Abstract
Community sport and the associated issues with grassroots policy implementation are characterised as complex and multi-faceted, partly due to the competing interests of the stakeholders involved. In addition, some sport policies create sustainability concerns that go beyond the ‘sausage sizzle’ as a resource to address the feasibility of long-term planning for community sport. Further, there are challenges in adequately analysing and evaluating sport policy, leading to calls for sport-specific policy analysis frameworks. This thesis explored the community sport policy process in regional Australia, with a focus on policy development and implementation issues alongside advocacy for organisations involved with grassroots sport. Further, the research analysed the significance of the relationships between community sports clubs (CSCs), government departments, National Sport Organisations, and other stakeholders in the sport policy process.Initially, by way of a tripartite literature review, this thesis provides an historical background of Australian sport policy development and the advent of advocacy, an analysis of meso-level policy frameworks with a focus on sport, and a review of the application of a key meso-level framework in sport policy. Subsequently, from an empirical perspective, the research adopted a sequential mixed-methods approach comprising a survey, semi-structured interviews, and a local intervention. Based on ten sports, the survey gathered information regarding CSC representatives’ (n=53) opinions of the community sport policy process. The semi-structured interviews focused on the beliefs and attitudes of CSC representatives in ten sports (n=10). Finally, through an intervention, a group of rural CSCs (n=9) formed an advocacy structure to lobby for their collective issues and needs.
The research drew attention to the hierarchical nature of the community sport policy process, the implications for collaboration, and the role of CSCs in policy creation and implementation. The study assessed the application of meso-level policy frameworks (Institutional Analysis, the Multiple Streams Framework, Policy Network Theory, and the Advocacy Coalition Framework) and priority phenomena, including the consideration of the role of power, implementation theory, and partnership theory. Based on three research questions, the main objectives were to (i) identify CSC attitudes and perceptions toward the community sport policy process in relation to strategic challenges, (ii) assess the potential for consensual advocacy to influence policy, and (iii) observe a real-world intervention through an advocacy structure at a localised level.
Overall, the research highlighted community sport observations and concerns with an emphasis on policy development and implementation, sustainability concerns, and the potential for advocacy for organisations involved directly with community sport. In conjunction with the research objectives, the ACF is posited as a framework capable of aiding and analysing the sport policy process and its impact at grassroots level. The study concluded that empirically, it is only by giving CSCs a voice that a more accurate understanding of the policy process can be arrived at. Further, only by harnessing the commitment and energy of CSC representatives can steps toward more effective and inclusive community-focused policies be achieved.
| Date of Award | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Richard KEEGAN (Supervisor) & Stuart SEMPLE (Supervisor) |