At Pitchbooking, we’re trying to change the way people book and play sports in their local areas – to grow community sport through a new on-line marketplace. Ideas alone can’t drive this kind of change; it requires powerful tools, adapted to their environment.

Our tool is the on-line service we provide - our ability to simplify the processes around booking for players and administrators. As for the environment - community sport, we know we must work in partnership with local authorities, who oversee so much of the sector. The success of our service hinges, at least in part, on our ability to understand and respond to these authorities’ needs.

And so to the question: What do local authorities need? The surest way to find out was to ask. Before developing our platform, we contacted local authorities across the country to learn about the challenges of managing sports facilities. This dialogue revealed a set of common difficulties that the Pitchbooking service has been tailored to address.

Here, we look at five key challenges local authorities face and the solutions we offer.

1. Digital Transformation: Bringing local authority systems up to date

Across the services industry, there is a drive towards digital self-service. In the smartphone era, customers want the freedom of simple, flexible systems they can access remotely.

Local authorities lack the staff and budget to bring their systems up to date. Too often, booking local means a struggle through phone calls and paper forms. For ad-hoc bookers, it can feel easier not to bother.

The Pitchbooking platform offers authorities an affordable, ready-made gateway to self-service. Automated payments and records are not only convenient for users but save the authority time and money. And so we arrive at our second key area…

2. Relieving the administrative burden on managers

Bookings, payments and timetabling are a frustrating drain on resources for facility managers. Too often, this administrative burden holds them back from more constructive work. With its automated, self-service model, Pitchbooking makes space for managers to focus on the essential elements of their work.

On the ground floor, they have more time to maintain equipment or tailor their spaces. Equally, on a higher level, they can drive initiatives to draw in a wider public and encourage activity in their local communities.

3. Protecting against a single point of failure

When a person manages a facility for a long period, as often happens in local authorities, they build their own network of systems, records and contacts. They understand the many special details essential to everyday operation. It can seem impenetrable from the outside, but everything runs smoothly. They are, in effect, a modern-day little Dutch boy, plugging the dam.

If, or rather when, that person is away or leaves the position, the system’s only safeguard has failed; often, there follows a flood of administrative chaos. No-one can unearth the details fast enough to stop a customer-relations disaster.

Pitchbooking protects against this single point of failure. Essential processes are automated, and all the details are clearly recorded and easily accessible via the on-line platform.

4. The need for powerful, instant data analysis

Managers need to respond to changing circumstances. They must design strategies to boost the performance and sustainability of their facilities. There’s no more powerful tool in this work than good data.

Let’s say I’m working on an access initiative. I can see that school-age users have dropped from 45% to 25% over the last year; straight away, I know my target demographic and can set a realistic objective. A strategy starts to take shape.

Unfortunately, this kind of data is often buried beyond easy reach. Hours of mind-numbing spreadsheet work is enough to put anyone off. We need the information at our fingertips.

With Pitchbooking, managers can generate reports instantly across a wide range of data. They can inspect rates of use, demographics, trends in payment type and much more via the online platform.

5. Limiting the underuse of facilities

Underused facilities are a constant concern for local authorities. They see the problem but often lack the data to get a full understanding.

Facilities that could be invaluable to the community are threatened; increasingly, local authorities are pressured to sell off land that is not essential or profitable.

Pitchbooking’s data analysis can protect facilities, giving firm evidence they’re well used. When underuse is a problem, managers have clear information and a set of tools to boost participation. Intelligent timetabling means more time-slots can be opened to ad-hoc bookers; in addition, the website offers a valuable space to advertise struggling facilities and launch special offer schemes.

The Pitchbooking platform is purpose-built to make facilities accessible and attractive to a wide public. Our goal is to drive up sports participation through easy, on-line self-service. With Oxford City council, we’ve seen that it works…