimulate thinking as preparation for a practical discussion on core elements of Build Back Better. Indeed, to begin scoping out the ‘Club of the future’ agenda with which we are likely to become very familiar over the next few years.
You can find the events page on LinkedIn here.