30,000 sports clubs in Europe active in the name of social inclusion and volunteering
A large part of the data collection for the Erasmus+ Sport project “Social Inclusion and Volunteering in Sports Clubs in Europe” (SIVSCE) was concluded this week. 30,000 sports clubs across ten European countries showed their dedication to voluntary work by answering a questionnaire.
How do sports clubs promote social inclusion and volunteering? Are there differences between countries? What types of clubs are most active in promoting social inclusion and volunteering – and how does this relate to the way the club functions? These are just examples of questions that the SIVSCE-project aims to answer, and thanks to the effort of 30,000 volunteer leaders across ten European countries, the foundation for examining these questions is very strong.
“We owe a big thank you to the 30,000 clubs that took the time to respond to our questionnaire. They are people dedicated to the work they do in their respective clubs, and we appreciate the opportunity they have given us to understand better how they work to promote social inclusion and volunteering across Europe”, says project coordinator Karsten Elmose-Østerlund.
In most of the countries that participate in the SIVSCE-project, national surveys of sports clubs have been implemented before, but this is the first comparative study carried out on a European level. The project coordinator Karsten Elmose-Østerlund explains why this is important:
“We know a lot about sports clubs in many European countries, but we lack the comparative knowledge that allows us to compare countries and learn from each other. It is the aim of the SIVSCE-project to generate this knowledge, and we are off to a very good start with the sports club survey”.
It is now the responsibility of the German Sports University, who has carried out the data collection, to analyze the collected information on sports clubs and to write a report that answers the questions posed above – and a number of other relevant questions. The report will be published on the homepage for the SIVSCE-project before the end of 2016.