April 19, 2017
More than sport
For many people, sport is about elite athletes performing at a level which, while entertaining, offers little in the way of real encouragement to take part. But scratch below the surface and a very different story starts to emerge. While elite sport may grab the headlines it is only one, relatively small part, of a much wider and complex picture. Community run sport is where the vast majority of the action takes place and the motivations that lie behind it extend way beyond the sporting activity itself. In fact the ‘sport’ is almost incidental. New research tries to pull this together.
This research explored how the ‘sport for change’ approach could be developed and supported within Scotland. It was commissioned by The Robertson Trust, Scottish Government, sportscotland and the Sport for Change Network Scotland. The research was undertaken by Research Scotland.
The research explored three main themes:
The existing evidence base for the impact of ‘sport for change’ as an approach
• What evidence currently exists around the impact of ‘sport for change’? Are there gaps and how can we fill them?
• How can ‘sport for change’ practitioners be better supported to deliver impact and to evidence the difference their work is making?
• Is there a broad set of outcomes that can be adopted for use by ‘sport for change’ initiatives?
The current ‘sport for change’ landscape in Scotland
• What is the current scope and nature of work being delivered in Scotland under the banner of ‘sport for change’?
• Can we identify and highlight common elements of good practice within ‘sport for change’ delivery?
• What are the key elements of a ‘sport for change’ approach that make it different from other approaches delivering sports?
• What barriers do practitioners face in trying to deliver ‘sport for change’ initiatives?
• What support is currently available to organisations hoping to develop a ‘sport for change’ approach?
• How does ‘sport for change’ align with both the Scottish Government Active Scotland framework and Scotland’s world class system for sport?
The future ‘sport for change’ landscape in Scotland
• What needs to be done to raise awareness and understanding of ‘sport for change’ as an approach with both sporting and non-sporting partners?
• What support needs to be provided?
• How might ‘sport for change’ best support delivery of Scottish Government policy and priorities, including health, justice and education?
• What would a robust, well networked sport for change sector look like and what support is required to help this develop?
Download the executive summary here
Download the full report here