ESG Gaming will work collaboratively to develop, deliver, evaluate and share learnings from our emerging products. This will enable us to maintain absolute focus in our start-up phase, understand and learn from our impact.
Player Protection:
an emerging Web 3 platform for players, fans, parents
Our vision is to create a dedicated Safer Gambling in Gaming & Esports Web3 based platform for gaming fans and players, as well as the parents of younger fans/players.
To achieve our vision, we will first create a Web2 platform, to enable us to pilot and externally evaluate the relevance of our educational content and its impact on the thinking, attitudes and behaviours of gaming & esports players, fans and their parents. Using this knowledge, evaluation and insight we will then start to develop an immersive Web3 platform in 2024.
Esports Team Excellence:
an accredited quality standard for esports teams
We want to recognise, celebrate and showcase the esports teams that are championing and epitomising outstanding leadership in player welfare, equality & diversity, and safeguarding. Our vision is to create an externally accredited quality standard for esports team leadership. We will do this by working collaboratively with Esports Insider, Bournemouth University, City & Guilds and six initial pilot esport teams to develop, deliver and evaluate a meaningful quality standard.
The proposed quality standard will be collaboratively co-created by the esport pilot teams and partners. Similar to quality standards in other sectors, it is proposed Team Excellence will list relevant criteria that esports teams should be able to demonstrate they meet. For example, taking player welfare; assessment criteria will list minimum standards (such as player integrity; mental stress; resilience; diet & nutrition and personal fitness). It is then proposed that Esports teams evidence how they meet this criteria, which is reviewed and supplemented with supportive and motivational player interviews to test the evidence. The quality standard will be created in a way whereby teams either (i) achieve with distinction; (ii) achieve in full; or (iii) part-achieve. Teams achieving a part-achievement will be offered support so they can schedule a further assessment. It is not our intention to negatively judge teams, but to celebrate and disseminate best practise across the sector.
Esports teams involved in the pilot will receive a donation of £5,000 for their participation to help to develop and pilot these standards over a five month period. As soon as the pilots are completed and a formal evaluation has been concluded of the proposed standard itself; the full evaluation findings will be disseminated for input. It is our intention to seek to corporate sponsors to support this quality standard, so the product itself can be offered at no cost to esports teams in the United Kingdom.
We want to help the esports industry to prosper and to continue to develop, and in turn support, recognise and share learnings from the good teams in the space
in regards to safeguarding, player & employee welfare, and EDI initiatives.
This initial focus will be on esports teams as we work with our partners to develop a standard accreditation which will include a set of criteria which teams must evidence they meet in order to receive the accreditation.
We want to work collaboratively to celebrate and recognise teams that are succeeding in these areas. It is absolutely not our intention to judge, criticise or cast a shadow on any that do not meet the criteria. In consultation with teams, we intend to showcase those whom meet the standard, as appose to those ‘working towards’ the standard. We also want to ensure parity and remove any financial barriers to participation by offering the opportunity to achieve the accreditation standard at no cost.
Careers1Up:
a training and careers hub for the esports and gaming space
Esports suffers from some unique accessibility related challenges. For example the base level of equipment needed to participate in esports is generally much higher than many physical sports. There’s also limited opportunities for a keen gamer to go from enthusiast to pro, or indeed pursue a career more widely in gaming.
By working with Esports Insider, Esports Teams, Publishers, Community organisations, the Department of Work and Pensions and Job Centre Plus we want to make these opportunities available by unleashing the hidden and often unseen talent of young people living in some of our most deprived communities across England.
Apprenticeships provide an achievable and alternative to university for many young people. We believe pursuing a career in gaming/esports should be within reach of everybody and we believe it should be free and accessible.
Employers within the esports / gaming space, like many sectors are not utilising fully the apprenticeship Levy. In the two years to 2022, over £2bn went unclaimed in the UK as many employers did not how to deliver such a programme.
Apprenticeship ‘drop out rates’ can be quiet high; as much as 56% in some sectors. Therefore a pre-apprenticeship course and work-taster will enable the prospective apprentice and employer to test the chemistry before making a firm apprenticeship offer of employment to the apprentice.