2019 survey results: Recommendations from the community

The International Platform on Sport and Development (sportanddev) has conducted its 2019 annual survey so we can better serve our users and collect insights into the state of sport and development.  The results are illuminating across many areas - this article details recommendations for the platform. Another article offers insights into how users view and value the sportanddev platform and we will produce a third article containing insights/views related to the broader sport for development and peace (SDP) sector.

sportanddev recognises that we can always improve our work, and that this needs to be informed by the diverse range of stakeholders that use the platform. We asked our users to answer the following key question: What could sportanddev improve on?

Recommendations

Respondents provided valuable feedback on how sportanddev can improve. The following key themes emerged (this is not an exhaustive list):

• Pay more attention to best practices, successes and failures, challenges and lessons learned. In relation to this, encourage contributors and the broader SDP sector to be less evangelical about sport, and recognise its limits and potential negative aspects
• Feature more content related to human rights and inclusivity, including profiling more initiatives for marginalised groups (such as persons with disabilities) and people from the Global South
• An even greater focus on youth, including initiatives and research led by young people
• Improved accessibility, functionality, visual appeal and user experience of the website
• Greater detail and resources linked to monitoring and evaluation (M&E), including collating evidence, sharing research in a systematic way and identifying standard indicators/measures

Topics and trends

We asked users to provide feedback on what issues the platform should cover in an article series. Suggested included the following:

• Best practices, challenges and lessons learned from diverse sport and development initiatives
• A recognition of the potential negative effects of sport (e.g. trafficking, corruption)
• Funding and fundraising, including entrepreneurship approaches and partnerships
• Women in sport and adapted/modified sport for special groups
• A greater focus on sport’s role in climate change and sustainability, including mega-events
• Integrity and transparency in sport, including issues of governance and safeguarding
• Impact measurement and best practice M&E processes (as noted in the recommendations)

For more details, please see the full 2019 survey results document here.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. While we are not able to promise to implement all suggestions made – some are dependent on financial resources – but we are community driven, which means we take all suggestions seriously and will carry out as many as possible. To provide feedback and/or suggestions throughout the year, please email [email protected].