The FFR and its Rugby Ecological Fresco  

The FFR and its Rugby Ecological Fresco

The French Rugby Federation (FFR) is the governing body for rugby in France, overseeing its promotion, development, and regulation. Founded in 1906, the FFR plays a central role in the organization and management of XV and 7-a-side rugby in France, as well as in the promotion of rugby values. It also strives to guarantee player safety, train qualified referees and set up development programs for young talents. Thanks to its long history and commitment to excellence, the FFR plays a major role in the French sport sector.

More recently, the French Rugby Federation decided to support rugby clubs in their social and environmental initiatives. This support led to a number of projects, including the “Rugby Ecological Fresco” whose idea is to show that rugby can be played in a more ecological way on a local scale.

What are we talking about?

In 2022-2023, the FFR tested the Ecological Fresco on 120 people and 16 facilitators who in turn conducted 22 ecological fresco workshops on the French territory.

Today, the FFR has two key objectives: 

• Establishing its legitimacy in raising awareness and mobilizing licensees on the subject through the massive dissemination of the fresco. Over the next 5 years, they aim to have “frescoed” 50% of French rugby in every region, and ensure that 50% of rugby clubs run a fresco every season.
• Involving rugby players in the development of new practices by building action plans based on the solutions emerging from the frescoes’ workshops. The 5-year objective is to have 30% of clubs committed to all or some of the proposed measures, and 50% of clubs with an organisation taking into account these issues.

This commitment is all the more important given that the FFR has positioned itself as a federation with a social mission, and wishes to assert and further embody its strong desire to act on social issues.

For the last four months, ScaleChanger has supported the FFR as part of their participation in “Impact 2024”, with the aim of promoting and scaling the Ecological Rugby Fresco, and thus using sport as a tool for social impact. 

Scalechanger’s support mission to the FFR 

In June 2023, ScaleChanger began supporting the French Rugby Federation (FFR) in the dissemination phase. The ambition was to help FFR amplify the impact of the Fresco and build a strategic plan.

The project unfolded over four working sessions. Topics to address between sessions were defined by FFR, with the aim of maximising cooperation efficiency.

First, we collectively identified and analysed current success factors, along with real or potential obstacles to further development.
The initial stage focused on understanding challenges, current situation, successes and limits. This made it possible to highlight areas where ScaleChanger’s expertise would be most useful. FFR and ScaleChanger then aligned on mission objectives and methodology.

The next step was to identify project acceleration drivers.
During the second phase, FFR and ScaleChanger reviewed the key levers for progress. A benchmark exercise enabled them to identify and assess possible options for development and scaling strategy.

Actions in the development plan were then prioritised to improve implementation of the scaling process and strengthen impact.
In the third phase, feasibility and impact of project areas were assessed. The value proposition for different stakeholders was refined to ensure selection of the most relevant options.

Finally, a concrete plan of action was created.
The fourth phase produced two deliverables:

1. A three-year action plan guiding the project team, detailing selected options and their implementation.
2. A document for internal communication, particularly with FFR bodies, summarising key project elements such as ambition and added value.

Results after ScaleChanger’s support