Work package 2
A representative sample of sports clubs (N>2,000) will be selected in each country, and a questionnaire will be sent to the chairperson in each of these clubs. The selection of sports clubs for the study must be representative of each country in relation to sports activity, club size and degree of urbanisation. The questionnaire is translated into each country's language. The expected response rate will vary between countries. In some countries, it is expected that around 50 percent of the clubs will answer. In other countries it is not possible to achieve such a high response rate.
The questionnaire will include comparable questions in each country. The focus will be on relevant topics such as:
- number of members, goals and main activities in the clubs,
- internal organisation and management,
- target groups, an assessment of member distribution on social characteristics (gender, age, ethnic groups, socially vulnerable groups, the disabled, etc.),
- numbers of volunteers, recruitment and retention activities etc., and
- questions about activities and goals for social inclusion and volunteering in the clubs.
This part of the project is also carried out in five stages.
- In the first stage, a draft questionnaire is developed by the WP leader.
- In the second stage, the questionnaire will be discussed and qualified at the first meeting for the countries involved in the project, after which the final questionnaire is developed.
- In the third stage, the questionnaire will be translated to each of the participating countries’ language. The representative from each of the participating countries is responsible for this. The same person is also responsible for the collection of names and email addresses of at least 2,000 sports clubs.
- In the fourth stage, the online questionnaire is sent to sports clubs selected for the study. This is implemented by the University of Southern Denmark or the institution where the WP leader is employed. Two reminders are sent to clubs that have not replied.
- In the fifth stage all the answers from the sports clubs are assembled in one data file, after which the statistical analyses can be carried out.
WP 2 will provide a basic knowledge of volunteering and social inclusion across the club types and across the countries involved.
This WP is implemented from January 1st 2015 to November 30th 2016.
WP 2 and 3 are the two work packages that require the most time – both from the WP leaders and partners for implementation of the surveys in each country. This is reflected in the budget. The total budgeted expenditure for WP 2 is 124,000 Euro (not including expenses for management, coordination, meetings, seminars, etc..), which is equivalent to 17 percent of the total budget.
The success criteria (measurable indicators) for this WP are:
a) The development of a common questionnaire that is useful and meaningful in all the participating countries, despite cultural, linguistic and social differences (end of July 2015).
b) The implementation of the survey in all the countries involved in the project (end of November 2015).
c) The achievement of an acceptable response rate: Between 40 and 50 percent in the countries where sports clubs have a tradition of answering such questionnaires. Between 20 and 40 percent in countries where there is no tradition for this (end of December 2015).
d) The preparation of a separate report on a minimum of 100 pages (end of November 2016).