Challenges and Change Readiness in Grassroot Sport (original) (raw)
Related papers
2017
On July the 7th 2015, board members, employees and management of sport federations, NOC*NSF, partners in sport and other stakeholders came together for an inspirational convention. It was the start of the movement that we now call the Transition in sport, or ‘the Story of NL Sport’. Some 250 people witnessed presentations on changes in society and what it meant for the business of sport. In the backdrop of rusty old buildings in Northside Amsterdam harbor, they spoke about how the world had changed in technological, economic and social perspective and that they needed to adapt to the changes. Currently, the Transition shows some very promising initiatives and is in the phase of empowering others to act on the vision and to create short-term wins as a proof for change. This research is about the chances for successful cultural change in leadership in the organized sport sector in the Netherlands. Through narrative analysis, it uncovers storylines that are important to the remainder of the project. A questionnaire on the same subject underlines the initial findings in the interviews, held with board members, young professionals and members of the Dream Team (the leading coalition of CEO’s and managers). The Transition consists of six ground breaking projects that can change the face of the landscape in the organized sport sector in the Netherlands, and ultimately will lead to a new ‘way of doing’, if successful. As the sector now enters a liminal phase, or a state of disruption, it will be very important to pay attention to elements of cultural change that will support the ‘vision of the story of NL Sport’. The main research question being: “How can the Transition project be successful in changing culture of leadership of the Netherlands organized sport sector?” Change in sport federations and their heavily regulated democratic structures is difficult. Governance and leadership in such organizations are interlined and focuses on ‘keeping the Status Quo’, rather than creating room for innovation and change. Trying to change the system itself may be too difficult to do. Both because the cultural resistance will be strong, but also because current structure is very valuable for competition and elite sports development. Trying to work around the system to be able to tap into commercial opportunities, seems a more promising route to go. By explicitly fostering culture in the organized sport sector into a more entrepreneurial, open and trust-based environment, chances are that the fixed structures will eventually ‘loosen up’ and give way for innovation and change more easily. To be able to successfully change culture, following up on the narratives on leadership and diversity will be helpful. The desired kind of leadership is not well defined in the Story of NL Sport and diversity is not mentioned at all. Both in literature and the interviews however, diversity at the top is indicated as one of the more important preconditions for a change-positive culture. Other effects of working on more diversity would be better relationships with stakeholders, a broader view on the complex context of sport federations and NOC*NSF, and a more divers set of competencies at the table. Leadership is an important element of change processes. Although the current culture of leadership is difficult to determine, transactional elements seem to be dominant. Sport should invest in developing leadership related to Transformational styles. Maybe the latest theories on complexity leadership and adaptive leadership can offer guidance, especially considered the increasingly fast changing, complex environment of sport federations. Getting young professionals involved in solving the real problems of the ‘Fixed Structures and Systems Thinking’ is another recommendation. It suits multiple ends, as young professionals collaborate easily by nature, they know what the new network society involves and value content over position or ego. This way, a new generation could be the learning and teaching agents of the Transition in unfreezing, changing and refreezing the ‘new way we do things around here’.
Senses and Sciences, 2015
Ecological disasters, climatic emergencies, soil air and water pollution, are indicators that confirm that we are faced with anenvironmental crisis never before seen, and that the future of our planet is more uncertain with every passing day.We need to develop solutions within a holistic political project that calls upon multidisciplinary sector interventions. Sport is notimmune to these environmental challenges, and a future model of sustainable sport is required, one founded on the strength ofmultidisciplinary participation and knowledge, that motivates lifestyle changes and who’s ultimate goal is a cultural revolution.
Current Issues in Contemporary Sport Development
Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016
This collection of essays is the result of the debate and discussion at the European Sport Development Network’s (ESDN) annual conference in 2014. ESDN’s vision is to help create an environment where sports policies, programmes and practices are positively influenced by innovative, research-informed insight and collaborations between academics and practitioners. The chapters in this book closely reflect the remit and purpose of the ESDN in that they come from a variety of academics and sport practitioners. Under a broad theme of ‘Opportunity through sport’, the chapters reflect the nature and breadth of outcomes which are possible through active participation in sport. The contributions to this book touch upon many of these issues. They are all written from the perspective of either academic researchers or applied practitioners working in sport development in line with the aims of ESDN of providing a common forum to bring together research and practice. Four chapters are written from the applied practitioner perspective, five chapters emerge from academic research and one chapter is a hybrid of PhD research located within a county sports partnership. These contributions will be useful for scholars, students and practitioners alike.
The field of sport-for-development (SFD) has experienced significant growth and increased academic rigor over the past 15 years. As sport management scholars have started to critically investigate and evaluate SFD programs, they have in turn contributed to the future design and improvement of SFD initiatives that today are more strategically planned and pedagogically sound than ever before. As part of the 20th anniversary series of Sport Management Review, the author looks back at some of the key achievements of sport management scholarship and proposes new and exciting areas for future enquiry. In particular, while past research can be classified under the four headings of SFD programming and design; sustainable management and capacity building; creating and leveraging impacts and outcomes; and conceptual/theoretical advancements, the author suggests that future studies may attend to the managerial concepts of leadership, entrepreneurship and Design Thinking to maximise the potential of sport (management) to contribute to desired, innovative and sustained community development outcomes.
Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 2019
Purpose: This article presents the development and validation of the Universal Transformational Management Framework (UTMF), an entrepreneurial tool to guide the development of inclusion-driven strategic management, planning and practice in sport organizations. Methodology: A range of qualitative data collection techniques were undertaken in this action research: 7 cross-sectoral semi-structured interviews; one focus group with sports professionals; a qualitative survey and research group consultations. A matrix analysis, a thematic analysis and secondary research were undertaken to analyse data. Findings: The UTMF is a staged framework that embeds principles of behavioural, organizational and transformative change theory, guiding strategic development towards inclusion from a contemplation phase towards an action and maintenance stage. The UTMF is composed of fourteen fundamental components identified as key areas that sport entrepreneurs should recognise and address for planning and delivering sport services that leave no one behind. Practical implications: Policy makers, management and sport professionals have at their disposal an inclusion-driven framework that challenges their systems and establish mechanisms to leave no one behind. Social implications: Organizational transformation can ultimately produce a contagion effect advancing equality and inclusion in society. The UTMF offers a structure for sport entrepreneurs aiming to facilitate and activate social transformation in and through sport. Originality: The UTMF is a wide-ranging framework to facilitate an orchestrated transformation of sport organizations in order to provide universal services that include marginalised groups and address global challenges identified in intersectional agendas like the SDGs.
The SATSport framework for effective governance in grassroots sports organisations
This paper is based on a study that was initiated to better understand the dynamics of the grassroots sport landscape and establish a framework for effective gov- ernance practice in this important area of sport policy and management. Researchers had previously identified the value of exploring good governance specific to the non- profit sector and in particular the unique features of informal sports organisations and small community clubs. The research methodology blended a meta-analysis of relevant literature to identify key principles followed by primary data collection to evaluate and validate the emerging framework. The results of the study provided a typology of the sport governance landscape and clear evidence of the need to develop a framework for effective governance appropriate to the needs of grassroots sports organisations. Furthermore, it supported the construction of a flexible and dynamic self-regulatory instrument – known as SATSport- that organisations might consider for measuring and illustrating commitment to good governance.
Abstract This paper is based on a study that was initiated to better understand the dynamics of the grassroots sport landscape and establish a framework for effective governance practice in this important area of sport policy and management. Researchers had previously identified the value of exploring good governance specific to the nonprofit sector and in particular the unique features of informal sports organisations and small community clubs. The research methodology blended a meta-analysis of relevant literature to identify key principles followed by primary data collection to evaluate and validate the emerging framework. The main results of the study provided a typology of the sport governance landscape and clear evidence of the need to develop a framework for effective governance appropriate to the needs of grassroots sports organisations. Furthermore, it supported the construction of a flexible and dynamic self-regulatory instrument—known as SATSport—that organisations might use for measuring and illustrating commitment to good governance. Keywords governance; grassroots sport; good practice; self-assessment