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The purpose of this chapter is to introduce critical issues of power, social reproduction, and agency in the practice and institutionalization of sport-for-development and the burgeoning “Sport for Development and Peace” (SDP) sector. To this end, the chapter draws on a host of recent academic contributions to the critical study of sport-for-development.

Key findings of several research projects are organized and presented in four thematic categories: terms of development, voice and agency, social reproduction, and privilege and dominance. In turn, the conclusion examines recent theoretical applications of participatory methods and critical pedagogy to the research and practice of sport-for-development.

The chapter provides a succinct introduction to critical issues in sport-for-development work and will be of value to researchers, students, and practitioners interested in progressive approaches to international development and the role of sport therein.

To explore the connections between sport, sustainability and international development through critical understandings of the place of the environment within the Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) sector. The chapter explores both the forces (historical, social, political, economic) and actors (the UN, IOC) that help to explain the current and increasing connections between sport and sustainable development, before assessing the current state of SDP through three themes: the place of environmentalism in development, sustainable development in/through sport and the trend towards ecological modernization in the sporting sector and beyond.

The chapter synthesizes existing literature from sport, sustainability and international development to provide historical, contemporary and future-oriented assessments of sport and sustainable development.

By framing the sustainability of sport and SDP in terms of the contestability of its political formations, such as ecological modernization, the chapter considers and discusses (potentially) sustainable futures, particularly those informed by the implications of recognizing a New Climatic Regime.

The chapter argues for a number of future areas of study that may push the boundaries of existing research in the area.

The chapter provides one of the first introductions of the idea of a New Climatic Regime within the context of sport and the SDP sector, and argues that within such a political frame, sport cannot exist separately from the environment. As a result, the chapter advances the argument that the SDP sector should now consider itself to be part of the environment, rather than steward of or over it.

The purpose of this chapter is to critically examine the extensive calls for enhanced evidence within the sport-for-development field. The chapter questions whether these are appropriate and realistic.

The chapter utilizes current literature to deconstruct the assumptions that increased evidence will legitimize the field of sport-for-development, improve practice and enhance future policy. The authors’ own experiences, working as external evaluators, are also drawn upon to critique the value of current “evidence.”

The chapter illustrates how current calls for evidence are somewhat misguided and are unlikely to fully realize the intended consequence of validating sport-for-development or improving future practice. Utilizing personal reflections, the impact that Global North/Global South power imbalances have on data is discussed, suggesting that this will rarely lead to data that provide a detailed understanding of work in practice.

The chapter builds on the work of other authors illustrating the importance of disconnecting research from evidence and monitoring and evaluation in the sport-for-development field.

The chapter utilizes previous literature but also provides a rarely available personal perspective on the issue of evidence that continues to permeate the rationale behind undertaking research within sport-for-development.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to examine the experiences of indigenous participants in Global North led sport for development programmes. The chapter considers whether the experiences of indigenous participants reflect the neo-colonialist claims levied at such initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach – The chapter draws on findings from a qualitative study utilising in depth interviews with 14 young women who participated in a sport for development initiative and 8 mothers and grandmothers.

Findings – The research illustrates how we can construct sport for development initiatives as neo-colonial activities imposed on indigenous participants by Global North agencies. However, we argue that this alone does not capture the complexity of experience at local level and the young women we interviewed highlighted the important place sport for development programmes have within their lives and how they reshape them to provide resources that are valuable for them within their communities.

Research limitations/implications – The challenges of navigating power relationships as Global North researchers working in the Global South are highlighted and their potential impact on the research discussed.

Originality/value – The chapter highlights the importance of understanding indigenous experiences in sport for development programmes. Such local level analysis is lacking within current literature.

This chapter attempts to examine what lasting change the 2010 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup brought to the practices of “sport and development” in South Africa. It also discusses whose “rights to the city” were and were not promoted as a consequence of this mega-event.

A multiple case study approach was employed to look at: (1) what new initiatives have been launched and will be sustained after the event; (2) what the experience of existing initiatives was like; and (3) what structural changes might be brought about to promote the practices of “sport and development.” Semi-structured interviews and on-site observations were conducted in November 2010, looking at six “sport and development” initiatives operating in and around Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria.

As far as the experience of NGOs is concerned, positive changes were observable in terms of generating a more enabling climate for “sport and development,” although how long it will be sustained remains to be seen. The study shows that the World Cup provided opportunities for some new initiatives to start up, and also for relatively small existing ones to expand, while the experience of more established initiatives varied in terms of the extent of involvement in this one-off event.

These “positives” notwithstanding, the benefits tend to be limited to football-based practices, and potential “reach” into other areas of social development are questionable. Finally, it appeared that there was a mismatch between the beneficiaries of the programs and the victims of urban development.

The purpose of this paper is to clearly outline the practicalities of designing and implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) through sport programmes via stakeholder involvement theory by an international governing body operating across Europe’s multicultural setting. The concept of CSR and the use of sport to achieve the objectives of CSR have become common buzzwords. Within CSR, most of the academic literature, or research, has focused on defining or framing CSR through sport particularly discussing the implementation or staging of CSR activities by both sporting and non-sporting organisations. However, not much has been done regarding the practicalities of designing CSR programmes by employing stakeholder involvement theory and conducting of a thorough needs analysis before programme deployment.

This explorative study is based on participatory action research informed by international sport-for-development experiences. A qualitative approach was adopted in assessing the application of stakeholder involvement theory (Morsing and Schultz, 2006) in programme design and assessment of the target group’s needs.

The old CSR approach was fragmented and lacked integration into local area needs. The new CSR approach ensures that community needs are reflected in CSR activities. The delivery of CSR by Euroleague Basketball professional clubs secures a licence to operate through joined-up approaches with mainstream partner agencies. These social partnerships instil a sense of community ownership of One Team Basketball projects.

This paper draws on lessons learnt from international sport-for-development sector where stakeholder involvement is vital for deploying development-through-sport initiatives. The paper addresses aspects which constitute sustainable developmental approaches in communities using sport CSR as a vehicle for change.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the factors that may improve or hinder the impact of sport for development and peace projects. Sport for development and/or peace (SDP) has been described as an emerging, yet under-theorized research field (Schnitzer et al., 2013). As such, few authors have analyzed the conditions, best practices and processes needed for achieving impact on context through SDP. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap in current knowledge.

A literature review was chosen to analyze the focus and findings of the related body of work.

A conceptual model of the dominant SDP process serves as a framework to identify and analyze concepts that may influence SDP impact on context. Moreover, this conceptual model provides insight about an apparent empirical incongruity between the theoretical and practical impact of this dominant SDP process on the ground.

This paper opens a debate around the process currently deployed by SDP agencies to influence peace and/or development. Specifically, we question if indoctrinating sport-related values into child athletes, who then somehow influence their communities, is the most cost effective process for sport to contribute to development and/or peace.

This paper addresses the paucity of insight about concepts that SDP agencies should implement to impact context. This contribution appears significant in a context of increased competition for funding. As growing number of SDP agencies operating in emerging markets compete for rarifying corporate funding, deploying cost-effective projects for development and peace may provide SDP agencies with a competitive advantage.

The strategy for sport in Wales, Climbing Higher, establishes some very ambitious targets for raising the levels of sport and physical activity participation over the next 20 years. To support its strategy, the Welsh Assembly Government has promised an additional 12,000 jobs within the sport and recreation sector. Research conducted with employers highlights that many sports degree programmes are not “fit for purpose” and are not fully preparing graduates for work within the industry. This paper considers how the University of Glamorgan, in liaison with key industry partners, has designed a sports development degree “fit” for the industry and which meets the expectations of Climbing Higher. The success of the degree programme relies upon the formation of multi‐agency partnerships at a local and regional level. Experiential learning underpins the degree with students required to reflect upon the challenges that they face in getting participants more active; the community placements embedded within modules allow students to experience the complexities of working within the sports development sector. It is a unique and holistic approach, supported by key local and national partners and is fundamental in supporting the objectives set by the Welsh Assembly Government.