sporta has expanded its head office team to further support its cultural and leisure trust members.

Cate Gillingwater, 31, joins sporta as the programme manager to support a Sport England Lottery-funded project with sporta members to deliver a community sports participation programme in England.

The aim is to increase the number of individuals aged 14 and upwards, participating in sport once a week and provide feedback on what does and does not work in the sector. The programme will ensure investment reaches trusts and social enterprises that are at the heart of communities where residents are currently disengaged from sport.

Gillingwater joins sporta from Age UK, where she worked on the Big Lottery Funded 'Fit as a Fiddle' programme across England. She has also worked for East Riding of Yorkshire Council in a number of roles, mainly managing Sport England and partner-funded programmes targeting inactive populations.

She said: "This is the perfect role, supporting direct project delivery on the ground to engage, motivate and sustain participation amongst sedentary populations across England.

"The programme has to ensure that we learn from previous projects that have taken place across the sector, so that future projects are replicable and sustainable for the trusts. We will deliver robust evaluation and outcomes measurement, and share this learning and these tools UK wide, offering solid foundations for trusts to develop successful projects from."

Nathan Ashley also joins sporta's head office. Ashley, 24, is the Policy and Projects Officer, a new role that will see him working with members, collating evidence of the work they carry out to build social cohesion and tackle inactivity, as well as to commission services that will secure collective member benefits. He will also be involved in lobbying and public policy issues, helping to influence policies and agendas with topics of specific interest to member trusts.

Ashley, who has also worked for LionHeart In The Community, a social enterprise supporting young people and families, said: "The work of sporta members across the UK is so diverse and I am looking forward to communicating the message about our distinctive model of delivering local leisure and cultural services, and spreading word on the impressive social return on investment that it demonstrates."

Photograph: Nathan Ashley, Policy and Projects Officer