sportcanplayaroleinimprovingthelivesofindividuals,.docVIP

Sport-in-Development: Process evaluation and organisational development Prof Fred Coalter University of Stirling j.a.coalter@stir.ac.uk Introduction This paper is based on my experience of four case studies of the following programmes: Mathare Youth Sports Association (Nairobi, Kenya) Go Sisters (Lusaka, Zambia) Youth Education Through Sport (Harare, Zimbabwe) Magic Bus (Mumbai, India) These case studies were undertaken as part of a project funded by UK Sport (in association with UNICEF and Magic Bus) to produce a monitoring and evaluation manual for ‘sport-in-development’ projects. Although my initial intention was to develop an outcome-led manual (based on previous work undertaken for sportscotland (Coalter, 2001)), my experience with these highly innovative and ambitious projects has led me to propose a somewhat different emphasis. Sport plus There is a variety of ‘sport-in-development’ programmes with a wide diversity of aims and objectives. Although traditional sport development objectives of increased participation, the development of sporting skills and fun are part of these programmes, they are rarely the sole rationale and very rarely the basis for external investment and subsequent evaluation. Almost without exception the presumed instrumental role of sport is emphasised. For example, much current investment is influenced by the 2003 resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations affirming its commitment to sport as a means to promote education, health, development and its contribution towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals of universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, combating HIV/AIDS and addressing issues of environmental sustainability. Within this context it is possible to divide sport-in-development projects into two broad approaches. Some can be described as ‘sport plus’, in which the development of sustainable sports organisations and programmes is given primacy. However, spor