Kirsty Winders

“Working with Kirsty and the team at Max Associates to develop our Active Communities Framework has been an invaluable experience. Their expertise and collaborative approach were instrumental in shaping the Active Communities Framework. Kirsty brought a deep understanding of sport, physical activity, and community engagement, ensuring that each strategy that was part of the framework was evidence-based, practical, and aligned with our local priorities. The process was smooth, well-structured, and collaborative.  Kirsty listened to our needs, challenged our thinking where appropriate, and provided clear guidance throughout. These strategies provide a strong foundation for decision making, investment planning, and partnership development, helping us deliver better outcomes for residents and create more active, healthier communities”.

“The Max Associates team are extremely professional and knowledgeable and the work they have delivered for South Derbyshire has been outstanding.   

In South Derbyshire we had an outsourced procurement function with NHS Chesterfield – so the support Max Associates offed the Council in this process was invaluable.  They ensured we created the right service specifications to get the outcomes we were looking for and to get the best responses from the market. 

Prior to the actual leisure contract procurement work Max Associates conducted soft market testing to help initiate this process.  Also, with their expertise and support we were able to go out to market, appoint and mobilise new contractors with in a 12-month period. 

The outcomes from this means that significant savings will be realised to the council over the term of the contract, also investments into the leisure facilities have also been delivered in the first year of the contract, which has led to increased participation and customer satisfaction. 

Max Associates have also supported us on facility mix recommendations for a future leisure centre design and are working with us to devise a future Active Wellbeing Strategy. 

I would highly recommend Max Associates services to other local authorities to support any leisure contract procurement or leisure/physical activity strategy work.”

“Lisa and the team at Max Associates have demonstrated their professionalism and expertise at every step.  Through their guidance, our leisure operator contract procurement process has resulted in a positive outcome, representing good value for money for the Council and a positive offer for the community, ensuring the continuity of leisure services and improvement of facilities. Ensuring financial viability was a key part of the procurement process and with Lisa’s support, we secured a strong, credible and financially viable bid, which included an active communities offer, enabling a wider community reach, beyond the leisure facilities. As always, it has been an absolute pleasure working with Max Associates. Their insightful, supportive and partnership approach is exemplary, I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them.”