Defining skills and competences for sport to act as a tool for the development of people and society in Europe

Background Sport for Development (S4D) is recognised as a force for positive change in the world tackling many social issues including gender inequality, poor mental health, crime, poverty, social exclusion, conflict, and extremism. To be competent in their work, S4D staff need a complex mix of sport, community, and social work skills. The field is young, however, and before CHANGE no standards of practice and few educational routes were available to its workforce. CHANGE has addressed this gap. Objectives > Create a consortium of 10 highly motivated partners representing S4D employers and education providers in Europe> Carry out European desk research, defining S4D and analysing its characteristics, tendencies and key occupations> Develop Occupational Descriptors and Competence Standards for S4D Coordinators and Activators >Devise a Training Handbook to upskill S4D Coordinators and Activators> Create an Implementation and Sustainability Plan for CHANGE’s outputs beyond the project lifetime. Implementation Successful implementation through a detailed workplan and a tried and tested methodology – EOSE’s 7-Step Model. Partners were fully engaged, sharing work package leadership and tasks and exchanging knowledge and good practice in S4D. They met formally 8 times (2 in person, 6 online due to Covid) with many more informal online discussions. Despite the challenges of Covid, the project delivered all outputs to planned budget, schedule and quality standards, in some cases exceeding expectations. Achievements > Research Report and Occupational Map for S4D in Europe> Occupational Descriptors for S4D positions in Europe> Functional Map of S4D in Europe> Competence Framework of Occupational Standards for S4D in Europe> Training Handbook for S4D in Europe> Implementation and Sustainability Plan for S4D in Europe> Final conference with 95 delegates from 32 countries> Dissemination and policy influence reaching over 17,000 organisations> Raised awareness and understanding of S4D in the sport sector