Report 4: Interim Evaluation

AIntroduction

A.1Background

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has commissioned a consortium led by Grant Thornton, including Ecorys, Loughborough University and Oxford Economics to undertake a comprehensive and robust 'meta-evaluation' of the additionality, output, results, impacts and associated benefits of the investment in the 2012 Games. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has part funded this project to enable it to make a contribution to advancing meta-evaluation methods.

The meta-evaluation consists of four phases:

Phase 1: Inception (March 2010 – April 2011);

Phase 2: Baseline and pre-Games interim evaluation (February 2011 – Summer 2012);

Phase 3: Post-Games initial evaluation (June 2012 – Spring 2013);

Phase 4: Longer-term evaluation of the impacts and legacy of the Games.

It is planned that Phase 4 of the work, looking at the longer-term impacts and legacy of the Games, will be commissioned separately at a later date and cover the impacts up to 2020.

This report (Report 4) is the fourth in a series of five reports, which cover phases 1 to 3 of the meta-evaluation:

Report 1: Scope, research questions and data strategy;

Report 2: Methods;

Report 3: Baseline and counterfactual;

Report 4: Pre-Games interim evaluation;

Report 5: Post-Games initial evaluation.

The work undertaken in Reports 1 to 3 has been of critical importance in providing the foundations for this report as it has established – among other things – the research questions the study is tasked with answering, the approach and method taken to gathering the evidence and the context against which the impact of the legacy should be measured and evaluated. This report builds directly on these foundations and takes a first, and early, look at the impacts and legacy emerging from pre-Games activity. Report 5 will be published in 2013 and examine available evidence of the impacts and legacy post-Games up to the end of 2012.

A.2Report 4

As noted, this report focuses on the impact and legacy of pre-Games activity and does not, in the main, cover the impact and legacy of Games-time activity.¹ The cut off point for the inclusion of data in this report was June 2012 (with a few minor exceptions) and therefore, it only provides an initial assessment of impacts and legacy of pre-Games activity – largely due to time-lags in available data. Report 5 will provide a more complete picture.

This report is therefore an initial assessment of the emerging legacy from the 2012 Games for each of the four legacy themes, primarily setting out what has already been achieved and delivered. Where possible it also provides a sense of direction and scale in terms of what can be expected post-Games over the medium and longer term.

A.3Report structure

Chapter 3 focuses on harnessing the UK's passion for sport looking in turn at the legacy effects on sports participation, sports infrastructure, elite sport and international sport.

Chapter 4 is focused on exploiting opportunities for economic growth covering the economic impact of construction expenditure, business access to 2012 opportunities, promoting the UK as a place to invest, export and trade promotion, tourism, employability and skills development, promoting sustainable business and opportunities for disabled people in business and disabled access to transport.

Chapter 5 is focused on promoting community engagement and participation which includes an assessment of the legacy effects on volunteering and social action, participation in culture, engaging children and young people, encouraging sustainable living and influencing attitudes towards disabled people.

Chapter 6 focuses on the extent to which the 2012 Games are driving the regeneration of East London looking at how it has contributed to transforming place, transforming communities, transforming prospects and Convergence.

The final chapter (Chapter 7) draws together the emerging findings as it provides a synthesised summary of the legacy pre-Games.

In addition, there are a number of appendices that provide further analysis and detail which supplements the information contained in the chapters above. Where relevant these appendices are signposted within the report.