The year 2010 has seen an unprecedented number of conferences, programmes, policies and publications on the use of sport in development. While it is good to see such widespread recognition of the potential for sport to contribute towards positive development of individuals and society, it is sometimes difficult to identify robust objectives, or evidence of rigorous evaluation of programmes and projects.  But like the almost universal belief that sport provision “keeps young people off the streets”, ie keeps them out of trouble, there seems likewise, to be a widely held belief that investing in sport can provide benefits for participants and their societies which are much wider than the immediate enjoyment and achievements of playing sport. The CABOS (Commonwealth Secretariat 2008) report defines it thus: “Sport for development refers to the use of sport as a tool to improve people`s lives, enlarge people`s  choices and make a difference in communities” .

The use of sport is thus applied to a very wide variety of situations. ICSSPE`s own seminar on Sport in Post Disaster Relief has been supported by the International Red Cross, and has benefited from presentations and workshops by many individuals and organisations with first-hand experience of dealing with the aftermath of earthquakes, the Tsunami, floods and conflict. There are many excellent examples of programmes helping children and adults recover from traumatic events, often from war. Increasingly, the problems associated with urban living, such as juvenile crime, drug addiction and neighbourhood decline, are also being addressed through sport, often with financial assistance from corporate bodies and professional sports clubs, who see a social obligation to help their communities. Many international athletes are leading or contributing to similar programmes in their own or adopted countries.

The “Beyond Sport Summit”, held in Chicago in September 2010; and the Forum on Sport for Development and Peace, to be held in Monaco in December 2010, both focus on the UN Millennium Goals relating to development and peace.   ICSSPE is pleased to have discussed with both the IOC and the UN Office of Sport for Development and Peace, how its members can contribute to the emerging international movement on sport for development. In December, I will be participating in discussion at the IOC Forum on Education, which will address the use of sport in developing opportunities for young people.

To date, however, the science of evaluation and impact measurement in sport for development is not very far advanced. Much of the monitoring and evaluation is dependent upon case studies, and there is limited capacity for comparison between different projects and programmes. Hence, sharing of good practice is also limited. 

It is interesting that so many governments and NGOs have dedicated substantial budgets to programmes of sport as development, notwithstanding the scarcity of hard evidence of their effectiveness, when securing investment in programmes of physical activity for health is so difficult. In the latter case, government agencies always seem to demand hard, scientific evidence that such programmes are directly effective. This leaves me wondering, why this double standard on the part of governments? And how can the scientific community respond to it?

ICSSPE is aware of and is supporting several universities` innovation of postgraduate studies in sport as development. These, along with the researchers in this area, have already given rise to suggestions for focussed discussion during the 2012 International Convention on Science, Medicine and Education in Sport (ICSEMIS). It seems timely that the international movement in sport as development, and the researchers and scientists developing study programmes and impact measures, work more closely together, to form an effective international policy community for sport as development. We at ICSSPE would like to know about any new programmes or research on sport as development, so that we can explore ways of providing effective networks.