End of the focus area, but not the end of Sport & Society

After eight years of innovative and interdisciplinary research and education, Utrecht University's focus area Sport & Society has come to an end. The focus area has been important for scientific research into social values and issues in the field of sports and exercise. More than 100 researchers have been involved in the focus area, from six different faculties of Utrecht University, in nineteen interdisciplinary research projects, with many other partners and parties. We look back on this with a special, digital magazine. The end of the focus area is certainly not the end of Sport & Society as a theme in research and education. Many of the people involved in the focus area are now working together in different ways. Sport & Society is here to stay, says Professor Frank van Eekeren.

In collaboration with ARKO Sports Media, Sport & Society has developed a digital magazine, in which you can read about what Sport & Society's research and education projects have set in motion. In the minds and hearts of exercise brokers, paediatric physiotherapists, social entrepreneurs, policymakers and scientists – and through them in society. It is looking back at eight years of research and education within the focus area, in close connection with practice.

Professor of Sport & Society Frank van Eekeren of the Utrecht University School of Governance (USG) can be brief about it: With the focus area, we were able to sow on fertile soil. Passionate researchers from various disciplines, together with committed athletes, residents, policymakers and administrators, have ensured a flourishing, well-rooted research field with concrete fruits for practice. Sport & Society is here to stay.

New insights, target groups, methods and interventions

The focus area Sport & Society has been important for the development of scientific research into social values and issues in the field of sports and exercise. This has led to new insights, the involvement of new target groups in research, new methods and new interventions:
 

• Research into integrity in football has also led to applications in research into integrity in the police and military police.
   
• Research into pre-schoolers, chronically ill children and elderly people with dementia has provided insight into new target groups.
   
• Research into accelerometry, GPS and mobile technology to monitor physical activity has yielded new methods and techniques.
   
• The introduction of new exercises that reduce the risk of hamstring injuries have led to new training programmes in (top) sports.

Interdisciplinary collaboration

The interdisciplinary collaboration of all the diverse researchers, partners and parties has sometimes been a challenge, but has also led to valuable, different perspectives, pushed boundaries and inspiration. This has led to great research and education programmes, such as the research into the value of (football) memories for elderly people with dementia and their caregivers as a daytime activity. It has also resulted in interesting connections with new partners outside the university (such as the National Council for Swimming Safety, Stichting Buurtlab, Monkey Moves, Jeugdfonds Sport en Cultuur, Stichting Leergeld, Stichting Kinderhulp) and has led, for example, to the composition of interdisciplinary PhD committees within Utrecht University.

The faculties of Utrecht University that collaborated within the focus area were the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Geosciences, the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the UMCU.

Contributing to a healthy, vital, inclusive and safe society

The focus area Sport & Society has contributed to a healthy, vital, inclusive and safe society, for example through scientific publications on sports/exercise and safety, integrity, refugee reception, criminal undermining, low SES problems, injury prevention, recovery of cancer patients.

Engagement in national research programmess and agendas

In addition, the theme of sport and society has acquired a firm place in national research programmes and agendas, thanks to this focus area. For example, in the national Knowledge Agenda for Sport and Exercise, the NWO Research Programme for Sport, the ZonMW research programme for Sports Injury Prevention, the NWA route for Sport and Exercise, the NWA programme 'Health Differences', the ZonMW programme 'Mission-driven development of research and innovation in sport and exercise' and the ZonMW programme 'Societal value of elite sports events'.

Education, social research assignments and media attention

The focus area Sport & Society has also been fruitful and innovative in education. Some concrete examples of this:
 

• In 2020-2021, students from different faculties conducted their graduation research as part of an appropriate interdisciplinary seed money project of the focus area. They received in-depth workshops on interviewing, ethics, dealing with biases and public engagement.
   
• In collaboration with TU/e, the focus area has organized hackathons for PhD students, honours programmes for master's students and two summer schools with the University of Tsukuba (Japan).
   
• In educational projects, the meaning of 'movement' for learning has been elaborated on a conceptual and practical level. For example, the use of a sailing trip as a metaphor led to the 'Sailing for Impact' project. In addition, a new minor 'Community Engagement Learning', and for example the Comenius Leadership project 'Students in UniCity: engagement and what happens for what matters' were designed.

In addition to impulses in education, the focus area has also resulted in research assignments from the social field and has led to a stronger profile and positioning of Utrecht University's research into sport and society in the media.

Sport & Society remains on the agenda

The executive team of the Sport & Society focus area is proud that Utrecht University recognized the value of the research field in 2014, and thus provided room for inspiration in interdisciplinary research, education and societal impact – to this day. It has led to very surprising, original and creative projects and products. Many stakeholders are still collaborating in this field.
 

• Within Utrecht University , the expertise of the researchers is integrated into the Strategic Research Themes Institutions for Open Societies (IOS) and Dynamics of Youth (DOY). They further develop successful grant applications and assignment research in a joint, interdisciplinary and interfaculty context.
   
• Researchers from Utrecht University are now working intensively with partners from Eindhoven University of Technology, UMCU and Wageningen University within the Institute 4 Preventive Health. A new project that was funded this year is, for example, 'Bending the rules'.
   
• The influence in national networks of scientific researchers and policymakers, such as the Water Tower Consultation and Top Team Sportinnovator, has also been strengthened.
   
• The Sport & Society chair group of the Utrecht University School of Governance (USG) will continue to work on research and education (Master's programme in Sport & Society) in this field.

Magazine Sport & Society

With the review in the concluding magazine, we show a number of valuable examples of what the focus area has yielded. This brings Utrecht University's Sport & Society focus area to a worthy conclusion.