Measuring the value of movement: how universities can capture the benefits of sport and physical activity

Universities talk confidently about the power of sport and physical activity to improve well-being, build community and support healthier lifestyles. But in a policy environment where public services are under pressure and investment decisions must be justified, stories alone are not enough to share the impact. 

If universities want to be recognised as serious partners in supporting national health and well-being goals – and to secure the funding that follows – they must be able to measure and demonstrate the social value that their sport and physical-activity programmes create for students and beyond. The challenge is not just delivering activity but also evidencing its ongoing impact for students, the institution, community and country. 

• Making sport accessible to everyone on campus
• Want students to exercise more? Make it part of their course
• Why and how to bring physical movement into the classroom

Adult activity levels have begun to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, as Sport England data shows. Between November 2021 and November 2022, 63.1 per cent of adults met the chief medical officer’s guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week – a 1.7 per cent rise year-on-year. This is a positive trend not just for national health, but for all partners involved in shaping active communities. 

For universities, it raises an important question: if our campuses and institutions are helping drive this improvement, can we prove it? 

Institutions provide daily access to facilities, programmes, volunteer opportunities and community engagement initiatives that reach tens of thousands of people: students, staff and local residents. But without robust data, the sector cannot show how these activities contribute to national recovery in physical activity or strengthen the case for future investment. 

Why measurement matters  

Universities’ sport and physical activity departments and students’ unions have long highlighted the role of activity in improving mental health, supporting belonging and enriching the student experience. These are meaningful insights, but policymakers, funders and university boards respond to evidence that is consistent, comparative and quantifiable. 

Measurement elevates sport from a “nice to have” to a strategic asset. It enables institutions to: 

• demonstrate the public-health value they add
• justify investment in facilities, programmes and partnerships
• strengthen relationships with NHS trusts, local authorities and Active Partnerships
• influence national conversations about preventative healthcare. 

Putting it simply, without evidence, universities are overlooked. With evidence and clear connection to policy and national strategies, they become essential partners. 

Numbers elevate student anecdotes into conversations about investment, national strategy and long-term change. If higher education wants to be taken seriously as a partner in supporting efforts to tackle inactivity, it must measure the value of movement with the same consistency it applies to academic outcomes. 

Using social value frameworks to demonstrate impact 

Historically, evidence of impact in university sport has relied heavily on qualitative data, testimonials and satisfaction surveys. These remain valuable for context, but they do not convey scale. 

This is where established models – such as Sport England’s social value framework – play a crucial role. By quantifying outcomes such as improved well-being, reduced healthcare costs, increased productivity and stronger community cohesion, institutions can communicate their impact in a language recognised by government and funders. At the University of Southampton, we used Sport England’s framework to analyse the 2024-25 academic year. The outcome was a £10.6 million return in social value generated through sport and physical-activity programmes across our student and staff communities. 

This figure was not speculative. It reflected measurable outcomes across two areas: 

• primary value: individual benefits such as higher life satisfaction, improved mental well-being and better physical health
• secondary value: wider societal benefits, including reduced NHS usage, enhanced educational outcomes and increased community engagement. 

Evidence framed in this way has resonated strongly with university leadership, local partners and potential investors. This year, Southampton will build on this foundation through new initiatives, including an Exercise is Medicine On-Campus campus-wide campaign delivered across faculties – with one of the aims being to further increase the social value generated. 

What universities should be measuring 

To produce credible and comparable impact data, institutions should adopt simple, consistent metrics that can be collected throughout the year. These might include: 

• participation data: tracking active students and staff, benchmarked against national datasets such as Active Lives or BUCS. It is powerful data to see how our institution compares with national levels.
• well-being outcomes: correlating activity levels with mental-health indicators, life satisfaction or retention. Student ID numbers are helpful, matching what patterns we can identify around those who are active and those who are not.
• sporting- and fitness-facility-usage patterns: broken down by demographics such as widening-participation students, disabled students or international cohorts. Similar to above, the student ID number allows for those cross-check process.
• economic return: using Sport England modelling to calculate primary and secondary social value.
• graduate outcomes: exploring links between participation in sport and employability skills, leadership development and volunteering. 

Taken together, these measures create a rounded, credible picture of impact that can be understood not just within sport departments but across institutional strategy and planning. 

Strength in shared evidence 

While measurement at individual universities is valuable, collective evidence is transformative. If institutions adopted consistent approaches, the sector could develop a national evidence base demonstrating the impact of university sport on public health, community well-being and economic value. 

Partnerships with British Universities & Colleges Sport, Active Partnerships and local authorities will be essential in this. A shared evidence base would give the sector a stronger voice in lobbying for funding, support more effective local partnerships and help ensure sport is recognised as central – not optional – to higher education’s contribution to society. 

Evidence unlocks influence 

The benefits of physical activity are not in doubt. The question is whether universities can prove them in ways that resonate with decision-makers. By adopting trusted measurement frameworks, collecting meaningful data and contributing to a sector-wide evidence base, universities can demonstrate their role in supporting healthier, more resilient communities – and make a far stronger case for the investment needed to expand that impact. 

Because this work is not just about sport. It is about shaping healthier futures, one student, one community and one data point at a time. 

Phil Malatesta is associate director of sport and community services at the University of Southampton. 

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