Chatziefstathiou, D.

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Canterbury Research and Theses Environment

EUROPEAN COMMISSIONResearch Executive AgencyMarie Curie Actions – Intra-European Fellowships for Career DevelopmentProject No: 302925Project Acronym: LegacieSocialCapGRProject Full Name: An Evaluation of the Legacies of Sporting MegaEvents on Social Capital in GreeceMarie Curie ActionsMid-term ReportPeriod covered: from 01/09/2013 to 31/08/2014 Date of preparation: 03/09/2014Start date of project: 01/09/2013 Date of submission (SESAM): 03/09/2014Project coordinator name:Prof. Athanassios PapadaskalopoulosProject coordinator organisation name:PANTEION UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL ANDPOLITICAL SCIENCES-Version: 1Mid-term ReportPROJECT MID-TERM REPORTGrant Agreement number: 302925Project acronym: LegacieSocialCapGRProject title: An Evaluation of the Legacies of Sporting MegaEvents on Social Capital in GreeceFunding Scheme: FP7-MC-IEFPeriod covered - start date: 01/09/2013Period covered - end date: 31/08/2014Name, title and organisation of the scientist incharge of the project's coordinator:Prof. Athanassios PapadaskalopoulosPANTEION UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL ANDPOLITICAL SCIENCES-Tel: +30 210 9234448Fax: +30 210 9232979E-mail: pdask@panteion.grProject website address:Project No.: 302925Period number: 1stRef: 302925_LegacieSocialCapGR_Mid-term_Report11_20140903_210623_CET.pdfPage - 2 of 71. WORK PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THE PERIODPlease provide a concise overview of the progress of the work in line with the structure of Annex I of the GrantAgreement.- A summary of progress towards objectives and details for each task;- A summary of the progress of the researcher training activities/transfer of knowledge activities/integrationactivities (as it applies for the MC action);- Highlight clearly significant results;- If applicable, explain the reasons for deviations from Annex I and their impact on other tasks as well as onavailable resources and planning;- If applicable, explain the reasons for failing to achieve critical objectives and/or not being on schedule andexplain the impact on other tasks as well as on available resources and planning (the explanations should becoherent with the declaration by the project coordinator) ;- A statement on the use of resources, in particular highlighting and explaining deviations between actual andplanned researcher-months in Annex 1 (Description of Work)- If applicable, propose corrective actions.Work progress and achievements during the period:A. Summary of progress towards objectives and details for each taskThe project, as also outlined in Part B of the proposal, has three key Research Objectives (ROs).Below the progress made for each objective is described in detail.i) RO1. What are the impacts of sporting mega events on social capital? (Positive or negative)? Dothey generate short-term or long-term legacies of social capital?What was discovered in the course of the project was that there was a lacuna in the literature of acomprehensive review of all existing studies on the question above. Thus, a comprehensive“Systematic Review” has been conducted and is now complete. It reviews the worldwide literature interms of the concepts and assumptions underlying the nature of ‘social capital’ adopted for thesporting context research. It provides a more precise understanding of its distinctive meanings butalso advances knowledge by producing a synthesis of evidence that addresses the impact of sport ondevelopment of social capital. In addition, taking a critical approach, this review also identifies someemerged issues from current research and highlights several potential areas for future research. In theresearch design a national survey is planned, and we are now in the process of designing such survey.A national survey had been conducted in 2003 by a Greek research Centre called “KEPE” (Centre forProgramming and Financial Research) and we are now in liaison with them to use their ownquestionnaires and resources.ii) RO2. How sporting mega events affect the social capital of specific groups?a. Volunteers: How certain activities linked with mega events and social capital (e.g. volunteering)affect individuals?b. Immigrants: To what extent sporting mega events have an impact on the social capital of marginalpopulations such as immigrants?With regards to the volunteers, interviews have been conducted of the Executive Board members ofthe organization called “Continuators – Volunteers of Athens 2004”. We have also planned toconduct focus groups with selected registered members of this organization. With regards toimmigrants, some minority groups have been identified in different areas of Attica region. The majorpolitical problems and social upheaval with the extremist party “Golden Dawn” who attacked theimmigrants (in some occasions they went as far as committing murders) made us very cautious in theway we shall plan any such interviews for this task as we consider of primary importance theResearcher’s protection of Health and Safety.iii) RO3 refers to knowledge dissemination as an integral part of the research work carried out in theproject.Knowledge dissemination is taken very seriously, thus a series of activities has taken place. MoreProject No.: 302925Period number: 1stRef: 302925_LegacieSocialCapGR_Mid-term_Report11_20140903_210623_CET.pdfPage - 3 of 7details are provided below:Hosting of WorkshopsI organized a one-day Workshop with the title “The Role of Sport in the Greek Society andEconomy”. It was a joint partnership of the Regional Development Institute (my Host Institute) andthe School of International Relations, Communication and Culture as my aim was to createinterdisciplinary synergies within the Panteion University. There I presented my preliminary resultsfrom the Marie Curie Project. There were also panel debates and the Invited Professors were fromdiverse academic backgrounds such as history, economics, management, journalism etc. TheWorkshop took place on the 15th of May 2014 and was attended by a large audience in the centralauditorium of the Panteion University.Conference presentations1. Chatziefstathiou, D. (2014), The effects of Athens 2004 on Social Capital in Greece: Elevatorpitch presentation, Marie Sk#odowska-Curie Actions Satellite Event at ESOF 2014, 19-20 June2014, Copenhagen, Denmark2. Chatziefstathiou, D. (2013) An Evaluation of the Legacies of Mega Events on Social Capital inGreece, 2nd Global Conference, Sport: Probing the Boundaries, 1-3 November 2013, Athens Greece.3. Chatziefstathiou, D. (2013) A Contemporary Olympic Discourse. Sport for Development andInternational Relations, 21st European Association of Sport Management (EASM) Congress, 11-15September 2013, Istanbul, Turkey.Publication OutputsOne paper is ready for submission and more ideas are now synthesized for further publicationoutputs.My work will be featured in the official bulletin that is disseminated to the Higher EducationInstitutes of Bosnia-Herzegovina by the Ministry for Science and Technology. I was invited to act asa Marie Curie Ambassador from the Marie Curie Fellow Aleksandar Pajkanovic (who attended my“elevator pitch” talk at the Marie Sk#odowska-Curie Actions Satellite Event at ESOF 2014)Invited talks/ lectures1. Invited Professor, Baku European Games Organising Committee, Graduate ExcellenceProgramme, Baku, Azerbaijan, 14-25 July 20142. Invited Expert, Olympic Truce Summer Camp, International Olympic Academy, Olympia, Greece,25-31 July3. Invited Lecture, Olympism 4 Humanity Global Symposium, International Olympic Academy,Olympia, Greece, 29 June-2 July 20144. Invited Professor, International Masters in Olympic Studies, Cologne, Germany, 12-16 March20145. Invited Expert, EU Athletes Dual Career Programme, Brussels, Belgium, 26-28 February 20146. Invited Lecture, Men’s National Greek Volleyball Team, Dual Career Education Programme,‘Melina Merkouri’ Indoors Court, Renti, Piraeus, Greece, 31 December 2013Future Talks in Schedule• I am honoured to be invited by the European Commission as a Marie Curie Ambassador andpresent my project at the Marie Curie Fellows’ Master Class on Transferable Skills that will takeplace at the European Association for International Education 2014 Conference (EAIE), Prague,Czech Republic, 16-19 September 2014• I am invited as a Panel Member of the Debate Discussion on the topic “Quo Vadis - the OlympicIdea” at the 3rd International Symposium for Olympic Research, University of Mainz, Germany, 6-9September 2014Project No.: 302925Period number: 1stRef: 302925_LegacieSocialCapGR_Mid-term_Report11_20140903_210623_CET.pdfPage - 4 of 7• I will present the findings of the “Systematic Review” on social capital and sport at the 22ndEuropean Sport Management Conference, Coventry, UK, 9-12 September• I am invited to present my Marie Curie project at the Mediterranean Games Education Forum,International Olympic Academy, Ancient Olympia, 7-10 October 2014• I will present a paper on the history of the Olympics in Athens and the politics involved in theGreek society at the European Committee for Sports History Conference (CESH) Sports inEducation from Antiquity to Modern Times, Edessa, 16-18 October 2014B. A summary of the progress of the researcher training activities/transfer of knowledgeactivities/integration activities (as it applies for the MC action)The comprehensive “Systematic Review” was conducted as part of knowledge exchange/ trainingactivities in liaison with the top British University in the field of sport, Loughborough University.More specifically, there were regular conference calls and also live meetings with the Director of theCentre for Olympic Studies & Research, Professor Ian Henry and the Research Associate Dr ShushuChen. They, together with my Scientist in charge Professor Papadaskalopoulos, formed the panel ofexperts for the meticulous search of the worldwide literature search.As part of my training activities we hold regular meetings with other staff members of the RegionalDevelopment Institute of the Panteion University (such as Dr. Emmanouil Christofakis, Dr AntonisRovolis) for discussion and analysis of my data. Such meetings have helped me to meet my coretraining objectives: 1) Develop in-depth knowledge into urban and regional processes (spatial,economic, social, etc.) to improve the researcher’s understanding of how urban and regional systems“work” and review design concepts (at both macro/regional and micro/neighbourhood scales) whichwill help her to develop a sophisticated understanding of sporting mega events, social capital andsustainable urban/ regional development; 2) Develop in-depth knowledge in collecting, maintaining,and analyzing urban and regional database; Obtain expertise in engineering an appropriate tool/index for national surveys (given the institute’s staff expertise in national surveys and particularly inmeasuring social capital in Greece); 3) Develop further knowledge on the social analysis of sport inGreece.C. Highlight clearly significant results• There has been a significant impact of my Marie Curie project at the Panteion University as theWorkshop that I organized was the FIRST one in the context of sport in the long history of thisuniversity. Although the departments of the university deal with social and political sciences, thesubject of sport has been under-researched, thus my work has steered academic debates andinterdisciplinary synergies across the university.• There has never been in Greece a study on social capital and sport, thus this generates a greatinterest for the data of the project. I have been contacted by several journalists of well-read Greeknewspapers who are interested in writing features on the results of the study. Surely this shall happenin second phase of the project once there is a further data collection and analysis.• I have already collected several statistical data from the Ministry of Sport and such data has neverbeen unearthed before, thus we expect that their analysis will add significant knowledge to this topic.• Networking with other Marie Curie Fellows can produce great results for the dissemination ofknowledge on Marie Curie Actions and my presence at the ESOF 2014 in Denmark and the plannedactivities for the EAIE conference in Prague and the publication in the official bulletin of the HigherEducation Institutes of other European countries, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, certainly move to thisdirection.In terms of Description of Work, we do not envisage any deviations from Annex I of the GrantAgreement and we will use the set resources as originally planned.Project No.: 302925Period number: 1stRef: 302925_LegacieSocialCapGR_Mid-term_Report11_20140903_210623_CET.pdfPage - 5 of 72. ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONComments:3. PROJECT MANAGEMENTPlease use this section to summarise management activities during the period:- Project planning and status - from management point of view;- Problems which have occurred and how they were solved or envisaged solutions;- Changes to the legal status of any of the beneficiaries, in particular, SME status;- Impact of possible deviations from the planned milestones and deliverables, if any;- Development of the project website (if applicable);- Gender issues; Ethical issues;- Justification of subcontracting (if applicable);- Justification of real costs (management costs);- OtherFor 2007 and 2008 calls a detailed description of costs related to management and overhead is requestedProject management:The project planning has not been particularly challenging as the steps outlined by the REA and thedeliverables/ milestones planned in the project proposal have been all tangible and clear. The Fellowhad attended a series of Project Management courses in preparation of the delivery of thisprogramme and this has further helped her to develop a clear schedule of work. Progress reports aresubmitted every month to the Scientist in Charge and the LEAR.The problems that emerged were not linked with the project per se but with the political instability ofGreece and the university issues that the country was called to face. It was an unfortunatecoincidence that such issues were heightened during the first three months of the project. Part of theproblem was that some individuals were appointed for a temporary contract and then they werereplaced by new people who had to be introduced again to the principles of my project. The biggestconcern was that the LEAR that was involved in all the preliminary processes (e.g. grant agreement)decided to leave the university. Such administrative problems resulted in delays for clarification ofsome issues regarding my payment, signing of some forms etc. (e.g. Declaration of Conformity).The problems were resolved as follows:1. The Fellow became proactive and got further involved with the project management, such asaccess to the Participant Portal, to ensure that any necessary deadlines would be met successfully.2. As LEAR was appointed the Head of ELKE (University Research Finance Office) who had apermanent contract with the University and, even if moved to another office, could still contribute tothe project. (all the necessary paperwork for the change of LEAR was duly completed and submitted/posted)3. The Fellow made regular visits to the ELKE office and established an ongoing communicationwith the Project Officer in Brussels to ensure the smooth progress of the project.The steps mentioned above certainly worked successfully and, in combination with a more stablepolitical situation in Greece, they helped to alleviate any problems and thus there are no outstandingmanagement issues.Project No.: 302925Period number: 1stRef: 302925_LegacieSocialCapGR_Mid-term_Report11_20140903_210623_CET.pdfPage - 6 of 7Attachments MCWork Progress and Achievements_Mid termreport.docx, MC Management activities_MidTerm Report.docxThe content of this report has been approved by the researcher and the scientist in charge assigned to thisproject. The electronic submission of this report shall replace their signatures.This declaration was visaed (signed) electronically by Athanasios PAPADASKALOPOULOS (ECAS username npapadam) on 03/09/2014Project No.: 302925Period number: 1stRef: 302925_LegacieSocialCapGR_Mid-term_Report11_20140903_210623_CET.pdfPage - 7 of 7

An evaluation of the legacies of sporting mega events on social capital in Greece: Marie Curie actions: mid-term report

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An evaluation of the legacies of sporting mega events on social capital in Greece: Marie Curie actions: mid-term report

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