Abstract
My PhD set out to explore boxing and its capacity to reduce violence within local communities. In this paper, I reflect on my first year of a co-production project, which aims to incorporate community involvement into PhD research with local individuals and groups, which means that a critical part of my co-produced research is for it to be conducted “with” rather than “done to” participants. The ethos behind such work is supported by academics who call attention to the fact that people who are not usually involved in developing and delivering academic research could usefully contribute and benefit from such participation. Within this research, I draw on some initial ethnographic observations and interviews from my work with a sporting organization that seeks to enhance community cohesion. The study spans over 2 years, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of individual perspectives within the community organization, allowing the collection of rich data from all involved. I explore my early findings, which begin to paint a picture of the invariably passionate and positive intentions of those delivering community sport for development (SfD), who lack a logically considered set of aims, are not capable of empirically capturing outcomes and are disorganized in how they approach using sport a tool for social good. The project contributes to the field of sports and organizational logic, aiming to improve impact and aid the refinement of programmes for local communities. I will ask for feedback and questions from the room to further inform future research.
Presenters
Dee YeagersPostgraduate Researcher, Nottingham Trent University, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Sports Management and Commercialization
KEYWORDS
Sports, Sport, Community, Disorganization, Organization, Ethnography
