Memorandum submitted by Dr Adam Brown
I read with interest, although somewhat belatedly,
about the new enquiry being conducted by the DCMS Select Committee
into "Community Sport". We have spoken with the Minister
of Sport and some of your officials in the past, but I also wanted
to make your committee aware directly of important work in this
area which we are involved in.
I am Research Fellow at MIPC, Manchester Metropolitan
University. Together with our partners at Sheffield Hallam University,
led by Dr Tim Crabbe, we have undertaken a huge amount of research
around notions of "community" and sport; and are currently
engaged in the most extensive research being conducted anywhere
into the use of sport in social interventions.
We have previously spoken to two Ministers of
Sport about this work, including Mr Cabourn, and I met with both
Mark Blacar and Dean Creamer at DCMS toward the end of last year
in discussions about our research. I was also a member of the
government's Football Task Force which considered some aspects
of football's relationship to "community", so we have
had an ongoing engagement with national culture and sport policy
for some years.
I will attach a list of some of our research
below. However, rather than go into further detail here, should
the Committee wish to see any of our research outputs, or talk
to us about the research and key areas of policy, we would be
happy to contribute our knowledge to your deliberations.
CURRENT AND
PAST SPORT
RESEARCH AT
MIPC, MMU AND SPORT
DIVISION, SHU
1. Current Research
(a) Football and Its Communities (Football
Foundation). MMU and SHU
Funded by the Football Foundation and running
from October 2002 to October 2005, this project is led at MMU
by Dr Adam Brown but undertaken jointly with Sheffield Hallam
University (Dr Tim Crabbe). The research Steering Group comprises
the Foundation, Football Association, FA Premier League, Football
League and Home Office. Now in its final year, the research is
a detailed investigation into, and re-evaluation of, the whole
concept of football's relations with, role and impact upon its
various "communities".
(b) Positive Futures (UK Home Office) National
Case Study Research. SHU and MMU
Commissioned by the UK Home Office, the Positive
Futures Case Study Research Project is being led by the Sport
Division of Sheffield Hallam University in collaboration with
MIPC at Manchester Metropolitan University and Goldsmiths College,
London. This is a major national programme of research which explores
the use of sport in social inclusion programmes, specifically
the Positive Futures programme run through the Home Office. Utilising
innovative, participant, action research techniques this project
will inform future policy through a qualitative study of seven
selected Positive Futures case studies.
(c) Angling and Social Inclusion: A Consultancy
on Get Hooked On Fishing Project. MMU
Funded by the Countryside Agency and Home Office,
this is a new consultancy in a new area of sport research, led
by Dr Adam Brown. It seeks to research the development of a social
intervention charity in angling. It runs from 2005-06.
Previous Research
(a) UK Sport: The Sports Development Impact
of the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games: "Initial Baseline
Research", 2001; and "Post-Games Review", 2004.
MMU
Funded by UK Sport and led by Dr Adam Brown,
this research follows on from the Initial Baseline Research conducted
in 2001 (below). These two pieces of research together explored
the impact in terms of sport development of the 2002 Commonwealth
Games. Both pieces combined a quantitative survey of local sports
clubs, national governing bodies and local authorities; as well
as qualitative interviews with key individuals and organisations.
(b) Report Into the Estate Based Scoial Inclusion
Programme of Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme, 2003-04.
LOCSP/Football Foundation. SHU
Led and undertaken by Dr Tim Crabbe at SHU, this
research was a qualitative assessment of one of the country's
most talked about sport and social inclusion programmes, looking
in detail at how the scheme has succeeded inn, and what the problems
are with, engaging young people through sport.
(c) "Sport, the City and Governance:
Football Its Fans and Social Exclusion". Economic and Social
Research Council: (R000223291). 2001-02. MMU
Funded by the ESRC and led by the late Dr Derek
Wynne, and subsequently by Dr Adam Brown, from 2001-02. Focusing
on a case study of Manchester, the project considered: the relationship
of sport, and football in particular, to local authority strategies
for urban renewal; the place of professional football in relation
to the changing uses of sport in the city; issues of participation
and social cohesion in relation to sport within a specific local
context, with a particular focus on football fans.
(d) The Cultures of Racism in Football, Economic
and Social Research Council. Goldsmiths
An investigation by Tim Crabbe, Les Back and
John Solomos into racism in English football through a case studies
of four football clubs. The findings wee published as the acclaimed
book "The Changing Face of Football".
4 April 2005
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