Sport policy convergence: a framework for analysis

The growth in the comparative analysis of sport management processes and policy has led to an increased interest in the concept of convergence. However, the concept is too often treated as unproblematic in definition, measurement and operationalisation. It is argued in this paper that a more effective framework for examining claims of convergence is one that analyses the concept in terms of seven dimensions which can be explored through a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. It is also argued that a deeper understanding of the process of convergence can be gained by operationalising the concept in the context of a selected range of meso-level theories of the policy process or of specific aspects of the process. The proposed analytic framework provides not only a definition of convergence but also the basis for a more nuanced investigation of hypotheses of convergence

Convergencia de Política Deportiva: Un marco de trabajo para el análisis

El crecimiento del análisis comparativo en los procesos y políticas de la gerencia deportiva ha llevado a un creciente interés en el concepto de convergencia. Sin embargo, el concepto es muy a menudo tratado como sencillo en definición, medida y operacionalización. Se discute en este artículo que un marco de trabajo más efectivo para examinar demandas de convergencia es aquél que analice el concepto en los términos de las siete dimensiones que puedan ser exploradas a través de una mezcla de métodos cualitativos de recolección de datos. También se discute que una comprensión más profunda del proceso de convergencia puede lograrse operacionalizando el concepto en el contexto del rango seleccionado de teorías de nivel meso del proceso de la política o de aspectos específicos del mismo. El marco analítico propuesto provee no sólo de una definición de convergencia sino también la base para una investigación más matizada de hipótesis de convergencia

Developing young athletes: the role of private sport schools in the Norwegian sport system

The aim of the paper is to analyse the increasingly prominent role of private sports schools in the development of elite athletes in Norway. The context for the analysis is the apparent paradox between the emergence of a network of sports schools, the most successful of which are private and require that parents pay a fee, and the social democratic values of Norway. Data were collected through a series of interviews with 35 respondents from nine stakeholder groups, including athletes, coaches, parents and sport school managers. The research describes an elite sport system that is successful in producing medal-winning athletes, but which is organisationally fragmented, uncoordinated and under-funded with regard to youth talent identification and development and susceptible to tensions between key actors. The primary analytical framework is Kingdon’s multiple streams framework augmented by path dependency theory. The findings include, a picture of an elite youth sport development system in which multiple and overlapping problems have received, at best, only partial policy solutions some of which, such as the growth of private sports schools, have emerged by default. When focusing attention on the relationship between structure and agency in the policy process it is argued that the government, through its inaction, has allowed sports schools the policy space to expand. The consequence is that the government has, whether deliberately or not, enabled the strengthening of a commercial elite youth sport development system, while still preserving its egalitarian and non-interventionist credentials

Talent identification and development in elite youth disability sport

The paper examines the talent identification and development process in three youth disability sports: wheelchair basketball, Boccia and disability tennis. The analysis is concerned to explore the extent of convergence in processes between disability sports and between disability and mainstream sports. The analytical framework adopted identifies seven dimensions along which convergence can be assessed and is used in conjunction with a typology of levels of policy change. The data for the analysis were collected through a series of semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The main findings included evidence of convergence between disability sports and between the three disability sports and mainstream sports especially in relation to: motives; agendas and aspirations; and contextualizing discourse/ideology/values. There was also evidence of policy change at all three levels identified by Hall

An analysis of the Chinese Football Reform of 2015: why then and not earlier?

In March 2015, the Chinese government issued the Overall Plan for Chinese Football Reform and Development, which aimed to develop football in China from the grassroots level to the elite level. The salient element of the plan was to separate the Chinese Football Association (CFA) from direct government control. Considering the previous failed attempts to reform the CFA, this paper asks the question ‘why the reform occurred in 2015 and not earlier?’ and aims to: 1) identify the potential sources of the policy change through the lens of the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) and 2) examine the timing and conditions under which the Chinese government initiated the football reform. Public policy documents and media reports from 1993 to 2017 were collected and analysed; 17 interviews were conducted with key policy actors within the CFA and professional football clubs in varying tiers of Chinese football leagues. The findings suggest that the failure of previous policy attempts at improving Chinese football (policy stream), match-fixing scandals and the continuing under-performance of the national men’s team (problem stream), the increasingly critical national mood towards football and the turnover of Presidency (political stream) combined in the mid-2010s opened a ‘policy window’ which facilitated this significant change. This research is the first paper to apply the MSF theory to explain the Chinese football reform that occurred in 2015. It extends the application of MSF to a different political and cultural environment and has implications for the policy-making in China

Modernization and sport: the reform of sport England and UK sport

This article evaluates the impact of New Labour’s ‘modernization project’ on two key non-departmental public bodies for sport, Sport England and UK Sport. Our analysis concentrates on identifying the sources of the general momentum for modernization in the sport sector, how it has been interpreted by government in relation to the two organizations, the nature and consequences of modernization for both organizations, and the future of modernization. The analysis is informed by a range of public documents produced by government and by the two sports agencies, together with a series of seven interviews conducted with senior staff and members of Sport England and UK Sport and with senior civil servants in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Our conclusions suggest that modernization has resulted in a narrowing of the two organizations’ objectives, the adoption of business-like principles and a ‘command and control’ regime in relationships with key frontline delivery partners

The use of legislation in relation to controlling the production, movement, importation, distribution and supply of performance-enhancing drugs in sport (PEDS)

The use of legislation in relation to controlling the production, movement, importation, distribution and supply of performance-enhancing drugs in sport (PEDS

Policy transfer and learning from the West: elite basketball development in the People's Republic of China

The article examines the engagement of the People’s Republic of China with global sport using basketball as an example. Following a discussion of the priority given to national elite team sport success in contemporary China, the article explores the range of mechanisms that facilitate sport globalization and focuses particularly on evaluating the utility of the concepts of policy transfer and lesson drawing. The examination of the concepts is achieved through the exploration of a series of questions relating to recent developments in basketball in China, including how the need for reform of the domestic system was recognized and articulated, who was instrumental in transferring policy, which countries were identified as suitable exemplars, and which policies were transferred. The article draws on data collected from a number of sources, including official government documents, news media, and a series of interviews with Chinese officials from key governmental organizations. The article concludes that the concepts of policy transfer and lesson drawing provide significant insight into the process of China’s engagement in basketball, and identifies a series of tensions arising from the process that affect contemporary sport policy

Governance and knowledge management and transfer: the case of the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games

This paper examines the relationship between knowledge management/transfer processes and (good) governance practices in sports events. The research was undertaken at the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games, with data collected through interviews and document analysis. Findings include: 1) the significance of horizontal as well as hierarchical accountability; 2) different event logics for the event rights holder-organising committee relationship; 3) the importance of culture as well as structure in relation to governance; 4) the significance of tacit knowledge, person-to-person informal knowledge transmission and knowledge transfer timing