a million a month evaluation report v0.1

Evaluation of A Million a

Month Walking Project in

Armley and New Wortley

Cheryl Squire – Health Improvement Principal

Jon Hindley – Advanced Health Improvement Specialist

Office of the Director of Public Health, Leeds City Council

September 2015

1.1. Introduction and Background

This is an evaluation report of the A Million a Month walking project in Armley and New

Wortley. The project was funded as part of City Connect Walking and was project managed

by Living Streets. Colleagues from The Office of the Director of Public Health, Leeds City

Council evaluated the scheme.

1.2. What is City Connect?

City Connect is a scheme to improve cycle facilities across West Yorkshire and encourage

more people to choose walking and cycling for short journeys. In 2013, West Yorkshire

Combined Authority successfully bid for £21million and is working in partnership with Leeds

City Council and City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council to deliver projects that

include the following:

Upgrading the canal towpath surface from Kirkstall to Shipley

23km of segregated cycle superhighway connecting Bradford to East Leeds via Leeds

Centre

Improvements to City Centre Cycle parking

20 mph zones on streets adjacent to the cycle superhighway

City Connect Walking – getting more people walking in their local area

1.3. What is City Connect Walking?

City Connect Walking is being managed by Living Streets, the national charity that stands up

for pedestrians, as part of the City Connect programme run by West Yorkshire Combined

Authority, Leeds City Council and Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

The project aims to get more people walking in six areas along the City Connect route by

working with local partners in each area to provide a range of activities that encourages

walking.

The areas and organisations they’re working with are:

Laisterdyke – Karmand Community Centre

Bradford Moor – Karmand Community Centre

Armley and New Wortley – Groundwork Leeds

Cross Green, East End Park and Richmond Hill – Zest Health For Life

Holbeck – Groundwork Leeds

Gipton South – Space 2

The areas being targeted are six Medium Super Output Areas chosen for their proximity to

the City Connect route and public health issues highlighted by the Public Health teams in

each city. The average population for each area is approximately 8000 people.

The project is expected to achieve the following outcomes:

Increase the intention to start walking in people living in target communities along

the City Connect Corridor

Increase the amount of walking undertaken by people living in target communities

along the City Connect route

Provide walking activities that encourage people from low income and vulnerable

groups to walk more

Increase the amount of walking in pre-school and primary schoolchildren living in

target communities along the City Connect route

Deliver Community Street Audits that identify barriers to walking in our target areas

and make recommendations for activity and improvements that will overcome these

barriers

Make small grants that encourage more people living in target communities along the

City Connect Corridor to walk more often

The project has involved local people carrying out Community Street Audits. These audits

have identified the barriers pedestrians faced in safely accessing their streets with proposed

solutions to the issues identified. The Community Street Audits were used to determine

what activities and small scale improvements could be easily carried out to encourage

walking and improve the local environment.

Activities were also delivered that encouraged people to start walking as part of their

everyday routine, and a small grants programme was set up to help local groups run events

and carry out small projects. A Million a Month is an example of a local walking project that

was developed as a Social Reward programme that had also had access to a small grant

scheme to support local organisations to set up walking projects.

The targets for the City Connect Walking projects for Leeds are set out in the table below:

Total No. of People benefitting from walking promotion - neighbourhood 5043

No. of MSOAs/neighbourhoods worked with 6

No. of Community Street Audits (CSA) 6

No. of people feeding into CSA 120

No. of small grants awarded 18

No. of people participating in Social Rewards programme 300

No. of people benefitting from Small Grants programme 1000

No. of people engaged in led activity/sign a walking pledge in target

neighbourhoods

1623

No. of events/activities 30+

No. of schools involved in walking activities 8

No. of school children participating in key schools 2000

No. of people walking more by the end of the project 5043

1.4. What is A Million a Month?

A Million a Month is a City Connect Walking project that is delivered in Armley and New

Wortley, Leeds. This is a short term initiative that was developed and implemented

between January 2015 and June 2015. Living Streets managed the project with an aim to

encourage 300 local people to walk more to improve their health and to increase social

interaction through the implementation of a social rewards walking project.

The project aimed to recruit between 6 to 10 local community organisations, and health and

social care services to promote the project with their clients and other local people. In each

organisation, a walking champion was identified to support and motivate their clients to be

involved and to walk more. Each individual was given a pedometer and the A Million a

Month walking booklet to monitor walking levels and record milestones. If a participant

achieved their milestone, their booklet was stamped which could then be used as a voucher

for free food and drink at a local café. This was the personal social reward element of the

scheme.

The local organisations that joined the scheme were provided with a £500 start-up grant

and were expected to provide the following:

Weekly group walks;

Offer advice and motivation to participants on how best to walk more during the rest

of the week;

Simple data on a weekly basis about the amount of walking their groups have

completed to contribute to the evaluation of the project; and

Promote and maximise the social benefits of walking together with others – either in

groups, with friends or family, or via social media.

2. Methodology

Colleagues across the Office of the Director of Public Health, Leeds City Council performed

the evaluation of the A Million a Month project. The evaluation includes both quantitative

and qualitative approaches. The quantitative evaluation uses data from a variety of sources

and includes:

Walk leader evaluation forms and feedback

Number of booklets and pedometers distributed to each organisation

Questionnaire completed from identified leads in local organisations

Questionnaire completed from walking leads

The walk leader evaluation forms and quantity of equipment distributed was provided by

Living Streets and was inputted into excel and analysed. Two quantitative surveys (for

organisation lead and walking lead) were created on Talking Point and analysed using excel.

Refer to Appendix 1 for the surveys used.

The qualitative approach involved “walk and talk” interviews at a walking event on 30 June

2015. The interviews involved walking group participants and walk leaders. The facilitators

took written notes and recorded the interviews on a Dictaphone. The written discussion

notes and transcripts of the interviews were analysed using a thematic approach. Refer to

Appendix 2 for the interview structure.

3. Results

The following section presents the findings from the qualitative and quantitative evaluation

approaches. The organisations that were involved in the A Million a Month project are:

Armley Helping Hands, Armley Moor Children's Centre, Castleton Children’s Centre, Dotsi,

Healthy Lifestyle Service, New Wortley Community Centre, St George’s Crypt, Slimming

World Armley, Strawberry Lane, Swallow Hill Academy, and Thornton Medical Practice. The

Living Street Project Manager led walks in the evenings for those who were not able to

attend walks during the day and supported a number of walking events including Year 7 end

of term celebration at Swallow Hill Academy.

3.1. Quantitative analysis

3.1.1. Provision of grants and resources

The organisations who wanted to be involved in the project were asked to apply for a grant.

The following six organisations received a £500 start-up grant: Armley Helping Hands (2

grants for 2 separate groups), Armley Moor Children's Centre, Castleton Children’s Centre,

New Wortley Community Centre, St George’s Crypt, and Strawberry Lane. In addition, Dotsi,

the Healthy Lifestyle Service (Leeds Community Health Care NHS Trust), Slimming World

Armley, Swallow Hill Academy, and Thornton Medical Practice were involved in the project.

All of these organisations received pedometers and walking booklets and were requested to

provide walking steps at the end of the project. Walking steps were received from every

project except Dotsi, Armley Helping Hands Wellbeing Group, Slimming World Armley and

Thornton Medical Practice.

Living Streets reported that they distributed a total of 468 pedometers and 358 walking

booklets. Swallow Hill Academy printed their own booklets and the Healthy Lifestyle Service

only received 8 booklets compared to the 40 pedometers received.

A total of 20,430,155 walking steps were recorded across the organisations over a 12 week

period. This is approximately 1.7million steps per week during the implementation period

of the project. The idea of achieving a million steps a month was underestimated, however

a million a steps a week as a marketing message may not have been perceived as being

realistic by the public.

The range of steps counted between organisations varied and the range was from 4,500

steps to 8,742,000 steps. One organisation preferred to record steps for the group walks

rather than by individuals. The explanation for this was that the act of wearing a pedometer

reduced interactions between individuals walking in the group. This was a well-established

walking group and the walk leader observed an impact on behaviour introduced by the

pedometers. In addition, Thornton Medical Practice supported the project by encouraging

their patients to attend the walks available. Figure 1 below outlines the level of grant and

equipment distributed to each organisation.

The organisations provided some feedback on the walks they provided and any incentives

they gave their services users as part of their grant. The feedback includes:

St George’s Crypt walks:

o Walk to Armley Mills: incentive includes museum entry and drink and scone on

return

o Walk to Kirkstall Morrison’s: incentive includes £10 voucher spend at Morrison’s

for household essentials

o Walk to Kirkstall Abbey: incentive includes a picnic at the Abbey

o Walk to Hollybush: incentive includes refreshments and a talk about volunteering

o Circular route: incentive includes refreshments and cookies at Armley café

Castleton Children’s Centre walks:

o New Wortley Park walk,

o Armley Library walk and story time session,

o Armley Hippo History walk,

o Walk to New Wortley festival

o Western Flatts Cliff Park walk

Incentives include treasure hunt, certificate for best walker, motivational

messages on Children’s Centre’s board

Armley Moor Children’s Centre walks:

o Charlie Cake Park,

o Wortley recreation park

o Pudsey reservoir

o Soft play area time at Armley Leisure Centre

Incentives includes fruit picnic on each walk and bug hunting games.

New Wortley Community Centre

o Walked to Leeds Rhinos game

Incentives include a marching band joining the walks and the New

Wortley Festival

Armley Helping Hands walks

o Armley Mills Industrial Museum

o Gotts Park

Swallow Hill Academy

o Year 7 end of year celebration walk with Parents

Figure 1. Organisations involved in project and resources received

Organisation

Number of

pedometers

distributed

(including

replacements)

Number of

booklets

distributed

Grant

details

Total of number

of steps

Armley Helping Hands and

Strawberry Lane LD group

(Group 1)

40 40 £500 171,849

Armley Helping Hands

Wellbeing Group (Group 2)40 40 £500 Not provided

Armley Moor Children's

Centre40 40 £500 460,950

Castleton Children's Centre 40 40 £500 7,574,642

Dotsi 8 8 £0 Not provided

Healthy Lifestyle Service 40 10 £0 Not provided

Living Streets Walk Leader 70 70 £0 65,901

New Wortley Community

Centre40 40 £500 3,410,313

Slimming World Armley 30 30 £0 Not provided

St George's Crypt 40 40 £500 8,742,000

Swallow Hill Academy 80 0 £0 4,500

Thornton Medical Practice 0 0 0 Not provided

Total 468 358 £3,000 20,430,155

3.1.2. Demographics of participants attending walking groups

The walking champions were asked to gather demographic information for the walks that

they led. This information has been provided from Armley Helping Hands, Dotsi, St George’s

Crypt, Thornton Medical Centre and Living Streets. The following information provides an

overview of the demographic data.

The walking leads’ forms were analysed that identified 78 records for individuals. The main

age groups of those attending the walks were aged 35-44 years (31%) and aged 25-34 years

(27%) and aged 45-54 years (21%). Please refer to figure 2 below.

Figure 2. Age of participants by percentage

6

27

31

21

10

8

16

Age range (% of participants)

15-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465-7475+No response

The split between female (52%) and (45%) male participants was roughly equal with 6 more

female participants than males. Please refer to figure 3 below.

Figure 3. Gender of participants by percentage

45

52

2

Gender (% of participants)

MaleFemaleNo response

The majority of the participants identified themselves as White (85%), 12% of the

participants were from a range of ethnic groups. Three participants (3%) did not declare

their ethnicity. The majority of the participants were English speaking (97%), one participant

spoke another language as their first language (unknown) and 2 participants did not answer

the question. Refer to figure 4 below.

Figure 4. Ethnicity of participants by percentage

85

22 6 3

Ethnicity (% of participants)

WhiteMixedChineseBlack / Black BritishAsian / Asian BritishOtherNo response

The majority of the participants identified themselves as not having a disability (50%), 19%

of the respondents did identify having a disability, and 31% did not answer the question.

Refer to Figure 5 below.

Figure 5. Disability status of participants by percentage

19

50

31

Disability (% of participants)

YesNoNo response

The participants were asked “In the past week, on how many days have you accumulated at

least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity such as brisk walking, cycling, sport,

exercise and active recreation?” Someone is identified as inactive if they state they have

been active for 0 or 1 days. Only 9% of the participants identified themselves as inactive. A

third of participants (33%) state they have been active for the last 6 or 7 days. Less than half

of the participants (42%) stated they were active in the last 3 to 5 days. Refer to Figure 5

below. This suggests that the group walks attracted those who were regularly active as

opposed to the inactive population. St George’s Crypt made a comment on this on their

Walk Leader feedback form:

“Our clients do tend to walk frequently, but by walking in a group they have discovered

walking for pleasure… they initially take very little notice of their surroundings, but with

prompting have enjoyed “spotting things” and seeing walking as less of a chore.”

St George’s Crypt clients are homeless and will often walk daily for utilitarian purposes and

therefore will have high levels of activity.

Figure 6. How many days active in the last 7 days (% of participants)

8 1

9

13

13

16

6

27

7

How many days active in the last 7 days (% of participants)

01234567No response

The majority of the participants stated that they had heard about the walk they attended

through a local event (38%) or other (49). The additional responses provided identified that

the participant mainly found about the event from the organisation directly delivering the

walk. Four people stated that they had heard about the walk from the advertising in Armley

Leisure Centre, three people had heard about it from work and 1 participant had heard

about the walk at New Wortley Festival. This suggests that the majority of the participants

on the walk were already known to the walk leader or to the organisation they were

representing. Refer to Figure 7 below.

Figure 7. How did you hear about the walk? (% of participants)

52 2

3849

3

How did you hear about the walk? (% of participants)

Friend / FamilyWebsiteGP/NursePoster/flierLocal eventOtherNo response

3.1.3. Survey responses from organisations

An open and closed questionnaire was developed using Talking Point and was emailed to all

the leads in the organisations involved in the walking project. Six out of the eight

organisations responded to the survey and 2 respondents only answered the first three

questions.

Question 1. What was your experience of delivering walking projects before becoming

involved in A Million a Month?

Five of the respondents stated that they were never involved in a walking project before

and 1 respondent had previously supported a walking project in the past. Refer to Figure 8

below.

Figure 8. Organisation Lead experience of delivering walking projects before becoming

involved in A Million a Month

Never delivered a walking project be-fore

I have supported walking groups in the past

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Question 1. What was your experience of de-livering walking projects before becoming

involved in A Million a Month?

Number of responses

Question 2. What do you think stops people from walking in their local community?

The six respondents were asked to select from a range of options what they thought stops

people from walking in their local community with the opportunity to provide open text. All

six respondents through that poor weather stopped people from walking in their local

community. Five respondents thought having no one to walk with was a barrier and four

respondents stated that drunken and disorderly behaviour in local streets, local area

perceived to be unsafe, low mood, and being self-conscious about looks were also barriers

that stopped people from walking in their local community. Refer to Figure 9 for more

information. Three respondents chose “other” as an option and stated the following:

“Clients are homeless - may already be walking a lot, but not for pleasure, just to get from A

to B”

“No confidence”

“Walking by necessity isn't the same as for pleasure”

Figure 9. What do Organisation Leads think stops people from walking in their local

community?

Poor weat

her

Local ar

ea perc

eived

to be u

nsafe

Litter

Graffiti

Discard

ed nee

dles

Drunken an

d disord

erly b

ehavi

our in lo

cal str

eets

Dog mess

Overgro

wn hedges

Uneven pav

emen

t

No one to w

alk with

Self-c

onscious a

bout looks

Afraid of in

jury

Lack o

f time

Childcar

e duties

Low mood

Lack o

f suita

ble clothing o

r footw

earOther

01234567


Number of responses

Question 3. What were the main reasons for why your organisation took up the

opportunity to be part of A Million a Month?

This is an open question that provided a range of comments from all six respondents. A

thematic analysis approach was undertaken to quantify the comments provided.

The main reason cited by all 6 respondents to why the organisation took up the opportunity

to be part of A Million a Month was to improve the health of their clients. This included

reference to reducing health inequalities in Leeds; helping those to be more active / to walk

more; helping those to eat more healthily and to lose weight; and reduce loneliness

through the social benefits of group engagement.

The next main reason was to develop opportunities and partnerships in the local area. Two

respondents stated that this includes the opportunity to develop community links and

develop a presence in the Armley community. A third respondent from Leeds Community

Healthcare NHS Trust noted the links between partnership work and improving health: “I

know from my role that collaborative working and working in partnership with other

agencies and organisations can increase a person’s likelihood to behaviour change. It also

means that person has more support from a range of agencies to be able to do this. This was

my personal reason for linking in with the project as I really want to help reduce health

inequalities in Leeds and this includes helping those get more active! The clients I referred

have all benefited.”

The other reasons why the organisations chose to be part of A Million a Month was to:

Give clients an opportunity to have a pleasurable experience, e.g. visit a museum,

have a picnic

o Showing clients places of interest in their local area

o Providing incentives (as mentioned above) to encourage clients to walk

Give staff an opportunity to spend time with, and engage with, clients in a social

setting

o To better understand clients’ needs

To raise awareness that the local streets are safe to walk

To demonstrate that walking is free and fun with your friends

Question 4. What was the grant used for?

Four respondents answered this question; two of these respondents received a grant and

the other two respondents were not eligible for a grant. Two other respondents stopped

completing the questionnaire at this point and therefore it is difficult to ascertain whether

or not they were eligible for a grant.

St George’s Crypt stated how they used the grant. The main use of the grant was to

incentivise their clients to attend the walks. This included the provision of refreshments

during the walk, afternoon tea, and to reward those attended. One walk towards Kirkstall

included a £10 voucher to be spent at Morrison’s to purchase essential items for the clients’

bedsits. Another walk to Kirkstall Abbey included a picnic. The grant also was used to

purchase trainers for those without appropriate footwear and to cover staff time away from

normal duties.

Castleton Children’s Centre stated how they used their grant. The grant was used to provide

refreshments during the walks and bus fares. The grant was also used to provide jackets,

water bottles, first aid kits, activity packs and rewards to be used during the walks.

The grants in these examples were used to reduce potential barriers to walking and to

provide incentives to motivate people to participate in the walks.

Question 5. What did you do to encourage people to start walking and to join your walks?

From the four respondents who answered the question, all of them used a range of

promotional activities and communication to promote the walks and encourage people to

start walking. This included:

“We talked about the walks on offer, the incentives on offer. I also discussed evidence

based benefits of exercise socially, reducing anxiety and depression as well as lifting mood

and feeling good about yourself.” Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

“Through continuous advertising and personal discussions built into individual support plans

with achievable outcomes. Personal invitation was essential and following up to ensure

continued enthusiasm. Staff were well briefed at team meetings to encourage the residents

to partake.” St George’s Crypt

“I started to text the parents the day before the walks to remind them of the time and

place.” Castleton Children’s Centre

“We gave out cards to shoppers and pedestrians promoting what we were doing.” Swallow

Hill Academy

The other main way to encourage people to start walking was through the use of incentives.

This was mentioned by three of the four respondents. The responses given include:

“We encouraged them with a pedometer league which was on the office whiteboard and

changed following each walk. We involved all residents in the preparation and choice of

walks including the shopping and preparation of food as learning tools.” St George’s Crypt

“The vouchers [social reward] were also a bonus to the parents, and they passed this info on

to other people and more people became interested.” Castleton Children’s Centre

One respondent also stated they provided walks at times to meet client need: “I found that

the most popular walks were done on an afternoon (most parents have small children to get

ready on a morning).”

The respondents were also asked in question 5 “If you hadn't received a grant, would this

have made a difference to your walking project?” Both of the respondents who received a

grant stated that not having a grant would have made a difference to their walking project.

They provided reasons why and include:

“Financially unable to do it under normal circumstances.”

“We wouldn’t have been able to encourage walkers with rewards.”

Question 6. What have been the challenges in engaging people to join the walking groups?

From the four respondents who answered this there were a range of challenges that were

mainly operational. This included the change of project managers in Living Streets that led

to a loss of clients interested in walking; or having a city centre base and trying to encourage

clients to walk in Armley and New Wortley which are areas they didn’t know.

There were also challenges in relation to the client group and the obstacles that they face,

this includes the lack of appropriate footwear, low mood, low motivation, and not willing to

“get up and get ready to go out for a walk”.

There was also a barrier regarding the perception of walking described by a respondent

representing St George’s Crypt:

“The challenges were explaining the difference and benefits in walking for pleasure when

this is not a usual occurrence or hobby. Trying to overcome resistance to what is seen as

normally not walking for pleasure.”

“Walking by necessity isn't the same as for pleasure.”

Question 8. What difference has this project made to your organisation and to the people

who use your services?

From the four respondents that responded, the main difference the project had on the

people who used their services was around increases in social engagement, making friends

and developing connections with others. This is turn has led to a reduction in social

isolation. This was reported by all of the respondents.

Another main difference the project had on the people who attended the walks was

improvement to their health and wellbeing. This included being more active, increase in

fitness, increase in confidence, and/or reduction in substance misuse. This was stated by

three respondents.

“Every person involved has benefited in some way. Improved wellbeing, confidence, social

skills, knowledge of local are, appreciation of nature, eating together, laughing, feeling

healthily tired, positive use of time…”

The difference it has made to the organisation includes improved partnerships and a whole

team approach which were also the reasons why the organisations wanted to be part of A

Million a Month.

“It added a new training and engagement session to our portfolio and opened up

relationships with sports and the healthy lifestyle team.” St George’s Crypt

“The whole team have been referring in and thus helping people get more active and reduce

social isolation”. Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

Question 9. How have people benefited from taking part in your walks?

The four respondents were asked to select from a range of options how they thought

people have benefited from taking part in the walks. The question was answered by all four

respondents. All of the options were selected by at least two respondents and the most by

three respondents indicating that all of these are potential benefits to the people taking

part in the walks. Most respondents selected that the main benefits were feeling happier,

feeling fitter, better mood, talking to more people, improved confidence, feeling more

satisfied about where they live, and discovered new places to walk. Refer to figure 10 for

more information. These support the comments provided in the previous question.

Figure 10. How have people benefited from taking part in your walks?

Feel h

appier

Feel fi

tter

Better

mood

Less s

tresse

d

Talkin

g to m

ore peo

ple

Improve

d confiden

ce

Involve

d in other

community ac

tivities

Feelin

g more

satisfied

about w

here th

ey live

Feel sa

fer to

walk ar

ound local

community

Discove

red new

places

to walk0

1

2

3


Number of respondents

Question 10. What do you think people enjoyed most about being part of your walks?

In this open question, respondents provided free text to explain what they think people

most enjoyed about being part of the walks. Four respondents answered the question. The

main enjoyment that people gained is about connecting to others which was described by

all four respondents: making friends; socialising; eating together; laughing; the chit chat

between each other; and making their voices heard. The other main reason why people

enjoyed the walks was an improvement to health and wellbeing, as stated by three

respondents: improving mood; improved confidence; and substance harm reduction. Three

respondents also provided comments which were related to the walks such as: enjoyed

getting steps; appreciation of nature; improved knowledge of local area; and being able to

walk independently. These are very similar answers to those provided to articulate what

difference the project made and how have people benefited from the walks.

Question 11 and 12. Use of Pedometers

A sliding scale question from strongly disagree to strongly agree was used to rate the

statement “providing everyone with a pedometer encouraged people to walk more”. All

four respondents stated that they strongly agree (3 respondents) or agree (1 respondent)

that providing everyone with a pedometer encouraged people to walk more. The main

reason given was that it provided a competitive element.

One respondent that strongly agreed stated that:

“Personally I think people like a challenge against each other. Although those that don’t it

may still provide an incentive to walk more, increase their steps to meet their targets which

may mean more exercise, longer social activities, better mood, more weight

loss/management” Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

Another respondent who strongly agreed stated that pedometers are:

“A talking point and conversation starter plus a competitive tool” St George’s Crypt

Another respondent who strongly agreed explained that competition went beyond the

participants and their clients:

“It became a light hearted competition between the parents and staff, challenging each

other about wearing the pedometer.” Castleton Children’s Centre

Question 13 and 14. Encouraging people to set walking goals and rewarding then with

meal vouchers encouraged them to walk more

A scaling question from strongly disagree to strongly agree was used to rate the statement

“Encouraging people to set walking goals and rewarding then with meal vouchers

encouraged them to walk more”. Four respondents answered the question. Two

respondents agreed or strongly agreed, one respondent neither agreed nor disagreed and

one participant disagreed.

The respondent that neither agreed nor disagreed stated “I don’t have direct feedback to

answer that question. I merely referred people in and received positive feedback about

feeling better, socialising more, getting more active, losing weight and making new friends”.

The respondents who agreed stated that the booklet was useful to provide motivation and

to provide an incentive through the food voucher:

“We started by encouraging to set a walking goal, but reaching this sometimes was hard to

do so we rewarded for just the taking part and completing the books with the parents every

day steps.” Castleton Children’s Centre

“Our client group need incentives to overcome lack of motivation and apathy. Handbooks

were a great help but not as logs.” St George’s Crypt

The respondent who disagreed stated that “You should not use food as a reward”.

Question 15 and 16. How well do you think the A Million a Month project was promoted?

A scaling question from “far too little” to “too much” was used to rate the statement “How

well do you think the walking project A Million a Month was promoted?” Four respondents

answered the question: Two respondents stated the project promotion was “about right”,

one respondent stated the promotion was “too little”, and the final respondent stated that

the promotion was “far too little”.

Of the respondents who stated the project publicity was about right was because it was

kept discreet to the local area:

“Because it [publicity] was held nicely within local area.”

“It was well advertised around the Armley areas; [Living Streets] did a great job.”

The respondent who stated that the project was promoted “too little” was because the

publicity didn’t generate any additional people to their walks: “in the way of advertising,

parents did not come forward from this. As a centre we promoted the group most days

when talking to parents and also informing them of the social media sites.”

The final respondent who stated that the project was promoted “far too little” explained

that “I did not know about it until I was asked to get involved.”

Question 17. What are your views on the role of Living Streets (Andy and Neil) in leading

this project? What worked well and what didn't work well?

The role of Living Streets was well regarded and they were seen to be a great advocate for

the project by being: positive, supportive of the organisations, and supportive of the walks.

Some respondents identified challenges in communication when there was a handover

period and that the paperwork could be simplified to make it more user friendly.

“They were very supportive and positive. Communication worked very well, great

relationships and they turned up to support the walks. We felt that one registration form

was sufficient for each person. Paper work needs tweaking to ensure simplicity.” St George’s

Crypt

“Both Andy and Neil were very supportive and passed on information from questions I put to

them. When I asked for supplies they were also brought when requested. The catch up with

other groups was also interesting, to see what they were doing and where their walks were

taking them.” Castleton Children's Centre

“The handover saw a loss of communication between them [Neil and Andy] and so a lot of

walkers at least 8 were not contacted. However I let Andy know and he did try and contact

them on his return.” Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

The four respondents provided additional comments which expressed their enjoyment

about being part of the project and wanting to be involved in walking projects in the future.

The comments include:

“I thought it was a very productive project and would like to see many more like this!” Leeds

Community Healthcare NHS Trust

“Yes, I would love to take part in another walking project. As a centre we are continuing to

do future walks, as our parents have enjoyed the previous walks”. Castleton Children’s

Centre

“We will do another walk next summer to raise community awareness of the right of our

students and their families to be safe on Town Street. It is Citizenship in action for our

students.” Swallow Hill Academy

“We would like to see something from the city centre as we have access to many potential

walkers within our client group. There are many interesting walks within the [city] centre

and for us would be easier to facilitate.” St George’s Crypt

3.1.4. Survey responses from walk leaders

An open and closed questionnaire was developed using Talking Point and was emailed to all

the walking champions who were trained as walk leader. Three out of the six walking

champions responded to the survey and 1 respondent only answered the first three

questions.

Question 1. What was your experience of being a walk leader before becoming involved in

A Million a Month?

One of the respondents stated that they had supported walking groups in the past and two

respondents had never led a walking group before.


The three respondents were asked to select from a range of options what they thought

stops people from walking in their local community with the opportunity to provide open

text. All three respondents thought that poor weather and dog mess on the streets stopped

people from walking. Two respondents thought discarded needles, uneven pavements, and

drunken and disorderly behaviour in local streets stopped people from walking in their local

community. In addition litter, overgrown hedges, childcare duties, and the local area

perceived to be unsafe were also identified as potential barriers to walking. Interestingly no

one selected the following as potential reasons that stopped people walking in their local

community: graffiti, no one to walk with, self-conscious, lack of time, low mood, or lack of

suitable clothing or footwear. Refer to Figure 11 for more details. This is different to the

responses from the organisations who thought all of these were barriers with childcare

duties and afraid of injury being of least relevance.

Figure 11. What do you think stops people from walking in their local community?

Poor weat

her

Local ar

ea perc

eived

to be u

nsafe

Litter

Graffiti

Discard

ed nee

dles

Drunken an

d disord

erly b

ehavi

our in lo

cal st

reets

Dog mess

Overgro

wn hedges

Uneven pav

emen

t surfa

ces

No one to w

alk with

Self-c

onscious a

bout looks

Afraid of in

jury

Lack o

f time

Low mood

Lack o

f suita

ble clothing o

r footw

ear

Childcar

e duties

Other0

0.51

1.52

2.53

3.5

Question 2. What do you think stops people from walking in their local community

Number of responses

Question 3. What were the main reasons for you wanting to be trained as a walk leader?

The three respondents were asked to select from a range of options the main reasons why

they wanted to be trained as a walk leader with the opportunity to provide open text. All

three respondents stated that they wanted to be trained as a walk leader to help others.

Two respondents wanted to be trained as a walk leader to engage more with the local

community, and to have fun. In addition, one respondent stated that they wanted to help

make a difference to the local community and other respondent wanted to improve their

own health. None of the respondents wanted to be trained as a walk leader because it was

their job, or to walk more themselves. Refer to Figure 12 for more details.

Figure 12. What were the main reasons for wanting to be trained as a walk leader?

To help

others

To help

mak

e a differe

nce to th

e local

community

To walk

more

myself

To im

prove

my own hea

lth

To en

gage m

ore with

the lo

cal co

mmunity

To have

fun

It's part

of my jo

b0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Question 3. What were the main reasons for you wanting to be trained as a walk leader?

Number of responses

Question 4 to 8. How would you describe your walk leading experience? What did you do

to engage people? What have been the challenges? What was the main reason for not

attending?

Two respondents answered this question. The respondent who had previous experience of

leading walks stated that their walk leading experience was fun, they met new people, and

got involved in other community activities. This respondent was asked what they most

enjoyed about being a walk leader and they stated:

“I got a lot of satisfaction from talking to other people about their problems and helping

them get the correct advice.”

This respondent stated that to encourage people to join the walks they “needed a little

encouragement and confidence in their abilities”. The main challenge that this respondent

faced in engaging people to join the walks was “lack of people’s confidence”. They stated

that the main reason why people didn’t attend the walks was “due to a lack of motivation.”

The other respondent who had not lead walks before stated that their walk leading

experience increased their confidence, and that it was sometimes challenging to encourage

people to walk. What this respondent most enjoyed about being a walk leader was

“planning where we were going to walk, seeing how customers progressed and how much

they enjoyed the group.”

This respondent explained what they did to encourage people to start walking and join the

walks “I talked to them about how important walking and keeping healthy is, how much fun

it can be in a group and on your own. When we got to so many steps we all went out to the

cinema as a treat.”

This respondent found that the challenge in encouraging people to walk was “to do a little

more walking each time we went out, customers got tired ,the weather was not so good

they didn't want to go.” This respondent stated that the main reason people did not attend

the walks was due to the weather or being on holiday.

The organisational leads comments also supported the challenges mentioned by the walk

leaders.


The respondents were asked to select from a range of options how they thought people

have benefited from taking part in the walks. Both respondents thought that the benefits

people got from taking part in their walks was feeling fitter, talking to more people, and

discovering new places to walk. One respondent stated that it improved people’s mood

and the other respondent stated that people were less stressed by being part of the walks.

Refer to figure 13 for more information. In comparison to the responses from the

organisational leads, these respondents identified that all the options were a benefit that

people on the walks have achieved, with less stressed and feel safer to walk around having

the smallest response rate.

Figure 13. How have people benefited from taking parts in your walks

Feel h

appier

Feel fi

tter

Better

mood

Less s

tresse

d

Talkin

g to m

ore peo

ple

improve

d confiden

ce

Involve

d in other

community ac

tivities

Feelin

g more

satisfied

about w

here th

ey live

Feel sa

fer to

walk ar

ound local

community

Discove

red new

places

to walk0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5


Number of responses

Question 10. What do you think people enjoyed most about being part of your walks?

The respondents were asked to explain in their own words what they thought people most

enjoyed about taking part in the walks. One respondent stated “getting out into the fresh

air and feeling better about themselves when returning”, and the other respondent stated

“being part of a group, being with their friends, feeling more healthy, and being out in the

community.”

These responses are comparable to the benefits identified by the organisation leads and

what people enjoyed the most (in question 8 and 10).

Question 11 and 12 – Use of pedometers

A sliding scale question from strongly disagree to strongly agree was used to rate the

statement “providing everyone with a pedometer encouraged people to walk more”. Both

respondents stated that they agree or strongly agree that providing everyone with a

pedometer encouraged people to walk more. The reasons for this were:

“It got more people involved in the walk but not everybody used their pedometer”

“Customers want to do more walking; they like to be the one with the most steps”

When comparing responses with the organisational leads, this group also identified both the

competitive element of the pedometers and a tool that got people together to walk.

Question 13 - Encouraging people to set walking goals and rewarding them with meal

vouchers encouraged them to walk more

A scaling question from strongly disagree to strongly agree was used to rate the statement

“Encouraging people to set walking goals and rewarding then with meal vouchers

encouraged them to walk more”. Both respondents strongly agreed that encouraging

people to set walking goals and rewarding them with meal vouchers encouraged them to

walk more. The reasons for this were:

“Some people who went walking with us didn't get set meals, so the vouchers helped people

who had little money to have a full meal.”

“There was something at the end of it and once customers started walking they enjoyed it.”

The organisational leads comments supported these comments as they identified the

booklet and vouchers were a tool to motivate and to incentivise individuals.

Question 15 and 16. How well do you think the walking project A Million a Month was

promoted?

A scaling question from too little to too much was used to rate the statement “How well do

you think the walking project A Million a Month was promoted?” One respondent stated

that the project was promoted “about right” and the reason given for this was because

“sometimes over publication can put people off and they then feel compelled to do it”.

The other respondent stated that the projected was promoted too little and the reason

given for this was “If [local organisation] had not told us about it we would not have

known.”

The responses from the organisational leads also support this with respect to the publicity

being discreet to the local area and that they were unlikely to know about it unless directly

involved.

Question 17. Living Streets were the project leaders for A Million a Month. What are your

views on the role of Living Streets (Andy and Neil) in leading this project? What worked

well and what didn't work well?

One respondent stated that “they [Living Streets] did a good job of promoting the walks, but

the pedometers were not effectively used and the books could have been made easier to

use.”

The other respondent stated “they [Living Streets] were very helpful, someone to go to if we

needed information. They keep us updated with emails.”

The responses from the organisational leads support the positive impact that Living Streets

had on leading the project in addition to some areas of improvement on the paperwork.

The respondents were asked to provide any additional comments about the A Million a

Month walking project. One respondent stated “I am just encouraging them [walking

group] to keep walking” and the other respondent stated “we really enjoyed it. We will

keep doing our walking group and using the steps. It has worked well with the healthy

eating group that we run.”

Similarly, the comments from the organisation leads expressed the will to keep delivering

walking projects and being involved in the future.

3.1.5 Interviews

A “walk and talk” approach was undertaken to create an informal approach to interviewing

the public at a walking event on 30 June 2015. The facilitators of the interviews also

interviewed walk leaders. The facilitators took written notes and recorded the interviews

on a Dictaphone. The written notes and transcripts of the interviews were analysed using a

thematic approach.

3.1.5.1 Walking Group Participants

The interview facilitator walked alongside walking group participants in an organised walk

and asked questions about their walking experience. A total of 8 participants were

interviewed. All were White British, aged 19 to 40 years of age; one participant was female

and the remaining seven were male. All participants lived in social housing, were

unemployed and 2 participants were involved in volunteering.

The participants were asked about their health and wellbeing: two participants had weight

management concerns; three were recovering from alcohol, drug and/or solvent abuse

issues; two had previously been homeless; seven participants had experienced mental and

emotional health problems; and two participants had previously experienced suicidal

thoughts.

The following outlines the key themes identified from the thematic analysis of the written

notes and transcript of the interviews. It is to be noted that external noise on the

recordings made some analysis of the discussion difficult.

Finding about the walks

The majority of the participants found out about the walking groups directly from the

organiser. The participants having direct involvement in the organisation involved was

critical in them being recruiting and engaged to take part. The approach by individual Walk

Leaders and Living Streets were identified as the main reason why participants joined the

organised walks. The walk leaders were regarded to be warm and enthusiastic, and

appeared to be persuasive and persistent influencers that the participants trusted.

Social media did not seem to have an impact on raising the profile of the walks but had a

greater role in celebrating the participants’ success. Social media was used to promote

what the walkers had achieved and to promote the activities of the walking groups. In

addition, the use of the A-boards and posters were useful to remind people when and

where to meet.

Prior walking experience

The majority of the participants interviewed had never walked before for leisure purposes.

Previous experience of walking was for utilitarian purposes; “to get somewhere” if they

lacked funds or access to transport.

Barriers to walking

The interviewed participants thought laziness and apathy was the biggest reason for

community members not taking part in the walking project. They felt it required someone

that is extremely keen and enthusiastic to ‘get people going’ and sufficiently motivated to

take part. The participants felt it needed a dedicated and enthusiastic walk leader to

maintain attendance and keep people motivated. The example most cited was of a Walk

Leader from New Wortley Community Centre who went around to people’s flats and

“knocking them up” so they didn’t forget about the walks.

The participants also identified illness and general poor mobility as a barrier to walking. For

a very specific group of participants, the elderly, there was a barrier mentioned regarding

fear of their environment. The examples given were related to groups of men congregating

on grass banks and by local shops drinking alcohol and talking / swearing loudly.

Environmental factors such as uneven paths, litter, fear of children picking up discarded

hypodermic needles, and groups of teenage lads on “Jaily Field” were also barriers to

walking identified by young mothers. They suggested that paths that were suitable for

“buggies, prams and swivel pushchairs” would encourage more walking among young

parents in the local area.

The Experience

The participants most commonly described the walking experience as ‘nice’. There was a

real sense of enjoyment in being part of the group walking experience. This sense of

enjoyment and pleasure stemmed from being with other people, being able to move

between walkers, and being able to talk to different members of the group. The social

aspect of the group was greatly appreciated by all the participants interviewed. One

participant stated that “it wasn’t really about the walking it was about the being with

people”.

The group walking experience was a positive experience that enabled them to participate in

an activity they would not normally be involved in or even interested in. All those

interviewed stated that the walking activity had a positive impact on their mental and

emotional health. The social elements of the group were important to the participants.

They valued the opportunity ‘to chat’ and to make new friends in the walking groups. The

majority of the participants found it easy to “walk and talk”. Many of those interviewed

stated that they felt they could talk and describe their problems more easily to walk leaders

and support workers when walking rather than being sat in a room. They participants felt

relaxed and they felt comfortable in this social group.

Strongly linked to this social theme was ‘doing stuff with people’. The participants

overwhelmingly liked the walks when they were accompanied by fellow community

members, sometimes peers, and they had a definite purpose. These walk objectives

included learning about local history, going somewhere such as Armley Mills or a rugby

game, or having a meal afterwards. All of these meant the walk had a purpose and not just

for walking sake.

Pedometers and Social Rewards

The participants interviewed gave very little feedback on the use of the pedometers and the

A Million a Month booklets. For a minority of participants, the pedometer was useful to

know how many steps the group had done. However, most participants often lost, forgotten

or neglected to use their pedometers or booklets. The participants explained that

sometimes the Walk Leaders counted total steps for the walk on behalf of the group and

generated a sense of competition with other organised walks which was perceived as

motivating and fun. The A Million a Month booklet was perceived by some as a little long

and complicated. A more simplified version of the booklet would have been preferred.

The social reward of a meal was seen as a nice gesture by the participant’s interviewed.

However, they did not regard this as a motivator to walk more. It appears the social

aspects of the group walks and the walks designed to “do something” was far more

appealing the potential of a meal voucher as a social reward Some participants interviewed

suggested clothing or food vouchers as an alternative. However, it would appear that this

type of social reward was not necessary for this walking project to be a success. The use of

food and refreshments to enable social engagement as part of the walking experience was

well received.

What difference did the project make?

Overwhelmingly, the participants interviewed identified a benefit of having an opportunity

to talk to others and express feelings as part of a walking experience. Talking to new people

on the walks had improved the participants’ sense of wellbeing. They stated that they felt

more content, they felt relaxed, and they felt happy. The project may have had an impact

on reducing social isolation.

Many of the participants interviewed had gone on to join other community groups such as:

Gardening Club, Positive Communications Group, and the New Wortley Music Group. The

participants regarded this as a positive outcome from being part of the walking groups. They

appreciated the gateway it provided to other community activities.

The participants did not feel that their involvement in the walking groups had improved

their knowledge of the local area. None of the interviewees had gone on to walk alone for

leisure purposes. However, all the participants stated that they would continue to access

organised walks.

3.1.5.2. Walk Leaders

The interviewer walked alongside walking leaders as part of an organised walk and asked

questions about their walking experience. A total of three Walk Leaders and/or Support

Workers were interviewed.

The following outlines the key themes identified from the thematic analysis of the written

notes and transcript of the interviews. It is to be noted that external noise on the

recordings made some analysis of discussion difficult.

Skills and Attitudes of Walk Leaders

All of the walk leaders interviewed demonstrated that they are empathetic, warm and

dedicated individuals. The enthusiasm, sense of humour, informality, care, and commitment

from the Walk Leaders appeared to be the driving force of this project. From the interviews,

it became apparent that the walk leaders never felt this was a task. Making a difference to

other people was ranked highly in their response to why they wanted to become a walk

leader. All of them felt it was a part of their job and not a “bolt on”. This was reflected in

their enthusiasm for the project and how they recruited participants. Many of the leaders

walked in their spare time and all of the walk leaders were convinced this would help them

in their day-to-day job.

Barriers to walking

The walk leaders interviewed had a different perspective on what stopped people walking

and joining walking groups when compared to the participants’ responses. The walk leaders

interviewed used their experience of working with local people and understanding the

issues they faced to identify barriers to walking. The walk leaders primarily identified social

isolation as a barrier to walking culminating in participants not knowing about the group

walks. They recognised that the fear and anxiety associated with social isolation and other

related mental health issues that stopped people joining the walks. Their collective solution

was to visit people, remove these barriers, and entice them on the walks. The leaders were

very energetic and pro-active in removing barriers for local people in accessing the walks.

The walk leaders interviewed thought that the apathy of participants could be combated by

going round to where they lived and giving them a gentle reminder.

The walk leaders discussed the reasons why people did not attend their walks. The

examples provided include: needing to attend hospital appointments; children being ill; they

“forgot about it”; low mood; a crisis at home; or issues relating to drug or alcohol

dependency.

Walk leader experience

The dominant theme from the interviews was that the walk leaders felt that they were

helping people and this made it very enjoyable for them to participate in the walking

project.

Secondly, the walk leaders identified the benefits of the “walking and talking approach” that

enabled clients to be relaxed and be more open that enabled their issues to be discussed,

identified, and then co-create solutions. The walk leaders identified that the group walking

process had a therapeutic effect on the walkers as well as enabling the walk leader to

promote other opportunities, such as other community groups.

Benefits to walkers

The walk leaders interviewed strongly identified the benefit of the social aspects of the

walks. They identified the importance of offering an opportunity to walk, talk, and interact;

particularly for those identified as being socially isolated. The walk leaders identified that

the walking project was essential in combating social isolation and improving the emotional

health of the participants. The walk leaders described the observations they had made of

their clients with mental and emotional health problems. They described that the act of

walking seem to make it easier for these clients to relax and talk. The walk leaders described

how they watch members of their group start to laugh and joke with each other, and

noticed a positive physical change in their mood. One walk leader stated that watching

individuals in their group make friends when they have had none for over five years was

heart-warming and gratifying. The walk leaders described how they observed positive

changes in facial expression, frequency of conversation, interaction with others, and

deportment. Many of the walker leaders interviewed described the difference they noticed

in the physical health of their participants which included an increase in stamina, weight

loss, or increase in self-awareness of a health issue and taking action.

The walk leaders interviewed identified that the walking project enabled participants to

access other opportunities and community groups in Armley and New Wortley as a major

benefit of the walking groups. An example of this was that some walkers were taking part in

a gardening group. The A Million a Month Walking Steering Group was mentioned as a

successful way to build connections between the different organisations in the walking

project to support signposting and referral into other groups.

Pedometers and Social Reward

All the walk leaders interviewed identified the value of the pedometers and the social

reward aspect of the project but felt it was not essential to the project. The walk leaders

stated that they felt it was much more important to get people out and about walking.

Some didn’t think the pedometers were necessary and the social reward was regarded as a

‘nice thing to do’. Outside of the social rewards, the walk leaders interviewed stated that

they provided food and drink as part of the walks to get people together socially. Similar to

the participants, the walk leaders interviewed stated that the A Million a Month booklet was

often forgotten or lost by the participants and that the booklet could have been simplified.

Promotion of a Million a Month

All of the walk leaders interviewed stated that the project was well publicised and promoted

well. The walk leaders felt this was overwhelmingly due to the hard work, organisational

skills, tenacity and effervescent personality of the Living Street Project Manager.

4. Conclusion

This evaluation report is unable to confirm whether this City Connect Walking project has

increased walking in Armley and New Wortley or whether individuals have increased their

levels of walking. This is due to the fact there is not any baseline data to demonstrate an

increase in walking levels. There is also limited information on the number of individuals

who participated in the scheme. It is unknown whether 300 people participated in A Million

a Month as the original target for the project has only records for 78 individuals from 5 out

of 12 organisations were available to review as part of this evaluation. However, 468

pedometers and 358 A Million a Month walking booklets were disseminated to the

organisations involved.

The project was well received by the both the organisations and walk leaders involved in the

project who witnessed the difference of the social aspects of walking for enjoyment can

make to people’s sense of health and wellbeing. Despite the limited experience of the

organisations and walk leaders in delivering walking projects and the limited timescale to

get people walking for 12 weeks, this project is a success for all of those involved.

Across the questionnaires and interviews there were many commonalities in the answers

provided. When considering what stops people from walking, all groups agreed that the

main barriers are: the weather; social isolation including not having some to walk with or

not knowing the opportunities available; environmental issues such as disorderly behaviour,

dog mess etc.; factors relating to mood and wellbeing such as low motivation, low

confidence, low mood etc. The interviews with the public and walk leaders also identified

barriers such as: illness, hospital appointments and mobility issues; it takes too much effort

or laziness; and on-the day situations such as children being sick or having a crisis.

There were also common positive themes identified by all three groups when describing the

walking experience. This primarily was having fun which was achieved through the

experience of doing something together from planning food for a picnic to visiting a

museum, and the social experience of talking to each other “shoulder to shoulder”, “over a

cuppa”. The organisation leads and the walk leaders built on the positive experience

achieved by describing the enjoyment of observing the difference that walking and talking

has made on individual’s health and wellbeing. The act of an individual talking has often led

to clients revealing more about themselves than they would in their usual

professional/client dynamic which has enabled the walk leader to provide support or to

signpost on for further help. This demonstrates a clear benefit of giving permission for

workers to deliver walking schemes and having social time with their clients. In all three

groups, food and refreshments played an important role in the walks, whether this was

having a cup of tea prior to the walk, ending the walk with drink and food to celebrate the

achievement, or using the walk to go somewhere to have a picnic to talk together and to eat

together. This is very different to providing meals as a social reward. This evaluation has

demonstrated the value of developing friendships and social connections when “walking to

do something” has been the vehicle. From the evaluation, it is evident that the

conversations had over the walk had meaning to each other. It is unclear whether this

depth of conversation could be recreated over drink and food without the walking element.

It is important to note that A Million a Month walking project was delivered in a deprived

area of Leeds and the local people who attended the walking groups appear to have

experienced multiple social and health related issues including drug or alcohol dependency,

social isolation, homelessness, low income, physical and mental health problems.

Delivering the walking project has enabled community members to get together and

socialise with other people in similar situations. Walking appears to be a powerful medium

to connect socially isolated individuals together and give them space to talk, relax and finally

“open up”. This was further enhanced by the fact that the walk leaders knew the individuals

in their group and understood the barriers they faced which enabled them to create a

walking opportunity that was accessible and acceptable to their group members.

With respect to the social reward element of the project and the use of the pedometers and

the A Million a Month booklet, there were positive themes identified through the use of this

approach. However, they were not the critical success factors for the scheme. Although the

pedometers and booklets were given to all individuals who attended the walks, the use of

these by individuals was varied. Everyone valued the potential competitive nature of the

pedometers whether this was competing in a league, or pushing themselves to walk more

for health benefits, e.g. losing weight. What is interesting is how the pedometers were used

by organisations and walk leaders as an engagement tool; they were used as a conversation

starter or as an incentive to get people involved in the walks. As everybody on the walk had

a pedometer, even if it was decided to use the walk leader steps, it is a useful leveller. It

provided commonality between individuals in the group, including the walk leader.

With respect to the booklet, most comments found the content useful but difficult to use.

The booklet didn’t seem to be used by most but was useful for those who viewed a food

voucher as important, those who struggled to get set meals. The process of setting walking

goals was seen as useful as it gave individuals something to aim for; it helped to overcome a

lack of motivation or apathy. Individuals appeared to receive their social reward for taking

part even if they didn’t achieve their goal.

Everyone is keen to keep delivering walks to their client groups. The grant that the

organisations received was imperative to ensure their clients had the appropriate clothing

and footwear to walk but to also provide positive experiences that this client group may not

ordinarily experience, such as museum visits, story time, picnics. Future walking projects

need to consider what they can do to reduce the barriers to walking and what activities

would be appealing to increase motivation and confidence to participate.

This project was developed to the idea of a social reward walking project. That is rewarding

participants with a financial incentive when they achieved a walking goal. This evaluation is

not able to determine whether this was a successful element of the project as pre and post

walking information was not available nor the number of social rewards provided. The

feedback suggests that the pedometers and the booklets (with reward vouchers) were not

an integral part of the project. The success was due to staff and clients coming together for

a shared walking experience. Although pedometers provided a competitive element

between certain teams and individuals, this project could have been delivered without this

resource. In addition, the booklet was useful to sell the benefits of walking, it is not clear

from this evaluation how many individuals were supported to identify walking goals, and

then monitor their walking in order to achieve their reward – a voucher to use as a local

café. Of those who did do this, the food vouchers were well received. The organisation led

incentives appeared to make the biggest difference in getting clients involved.

The evaluation identified a range of positive outcomes from all those involved. For the

individuals involved this includes: reducing social isolation, improvements in mood,

improvements in health and wellbeing, and learning and experiencing something new. For

the walk leaders, this included becoming more aware of the local area, their own health and

wellbeing improvements, and improving relationships with their clients. From an

organisational perspective, the positive outcomes where about raising their profile in the

local area, building partnerships with other organisations, and developing a team approach

to encourage clients to be involved and walk more. The organisations all valued the

importance of the social value of this project and regarded it as being much more important

than increasing walking levels.

From the feedback in the questionnaires and the interviews, it is clear that this has been a

successful walking project although may be not a successful goal setting and a social reward

project. The project does contribute to the Five Ways to Wellbeing. The Five Ways to

Wellbeing were developed by nef from evidence gathered in the UK government’s Foresight

Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing. The Project, published in 2008, drew on state-of-

the-art research about mental capital and mental wellbeing through life. It asked nef to

develop the Five Ways to Wellbeing to communicate its key findings. The Five Ways to

Wellbeing are a set of evidence-based actions which promote people’s wellbeing. They are:

Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. These activities are simple things

individuals can do in their everyday lives. The A Million a Month project, based on the

evaluation findings, did deliver the five Ways to Wellbeing:

Connect

o Making friends and socialising on the walks

o Enhancing walk leader/client relationships

Be Active

o Be part of a group walk for pleasure

o Having a pedometer to increase steps and active living

Take Notice

o Noticing the change in the seasons during the walks

o Being aware of your surroundings during a walk

o Savoring the moment eating together on a picnic

Keep learning

o Visiting museums, planning and preparing food for a picnic

o Setting a walking challenge and enjoy achieving it

Give

o Joining a group walk and listening to others

o Having fun and be happy as part of a wider community

5. Recommendations

It is important that future walking projects are not set up primarily to increase walking levels

or physical activity. Walking projects can further contribute to broader health and wellbeing

outcomes such as improved mood, reduced social isolation; reduced risky behaviours,

improved physical health amongst others. It is important note that the success factor of this

project is the opportunity to socialise rather than the act of walking for pleasure.

It is recommended that the A Million a Month walking project in Armley and New Wortley is

continued with a focus on reducing social isolation and improving wellbeing. It is important

to consider whether the project can be extended to include other organisations and

localities.

New walking projects would benefit from a budget to incentivise the walks by providing

positive experiences to learn, to take notice and be active. This funding could also be used

to address people’s barriers to walking, e.g. footwear, waterproofs to enable everyone to

have an opportunity to participate and connect with others.

It is important that the walk leaders are experienced workers in the local area and

appreciate the complex social and health needs of the clients. This is important so that the

walks can be adapted to meet the needs of individuals in the groups such as mobility issues,

drug or alcohol dependency, previous expensive of violence requiring single sex sessions, or

young parents who prefer afternoon activities etc. As the evaluation has demonstrated

that clients are more open with their practitioners during a walk, it is important the walk

leader is knowledgeable about local services and opportunities to signpost on. From this

evaluation, participants have been signposted on to a positive communications group, a

gardening group, smoking cessation service and a Zumba class.

In order to enhance the signposting role of the walk leader, it is recommended that walk

leaders and their respective organisations are encouraged to network with other local

organisations and services to build links with each other in order to better support their

clients and enable them to be better engaged in the community.

It is recommended that any marketing and publicity developed for walking projects is kept

simple and easy to recognise. This includes using social media, noticeboards and posters to

promote the walking activities in addition to celebrating walking achievements or positive

group experiences. During the interviews, some participants provided comments on how

best to advertise walks in the future. They suggested that the following should be included

on the walking project poster:

Name of walk

Where to meet including day, date, venue and time

The purpose of the walk, e.g. visit a museum

Walk leader contact details

Duration of walk (in time and distance) and level of difficulty

o Use footprints to suggest walking time

Visual representation of the group the walk is targeted at, e.g. men

Map of the proposed route

o Start and finish points

o Include areas of interest, e.g. local history, wildlife etc.

o Have a measured mile “to see how fast we walk”

Appendix 1. Questionnaire

Walk Leader Survey

A Million a Month – Armley and New Wortley Walking Project

The A Million a Month walking project funded by Leeds City Council Office finished at the

end of June 2015. The range of projects and organisations involved walked more than 15

million steps in total. This is amazing. Achieving 5 million steps a month is much more than

we expected.

Leeds City Council would like to know what made this project a success. We would like you

to complete this short survey that will help us understand what worked well, what made a

difference and what we can do better in the future.

All your answers provided are anonymous and confidential. We will use this information to

explain what worked well in the project and to plan future walking projects.

Questions

What was your experience of being a walking leader before becoming involved in A

Million a Month?

o I never led walking groups before

o I have supported walking groups in the past

o My organisation has supported walking groups but I wasn’t involved

o Other, please explain

What do you think stops people from walking in their local community? Select all

those that apply.

o Poor weather

o Local area perceived to be unsafe

o Litter

o Graffiti

o Discarded needles

o Drunken and disorderly behaviour in local streets

o Dog mess

o Overgrown hedges

o Uneven pavement surfaces

o No one to walk with

o Self-conscious about looks

o Afraid of injury

o Lack of time

o Child care duties

o Low mood

o Lack of suitable clothing or footwear

o Other, please comment

What were the main reasons for you wanting to be trained as a walk leader? Select

all that apply.

o To help others

o To help make a difference to the local community

o To walk more myself

o It improve my own health

o To engage more with the local community

o To have fun

o It’s part of my job


How would you describe your walk leading experience? Please select all that apply

o It increased my confidence

o It was fun

o I found new places to walk to

o I met new people

o The group experience worked well

o It was sometimes challenging to encourage people to walk

o I’ve become involved in other community activities

o I know the local area a lot better now


What did you enjoy most about being a walk leader?

What did you do to encourage people to start walking and to join your walks?

What have been the challenges in engaging people to join the walking groups?

With regards to the walks you led, what were the main reasons for people not

attending?

From your perspective, what benefits do you think the walks have given people who

have joined your walks?

o Feel happier

o Feel fitter

o Better mood

o Less stressed

o Talking to more people

o Improved confidence

o Involved in other community activities

o Feeling more satisfied about where they live

o Feel safer to walk around local community

o Discovered new places to walk to

o If other, please comment

What do you think people most enjoyed about being part of your walks?

How much do you agree with this statement: Providing everyone with a pedometer

encouraged people to walk more?

o Strongly agree

o Agree

o Neither agree or disagree

o Disagree

o Strongly Disagree

What are the reasons for this?

How much do you agree with this statement: Encouraging people to set walking

goals and rewarding them with meal vouchers encouraged them to walk more?

o Strongly agree

o Agree


o Disagree

o Strongly Disagree


How well do you think the walking project “a Million a month” was promoted?

Far Too Much

Too Much

About Right

Too Little

Far too little

Please explain why?

Living Streets were the project leaders for A Million a Month. What are your views

on the role of Living Streets in leading this project? What worked well and what

didn’t work so well?

What do you think we can learn from this project?

What suggestions would you like to improve future walking projects?

Name

Organisation

Organisational Survey

A Million a Month – Armley and New Wortley Walking Project

The A Million a Month walking project funded by Leeds City Council Office finished at the

end of June 2015. The range of projects and organisations involved walked more than 15

million steps in total. This is amazing. Achieving 5 million steps a month is much more than

we expected.

Leeds City Council would like to know what made this project a success. We would like you

to complete this short survey that will help us understand what worked well, what made a

difference and what we can do better in the future.

All your answers provided are anonymous and confidential. We will use this information to

explain what worked well in the project and to plan future walking projects.

Questions

What was your experience of delivering a walking project before becoming involved

in A Million a Month?

o Never delivered a walking project before

o I have supported walking groups in the past

o My organisation has supported walking groups but I wasn’t involved

o Other

What do you think stops people from walking in their local community? Select all

those that apply.

o Poor weather

o Local area perceived to be unsafe

o Litter

o Graffiti

o Discarded needles

o Drunken and disorderly behaviour in local streets

o Dog mess

o Overgrown hedges

o Uneven pavement surfaces

o No one to walk with

o Self-conscious about looks

o Afraid of injury

o Lack of time

o Child care duties

o Low mood

o Lack of suitable clothing or footwear

o Other, please comment

What were the main reasons for why your organisation took up this opportunity to

be part of A Million a Month?

As part of the project, you received a grant to help you set up your walking groups?

What did you use the grant for?

What did you do to encourage people to start walking and to join your walks?

What have been the challenges in engaging people to join the walking groups?

If you hadn’t received a grant, would this have made a difference to your walking

project?

o Yes

o No

o Maybe

Please explain why.

What difference has this project made to your organisation and to the people who

use your services?


have joined your walks?

o Feel happier

o Feel fitter

o Better mood

o Less stressed

o Talking to more people

o Improved confidence

o Involved in other community activities

o Feeling more satisfied about where they live

o Feel safer to walk around local community

o Discovered new places to walk to

o If other, please comment

What do you think people most enjoyed about being part of your walks?

How much do you agree with this statement: Providing everyone with a pedometer

encouraged people to walk more?

o Strongly agree

o Agree


o Disagree

o Strongly Disagree


How much do you agree with this statement: Encouraging people to set walking

goals and rewarding them with meal vouchers encouraged them to walk more?

o Strongly agree

o Agree


o Disagree

o Strongly Disagree



Far Too Much

Too Much

About Right

Too Little

Far too little

Please explain why?

Living Streets were the project leaders for A Million a Month. What are your views

on the role of Living Streets in leading this project? What worked well and what

didn’t work so well?


What suggestions would you like to improve future walking projects?

Name

Organisation

Appendix 2. Interview Questions

Consent Form for Participants

Consent form for people being interviewed as part of the evaluation of the Armley Social

Rewards Walking Project.

I understand that:

it is my choice to be involved in this project and I can stop being involved by just

telling the researcher I want to stop

the work might be published but my name will not be used so anyone who reads the

report will not know who was involved.

the interview will be audio taped to help with the write up of the findings

all information about me will be destroyed shortly after the report has been written

up.

One signed copy of this form will stay with me and one copy will be kept by the researcher.

I agree to take part in this project

Participant

Name

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Age ……………………..

Ethnicity ……………………………………

Employment Status ……………………………………..

Educational qualifications ………………………………………….

Car Driver Yes No

Signature

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Interview questions for walk participants

PLEASE BE AS OPEN AND HONEST AS YOU CAN AROUND THINGS THAT HAVE WORKED

WELL AND THINGS THAT HAVEN’T WORKED SO WELL

How did you find out about the walks? PROMPTS Posters, organisation, word of

mouth, Facebook , have you heard about the phrase “ a million a month”

What was your experience of walking before you joined the group?

What were the main reasons for why you joined the group? PROMPTS Health, social

aspects, leisure

What do you think stops people from walking? PROMPTS Safety, perception of

neighbourhood/environment (litter, discarded needles, alcohol), lack someone to

exercise with, self-conscious about looks, afraid of injury, lack of time, child care

duties, low mood, lack of waterproof clothing, people drunk on the streets

How would you describe your group walking experience? PROMPT Was it fun, social,

doing new/different things, did it have a purpose

What did you enjoy most about the walk?

Were you given a pedometer and the “million a month” booklet as part of joining a

walk? Y/N

What did you think of the pedometer?

How did you use the pedometer? PROMPTS how often was it used, what difference

did it make to your walking, did you do any extra steps?

What did you think of the booklet?

How did you use the booklet? PROMPTS Set walking goals, record daily steps, what

difference did it make to walking? What stopped you from using the booklet –

difficult to use, time, too big to carry around.

In the booklet, if you set your walking goals and achieved them, your walking leader

would give you a stamp that you could use towards food and drink at the real junk

café, St George’s Crypt café and the café at New Wortley Community Centre.

Did you collect the stamps to get a meal voucher? PROMPTS What do you think of

the idea of recording steps to get a free drink/meal? What stopped you from

recording step to achieve your goal? Y Prompt – how did the idea of a meal voucher

encourage you to record your steps and achieve your goal? Was the reward worth

the effort of extra walking?

What difference has being part of the walks made to you? PROMPTS feel

better/happier, feel fitter, better mood, made friends

Did the walk improve your knowledge about your local area? PROMPTS what new

places did you discover?

What do you now think differently about your local area? Safe, nice people, lots of

things to do

Have you been on any walks yourself outside of the groups?

Do you think you will continue to walk more now since this experience?

What are your views about the walk leader? PROMPTS Motivating, experienced,

knowledgeable about area, bubby personality

What improvements would you like to see in the walks?

Do you have suggestions for walks we have not undertaken yet?

Interview questions for walk leaders

Organisation name …………………………………………………………………

Why did you become involved as a walk leader?

What was your experience of walking before you were trained as a walk leader?

What were the main reasons for you wanting to be a walk leader? Prompts – to help

other, Health, social aspects, leisure, part of job

What do you think stops people from walking? Prompts - Safety, perception of

neighbourhood/environment (litter, discarded needles, alcohol), lack someone to

exercise with, self-conscious about looks, afraid of injury, lack of time, child care

duties, low mood, lack of waterproof

How would you describe your walk leading experience? Prompts – fun, social, finding

new/different things to walk to, develop confidence; walks for purpose, e.g. attend

cinema, visit local landmarks etc.

What did you enjoy most about being a walk leader?


have joined your walks? Prompt -Social, physical, emotional, confidence, improved

perception of local area, something to do

To what extent do you think encouraging people to set walking goals and rewarding

them with meal vouchers encouraged walking?

To what extent do you think providing everyone with pedometers encouraged

walking?


Prompt – use of Facebook and Twitter

With regards to the walks you led, what were the main reasons for people not

attending?

What are your views on the role of Living Streets?

- the project overall – Prompt – time to set up walks and deliver,

- their approach prompt – right level of input?; understanding roles of Andy and Neil

– impact of them being involved intermittently

- the walk leader training


Suggestions for improvement of future walks?

a million a month evaluation report v0.1

Documents