Four European projects for the ISM Department

We are glad to announce that LUNEX University will work on four important European projects in the sport field. This is an unprecedented achievement for our university. The two first projects have been approved by the EACEA (European, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency) of the European Commission. In total, 315 project applications have been selected for funding, out of 1.107 eligible applications. In addition, the 4 projects are all part of the Erasmus Sport+ Call.

The Sport Good Governance Game (SG3) Project

As you have already discovered it in one of our last articles, the Sport Good Governance Game (SG3) is an interactive computer simulation that aims to help sport managers in their battle against doping, match fixing, gender inequity, fraud, transgressive behaviour, and other practices by using good governance and ethical leadership principles.

IncluPAS Project

For this second project, LUNEX University will be the main research partner.

The IncluPAS Project is a social innovation project that aims to identify and support community champions to create sport and Physical Activity (PA) initiatives in disadvantaged communities through a digital platform. It will consist in a social platform that will enable these community champions to increase their social impact through sport and PA.

In total, 45 community champions will be trained to foster social inclusion in a specific disadvantaged community in Ghent, Vilnius and Thessaloniki.  The goal is to reach 250 adolescents between 14 and 18 years in those communities. All the needed resources (method, roadmap, reports) will be available freely on the IncluPAS website.

7 partners from 5 countries will participate in this second project:

• Belgium:
  • Ghent (City, Lead partner)
  • HOWEST, University College West Flanders – Vital Cities (Applied Research Partner)
  • MySueno – Marketing Strategy & Innovation in Sports (Topic Partner)
• Luxembourg: International University of Health, Exercise and Sports SA – LUNEX (Research Partner)
• Greece: Major Development Agency Thessaloniki – MDAT, Thessaloniki (City)
• Lithuania: Sveikas Miestas, Vilnius (City)
• Austria: Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation – VIDC (topic partner)

GovernAnCe SporT CodificatIon COnvergeNce (ACTION) Project

As a growing number of sports organisations are recognising the need for strengthening their integrity through better governance, more and more codes of governance are advocating. This has required many reform strategies, including a major one in “codification of governance”.  However, codifying good governance in sport has been a challenging process at all levels and stages: measuring good governance standards; developing a Code; implementing the Code; as well as measuring the effectiveness of such a Code.

The main aims of the ACTION project are then to:

1. Review existing Codes of Good Governance in Europe
2. Examine the facilitators and impediments of governance convergence in sport
3. Identify and/or develop common grounds from the existing Codes
4. Design one that embraces cultural differences and national structural mechanisms and
5. Offer practical tools (e.g. good practices, case studies, short videos) of how articles in this converged Code can be applied by volunteer board members and practitioners in national sport organisations.

LUNEX University will be one of the two academic research partners among which we will find the following organisations:

• Poland: Fundacja Institute for Sport Governance
• Austria: Bundesministerium für Kunst, Kultur, Öffentlichen Dienst und Sport
• Cyprus: Cyprus Sport Organisation
• Norway: Hogskolen I Modle
• Luxembourg: International University of Health, Exercise & Sports S.A.
• Lithuania: Lietuvos Sporto Federaciju Sajunga
• Bulgaria: Ministerstvo Na Mladezhta I Sporta
• Malta: Sport Malta

Emerging Forms of Employment in the Sport sector in Europe (FORMS) Project

This last project aims to analyse the new forms and patterns of employment which have been created in response to the growing and changing sport labour market and to address new characteristics and realities of the sector. A desk research on the emerging forms within the sector and national consultation round tables, followed by a compendium of good practices and a series of recommendations will be implemented.

The expected impact of the FORMS project is to facilitate further steps towards the professionalisation and capacity building of sport organisations and to support the sustainability of employment and career development in sport. Adapted solutions will thus be provided for a better functioning of the sport labour market in order to boost job creation and opportunities and to increase labour market participation.

7 partners from 5 countries will participate in this fourth project:

• France:
  • European Observatoire of Sport and Employment
  • Fédération Nationale Profession Sport et Loisirs
• Portugal: Instituto Politecnico de Santarem
• Luxembourg: International University of Health, Exercise & Sports S.A.
•  Belgium:
  • Kortrijk Spurs
  • Sportwerk Vlaanderen
• Netherlands: Werkgersorganisatie in de Sport

Featured Image – From left to right: Prof. Dr. Mathieu Winand, Sebastian Merten and Dr. Mathieu Marlier from the International Sport Management Department © LUNEX University