Current state and future directions for youth sport evaluation practices: an empirical study

ABSTRACT

Rationale

: The study purpose was to understand the current state and future directions of evaluation within the youth-serving sport sector, given the changing circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology

: Using an exploratory approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 stakeholders who provide or support sport-based youth programming across community to national levels in the Canadian sport context.

Findings

: Analyses revealed five themes related to evaluation practices before and amid the pandemic. First, an overview of the state of evaluation in the sport sector was provided. The three subsequent themes outlined how organizations pivoted their evaluation priorities and practices throughout the pandemic in planning, implementation, and dissemination. The final theme provides stakeholders’ reflections on how to strengthen evaluation practices in the sport sector moving forward.

Practical implications

: Findings are important for highlighting where the field of youth sport is moving toward evaluation and capacity gaps that remain. This research has and will continue to inform future knowledge mobilization and capacity-building opportunities of evaluation best practices.

Research contributions

: This research advances the science of program evaluation by being the first to offer sport-specific perspectives on facilitators and barriers to evaluation both generally and during unprecedented times (e.g. global pandemic).

KEYWORDS:

• Community-engaged
• knowledge translation
• organizational capacity
• pandemic
• qualitative
• recreation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 While different organizations can conduct various forms of evaluation (e.g., process-focused versus outcome-focused), for the purpose of this manuscript, evaluation will be used to refer to general program evaluation throughout.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [grant number 611-2020-0247].