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Identifying and addressing North-South inequalities in sport-for-development research
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https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/news/identifying-and-addressing-north-south-inequalities-sport-development-research
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Critiques of unequal power relations between the North and South are a significant theme within the academic literature on sport-for-development.

Research has associated the greater financial resources held by international sport for development agencies from the global North with, for example, the imposition of inappropriate curricula and systems of monitoring and evaluation.

However, academic literature on relationships between the North and South in sport for development has significant weaknesses. Relatively few studies have gained or presented in-depth accounts from sport-for-development stakeholders from the global South and explored how they may respond or resist unequal power relations. Partially as a result, the sport-for-development research community has not yet played the role that it could in developing new approaches to address well-recognised power inequalities in the field.

These collective weaknesses in sport-for-development research are themselves representative of significant academic inequalities between the global North and South. As yet, the majority of sport-for-development research has been undertaken by researchers from universities in the global North where there are greater resources and opportunities for undertaking research. Research findings are often also published in journals whose subscription charges mean that they are unavailable to sport-for-development stakeholders from the global South.

New approaches to developing and undertaking sport-for-development research are required to address these problems. One such example is provided by a recent research project into Sustainable Development in African Sport. Funded by the Leverhulme Trust, the research was collectively undertaken by academics from Durham University (UK), University of Ghana, University for Development Studies (Ghana), University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Monash University (Australia).

The project has enabled significant learning on undertaking sport-for-development research through North-South partnerships. There were constraints on the equal involvement of all partners in the initial design of the research due to the challenges of instigating a new partnership within tight funding timescales. Practical challenges of cross-continent communication also continued to limit the open communication that would be ideal for equitable partnerships.

Nevertheless, particular elements of the project demonstrate the value of seeking partnership-based approaches to sport-for-development research:

  • Research capacity building was undertaken through the involvement of young Ghanaians and Tanzanians as research assistants, as has been captured in a short film. With training and support, these research assistants developed new understanding and skills through undertaking data collection and other research tasks. Involvement in the research enabled many of the research assistants to develop new ideas for more sustainable sport-for-development projects in the future.
  • Using innovative dissemination approaches helped to ensure that research findings are accessible to sport-for-development policy makers, practitioners and academics across the South and North. Diverse dissemination methods included Stakeholders’ Forums in Ghana and Tanzania; videos and live streaming of various presentations; and specifically written working papers and research briefings.

While by no means perfect, it is hoped that this research project presents a useful example on which to build for more equitable and improved sport-for-development research in the future.

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