Walking for All

The Role

Outscape is continuing to seek funding and support for a new led-walking programme, Walking For All.

Through previous funding from Public Health Agency (PHA) and Sport NI, Walking For All has been fully developed and is ready to implement:

• Greenbook Economic Appraisal is complete
• Fully costed roles have been identified across Northern Ireland
• Training programme for walk volunteers is ready to deliver
• Brand and logo is designed

Walking for All is aimed at those who are least active in Northern in order to improve their health and wellbeing outcomes. A ‘led-walk’ is usually led by a trained volunteer or staff member of a local organisation and takes place in local community spaces, such as parks.

The Greenbook Economic details that the proposed Walking for All scheme has the potential to contribute the Programme for Government:

• Walking For All is focused upon changing attitudes and behaviours, about shifting what happens in people’s lives so as to enable them to live longer and healthier lives. In doing so, it has evident potential to contribute to some of the major societal outcomes that the Executive wants to achieve. Some of the PfG’s indicators to which the scheme could contribute are:
  • • Reducing health inequality
    • Increasing healthy life expectancy;
    • Reducing preventable deaths;
    • Improving mental health;
    • Improving health in pregnancy;
    • Increasing the confidence and capability of people and communities;
    • Increasing the use of active travel;
    • Increasing access to clean, high quality, green spaces;
    • Working to increase respect for the environment.

• The scheme is about keeping people healthy, preventing them from needing health interventions, and as such has the potential to contribute to economic outcomes as well (i.e. reducing the demand placed upon health budgets);

• If appropriately targeted, the scheme has the potential to address equity issues by tackling issues related to deprivation and poverty that are linked to poor health outcomes.

• In addressing levels of physical inactivity, the scheme has the potential to contribute, at both a NI-level and at a local community level, to:
  • • Addressing the decline in adult participation in sport and physical recreation;
    • Increasing adult (and within that women’s, socio-economically disadvantaged groups’ and older people’s participation rates in sport and physical recreation.

• Contribute to each of the eleven Community Plans developed by the local councils