Nicola Bolton

The experience of community sport development: a case study of Blaenau Gwent

In this paper, the experience of community sport development (CSD) is explored through case study evidence from Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council – an area of social disadvantage in the South Wales valleys. An empirically informed theoretical account is presented based on three key themes: (a) community development and social capital; (b) nurturing citizenship; and (c) resistance to paternalism. As a result, a re-conceptualisation of CSD is advanced in which there is an explicit recognition of the tripartite relationship between community, citizens and providers as part of an understanding of new governance. This in turn requires a shift away from dichotomous ‘bottom–up’ and ‘top–down’ approaches towards a non-hierarchical emphasis for CSD.

The policy and politics of free swimming

Like many sports policies and community-based interventions, the Free Swimming Initiative in Wales has multiple objectives. Targeting the 16 and under and the 60 plus populations, it is seen as both a means of promoting health improvement and social inclusion and an opportunity for sports development. Pool monitoring data, surveys of pool managers, young people and older swimmers and qualitative research in the form of interviews and focus groups with national policymakers and chief local authority leisure officers undertaken between 2004 and 2007 were used to evaluate the impacts of the pilot phase. The findings demonstrate that the provision of free swimming helped to increase mass participation among the two target groups and there is evidence that some participants progressed to other water-based activities. However, while cost is a consideration for some young people, there are other barriers to participation. As a result, achieving ambitious government targets for population-wide physical activity levels requires strategies which encompass a wide range of opportunities to exercise. Some in the sport development community argue that the substantial subsidies devoted to free swimming in Wales could have been used better in other ways and the case of free swimming highlights the tensions which exist between public health, social justice and sports development policy agendas. At a time of fiscal constraint there are difficult choices to be made between attempts to encourage mass participation in physical activities and more targeted investment in ‘sport for sports sake’.

Physical activity programmes for secondary schools in Wales: Implications from a pilot scheme

In 2004 a pilot scheme was launched in Wales to address the physical activity participation patterns of young people. A large survey (n = 1834) was conducted at six schools to investigate the participation patterns of 12 − 14-year-olds. The data gathered informed the design and delivery of programmes of extra-curricular activities introduced at each of the schools in 2005. The implementation of these was based on a partnership between physical education professionals and sports development practitioners. A review of the programmes (from seven interviews with gatekeepers plus 11 focus groups involving 43 young people) revealed that they were perceived to be successful around three central themes: the activities provided, and by whom; those engaging with the programme, and why; and the role of the key agents (the School Sports Organizers).

Researching a segmented market: reflections on telephone interviewing

Purpose - The purpose of this paper was to review the effectiveness of telephone interviewing for capturing data and to consider in particular the challenges faced by telephone interviewers when capturing information about market segments. Design/methodology/approach - The platform for this methodological critique was a market segment analysis commissioned by Sport Wales which involved a series of 85 telephone interviews completed during 2010. Two focus groups involving the six interviewers involved in the study were convened to reflect on the researchers’ experiences and the implications for business and management research. Findings - There are three principal sets of findings. First, although telephone interviewing is generally a cost-effective data collection method, it is important to consider both the actual costs (i.e. time spent planning and conducting interviews) as well as the opportunity costs (i.e. missed appointments, “chasing participants”). Second, researchers need to be sensitised to and sensitive to the demographic characteristics of telephone interviewees (insofar as these are knowable) because responses are influenced by them. Third, the anonymity of telephone interviews may be more conducive for discussing sensitive issues than face-to-face interactions. Originality/value - The present study adds to this modest body of literature on the implementation of telephone interviewing as a research technique of business and management. It provides valuable methodological background detail about the intricate, personal experiences of researchers undertaking this method “at a distance” and without visual cues, and makes explicit the challenges of telephone interviewing for the purposes of data capture.

Modernising local government: the impact of new political arrangements on chief officers for leisure and recreation in Wales

Abstract This paper is concerned with the effects of new forms of executive government on local authority chief officers for leisure and recreation in Wales. Based on a new institutionalist approach to research (Lowndes, 2002), survey and interview data were gathered during 2004–05. There are four principal findings: (i) effects of changes to the officer structure; (ii) changing emphasis between the centre and services; (iii) changing roles for chief officers; and (iv) impact and changes as a result of the new arrangements. Political modernisation of local government and the narratives of elite actors are highlighted and theoretical implications are advanced in conceptual models.

Implementing a theory of change approach to research sport participation programmes targeting ‘hard to reach’ groups

ABSTRACT A theory of change approach uses logic models to articulate how a programme is intended to operate and to test empirically whether and if so how it achieves its stated objectives. Theories of change have been used in evaluation research across a range of disciplines and public policy domains. This article considers their application to research on sport and physical activity programmes. Applying a theory of change approach to the ‘Calls for Action’ programme, which seeks to increase participation among traditionally ‘hard to reach’ groups, the article explores the strengths and limitations of the method. It argues that a theory of change approach offers a rigorous and systematic way of framing and conducting research on interventions designed to encourage engagement in sport and other forms of physical activity. The article demonstrates how the approach can link project outcomes to wider programme and policy objectives. It also shows the value of making explicit and testing the assumptions which underpin interventions at both programme and project levels. By developing a theory of change approach, policymakers and practitioners can clarify what they are seeking to achieve and promote a better understanding among partner organisations which have different priorities for and perspectives on an intervention. Future research could usefully focus on ways of extending the theory of change methods described in this article to test for causality and analyse the links between sport participation and wider policy goals, particularly health outcomes and improvements in well-being.

Local implementation of national policy: a case-study critique of the Free Swimming Initiative for the 60 plus population

There is a well-established link between ageing and declining health, and this is exacerbated in areas of socio-economic deprivation. Being physically active can alleviate many of the major health problems for older people, yet participation in this demographic category remains low. This study is part of a larger programme of research concerned with a major national public health intervention, the Free Swimming Initiative. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to address local implementation of the national policy imperative in Wales and explored the views of non-users (n = 20) and community leisure providers (n = 7). The research was based in Abertillery – a traditional mining town in the South Wales Valleys with higher than average levels of social deprivation. Findings revealed a series of weaknesses in the delivery of this public policy intervention. They are (i) a lack of partnership infrastructure, (ii) insufficient participant involvement, (iii) an evidence gap and (iv) disjointed multiple aims.