KU Leuven – TNO – This study was funded by the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission. The opinions expressed are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the European Commission. stitute – Sheffield Hallam University Mulier In Contact: Mulier Institute social-scientific sport research PO box 85445 3508 AK Utrecht, the Netherlands t 0031-30-7210220 e
[email protected] i www.mulierinstituut.nl 2 Executive summary 5 1. Introduction 13 1.1 The rising social and political significance of sport 13 1.2 The demand for evidence-based sport policies 14 1.3 Feasibility study: aims, objectives and methodology 15 1.4 Structure of the report 17 2. Questionnaire 19 2.1 Methodology and response group 19 2.2 Results 20 2.3 Conclusion 27 3. Social aspects of sport 29 3.1 Main substantial issues in this field and organisations involved 29 3.2 Data gathering 31 3.3 Dissemination of knowledge (networks, websites, good practices) 36 3.4 Conclusion 38 4. Sport and health 41 4.1 Main substantial issues in this field and organisations involved 41 4.2 Data gathering 43 4.3 Dissemination of knowledge (networks, websites, good practices) 46 4.4 Conclusion 47 5. Economic aspects of sport 51 5.1 Main substantial issues in this field and organisations involved 51 5.2 Data gathering 55 5.3 Dissemination of knowledge 56 5.4 Conclusion 57 6. Main findings 59 6.1 Overall findings 59 6.2 Social aspects of sport 60 6.3 Sport and health 61 6.4 Economic aspects of sport 62 7.