Final day of Beyond Sport 2016

One of the most striking things about Beyond Sport 2016 was its unique format. Not only were sessions dispersed in various locations across London, days two and three moved away from the normal conference presentation setup. True to its title, Beyond Innovation, the organisation chose to keep things as dynamic as possible. Sessions were short and often interactive, encouraging participants to interact with one another and engage on specific topics.

Day three was no different. Called the ‘Innovation Hub’, the day featured a series of small breakout sessions and interactive examples of how sport and technology is being used in projects around the world. Four breakout sessions were spread throughout the day covering key topics such as fundraising, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and inventive programming.

In one of the first “creative measurement” sessions, the Sport for Development Coalition presented their work on creating a sector-wide “Sport for development outcome model”. The coalition saw a need to build a common vocabulary that NGOs, researchers and governments can use to identify the goals and impact of projects. This model is structured in an understandable way that transfers across sectors and supports organisations in creating clear logframes and strong M&E systems.

In one of the ‘UNICEF zone’ sessions, the International Safeguarding Children in Sport Initiative had participants play one of the games used in projects. Groups of six were given cards with an image and text on the back, each representing one of the safeguards. The groups then had to divide them between the categories “very important”, “important” and “not important”. The game not only exposed the audience to the safeguards in an interesting way, they also revealed the diverse backgrounds of the attendees. For instance, those working on the ground in development organisations had different priorities than those working in sport development agencies.

There were also a number of interactive sessions spread out the day. The “on pitch” sessions provided participants a chance to experience sports that are changing people’s lives. Freestyle football demonstrated the unique aspects of their approach, and participants had the chance to see blind rugby and football3 in action.

Beyond Sport 2016 closed with a session on Innovation Through Business. The concept of innovation was a visible thread throughout the summit. Innovation can take many forms: devising new ways of adapting sport for disabled people and using entrepreneurship models for development work to using technologies that help empower people to make healthier choices.

As the sector continues to evolve, innovation is paramount to the success of our work.

Find more news and articles about Beyond Sport 2016 here.