Research

Sport Matters is committed to building on the evidence base that underpins sport for development and also ensuring that our work is based on evidence. Research is an important pillar of our approach to international development and our research efforts are guided by Sport Matters’ Research Policy and the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Ethics Guidelines.

Measuring the Contribution of Sport to Sustainable Development in the Pacific: The Case of Fiji and Samoa

Sport Matters partnered with the University of the South Pacific to develop the first regional research on sport for development in 2017 and 2018. The project was support by USP, the Oceania National Olympic Committees and the Governments of Fiji and Samoa. Through the case studies of Fiji and Samoa the research analyses the percentage contribution of sport to GDP based on available data, explores gaps in the current data system to capture the contribution of sport to the Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on SDGs 3, 8 and 10, and builds on the evidence base to inform the development of sport policy in Pacific Islands Countries and Territories. Based on the evidence presented in the case of Fiji and Samoa on the contribution of sport to economic and social development, the report makes a series of recommendations to strengthen data collection and analysis; and calls for coordinated regional action to develop human resource capacities related to sport, physical activity and physical education. A preliminary research report was presented at the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting in Palau in 2018 and the final research report was launched at a dedicated breakfast event in conjunction with the Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting in Nauru in 2018.

The full ‘MAXIMIZING THE CONTRIBUTION OF SPORT TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES: THE CASE OF FIJI AND SAMOA’ research report can be read here

The Socio-Economic Impacts of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games

This project examines the impact of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games on the Samoan economy. This project will provide evidence on the actual economic impact of the Games and also inform the development of an economic model to predict the economic impact of future events. Sport Matters provided technical assistance to The University of the South Pacific to coordinate sport-based research, teaching and collaboration at USP. A research grant from USP was secured to assess the socio-economic impacts of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games hosted in Apia in July 2019 and this was matched with funds from the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture in Samoa. A new research team was formed, stakeholder consultations were conducted at the Ministry of Finance, and a team of research assistants from USP’s Alafua Campus in Samoa conducted 860 interviews with visitors and residents during the Pacific Games at competition venues and the airport.

The Contribution of Sport to the Sustainable Development Goals in the Pacific

This regional research funded by USP in 2020 builds on the case studies of Fiji and Samoa extending to four Pacific Island Countries and aims to strengthen the data collection, analysis and reporting across sport, physical activity and physical education with emphasis on the Voluntary National Reporting (VNR) process and outcomes in 2020; National Sustainable Development Plans; and household survey questions related to sport, physical activity and physical education captured in population census’ and national household surveys.