Sport Policy and Organizational Management

Sport policy and organisational management encompass the formulation, implementation and evaluation of formal guidelines that govern sport at all levels, alongside the strategic coordination of institutions responsible for delivering sport services. This field investigates the interplay between governmental agencies, non-state actors such as national federations, community clubs and advocacy groups, and the socio-political contexts that shape decision-making processes. Research addresses how institutional structures, funding mechanisms and stakeholder networks influence outcomes ranging from elite performance to grassroots participation. The scope spans multi-level governance, exploring how horizontal and vertical policy arrangements drive collaboration or competition among actors, and organisational management, focusing on resource allocation, leadership models and professionalisation within sport bodies. Practical applications extend to public health promotion, social inclusion initiatives and economic development, reflecting the global significance of sport as a lever for wellbeing, cultural identity and soft power strategies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Sport Policy and Organizational Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in sport policy and organizational management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Governance: The system of rules, networks and processes through which public and private actors coordinate decisions and actions in sport.

Organizational field: A community of organisations that engage in similar activities, share common norms and are subject to similar regulatory pressures.

National Sport Federation (NSF): A non-governmental body responsible for the governance, development and regulation of a specific sport at the national level.

Multi-level governance: The distribution of authority and policy-making responsibilities across different layers of government and non-state organisations.

Integrated disability-inclusive policy: A framework aiming to embed disability sport within mainstream organisational structures and programmes.

References

1. Regional policy and organizational fields in multi-level sport governance. European Sport Management Quarterly (2023).
2. From Sport Policy to National Federation Sport Policy: An Integrative Literature Review and Conceptualisation Attempt. Sustainability (2023).
3. Enactments of Integrated, Disability-Inclusive Sport Policy by Sporting Organizations. Sociology of Sport Journal (2022).