A structural perspective of cross-sector partnerships involving youth sport nonprofit organizations

ABSTRACT

Research question: Reductions in public funding for sport and recreation programs have created a vacuum in services that has increasingly been filled by nonprofit organizations. However, nonprofits often lack the organizational capacity to efficiently and sustainably deliver sport and recreation programs to the public. Cross-sector partnerships have been highlighted as an effective strategy to build organizational capacity, yet are currently underutilized by youth sport nonprofit organizations. While previous research has focused on functional characteristics of these partnerships, very few studies have examined their broader structural characteristics.

Research methods: This study utilized structured interviews to collect quantitative network data from youth sport nonprofits registered in a large Southeastern US city (n = 32) to understand how cross-sector partnerships have been used to build organizational capacity. Using social network analysis, the study uncovers the size and composition of the network, identifies key external actors and industry sectors, and examines the network’s underlying balance and stability.

Results and findings: Results indicate wide variation in the utilization and composition of partnerships, and an unbalanced structure that may influence their functional characteristics.

Implications: The discussion provides empirically grounded recommendations to improve these structural characteristics and help youth sport managers effectively utilize cross-sector partnerships.

KEYWORDS:

• Youth sport
• nonprofit
• partnerships
• social network analysis
• organizational capacity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.