Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "The sport club is key! Guidelines for sport federations to integrate a light supply in sport clubs" "Jeroen Scheerder" "Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group, Physical Activity, Sports & Health Research Group" "Studies, among which the previous projects of the Flemish Policy Research Centre on Sports, emphasize the importance of differentiation and innovation based on 'light' sport and exercise initiatives in order to retain members in sport clubs (preventing drop-out) and to attract new members (target groups) to club organized sport. The current valorization project aims to develop a practical instrument (step-by-step plan / support plan) for sport federations allowing them to develop sport specific strategies to maintain and, if possible and desirable, to increase participation rates in club organized sport. The instrument is built on the findings of studies regarding sport light(Borgers et al., 2016; Scheerder et al., 2016) and drop out (De Baere etal., 2016a, 2016b; Seghers et al., 2015) that were carried out within the framework of the Flemish Policy Research Centre on Sports, and on 'good practices' for sports federations based on previous research (Scheerder et al., 2014, 2015a, 2015b). These findings will be complemented by results of ongoing international research projects and the available literature. With the integration and valorization of these findings we strive to maximize the transfer of policy-relevant scientific knowledge into practical applications. This valorization project is carried out on behalf of the Flemish government and in cooperation with the Kennis-en Informatiecentrum Sport (KICS) of Sport Vlaanderen." "Developing the Delta Group Barometer ‘Good Governance in Sport’ in sport federations in Belgium, Flanders, Wallonia and the German-speaking Community." "Jeroen Scheerder" "Physical Activity, Sports & Health Research Group" "In recent years, more and more organizations (such as schools, hospitals, companies …) are investing in good governance. The sport sector also does not let this theme pass by. The present research aims to map aspects of good governance and innovation in sport federations in Belgium, Flanders, Wallonia and the German-speaking Community. More in particular, the intention is to develop the Delta Group Barometer ‘Good Governance in Sport’. To this end, already available measuring instruments developed at the KU Leuven and the UCL are used. Both universities combine their strengths and expertise. Regarding the research, both an external observation and a self-evaluating analysis are used. Based on the results, it will be possible for managers within sport federations to optimize their good governance policy. The research is funded by the Baillet Latour Fund and is supported by the Delta Group, the BOIC and GUBERNA." "The Flemish Trainer School; a partnership between Bloso, the Flemish universities and sports federations." "Christophe Delecluse" "Physical Activity, Sports & Health Research Group" "This cooperation includes specific unlocking and sharing of sport specific and sport-border scientific information and more general training and continuing education of sports coaching frameworks." "Environmental Sustainability in the Sport Sector. A Perspective on Sport Organisations and Sport Events" "Thomas Könecke" "Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group, Physical Activity, Sports & Health Research Group" "This doctoral dissertation focuses on the complex relation between sport and environmental sustainability. The sport sector depends on the environment for a large part of its activities, but at the same time, it impacts the environment by using resources, occupying in- and outdoor spaces, generating waste and emitting greenhouse gases. While this is just a sliver of what some other sectors are contributing to global climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, the devastating consequences urge every sector to act. Moreover, besides its negative impact on the environment, is the sport sector also capable of creating an important positive impact. Millions of stakeholders watch or practise sport on a daily basis. As such, the sector is capable of conveying an environmental message that is able to reach numerous people regardless of political, economic and religious differences. To distribute this message and encourage others to show pro-environmental behaviour, the sport sector has to be represented by environmentally conscious sport organisations. However, the sport sector bumps into various barriers that make it difficult to implement actions. A lack of empirical knowledge and evidence-based recommendations is one of these barriers. As such, this doctoral project aims to contribute to academic research by providing empirical knowledge on environmental sustainability in the sport sector. The main focus of the project will be on sport federations and (participatory) sport events because to date, research examining these sport settings is very rare. By doing so, it provides relevant insights that can serve as a venture point for future research, but it can also help to reduce some of the barriers that currently keep the sector from becoming more environmentally sustainable. To reach these objectives, six studies have been performed and included in this manuscript. A short summary of each research paper is presented underneath.The first paper is a scoping review on environmental sustainability in sport organisations that adheres to the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) quality guidelines. After a strict inclusion and exclusion process, the review includes 44 articles that were published in English peer-reviewed journals and focuses on environmental sustainability in sport organisations. The selected articles are discussed according to their descriptive characteristics and their organisation type: i.e., sport leagues and teams, academic athletic departments, sport clubs and sport federations. The review reveals underresearched areas that need further academic attention, it summarises important evidence-based knowledge and it highlights which literature sport organisations can counsel for additional in-dept insights.For the second paper, all available website of sport federations located in Belgium were examined to assess the current behaviour of the sport federations and to determine their progress in terms of environmental sustainability. The content analysis of the websites allows to apply and further develop the environmental wave typology created by McCullough and colleagues (2016). The results show that 37 of the 141 included sport federations communicated environmental initiatives or strategical considerations on their websites. The remaining 104 federations that did not communicate about environmental sustainability were included in the newly created wave 0. These findings indicate that environmental sustainability is not yet institutionalised in the organisational behaviour of sport federations.The third paper presents a mixed-method analysis to get a broader understanding to what extent environmental sustainability is included in the Flemish sport federation sector and to highlight opportunities to improve this state. The study uses interview data, survey data and data derived from the policy plans of sixteen Flemish federations to fulfil these goals. The findings are presented using a research framework that builds upon the work of Fifka and Jaeger (2020). The framework consists of five levels and ten steps and enables to propose several recommendations to improve the integration of environmental sustainability into the organisational structure of sport federations.In the fourth paper, the environmental, social and economic sustainability of participatory sport events are assessed. To this end, a measurement instrument was developed based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The instrument was empirically tested among a representative sample of 303 participatory sport event organisers located in Flanders. A confirmatory factor analysis provides evidence for the validity and reliability of the instrument. The findings reveal discrepancies between the three dimensions of sustainability, with a noticeable lower score for environmental sustainability compared to social and economic sustainability.The fifth paper examines to what extent the participants of a Belgian running event would be willing to pay to contribute financially to the costs for improving the environmental sustainability of the event and which factors determine this choice. A total sample of 1,056 online surveys was collected and the contingent valuation method resulted in an average willingness to pay of 7.72 EUR when taking into account the number of people that indicated to be willing to pay. The study also found a significant relation between the components defining the theory of planned behaviour and the willingness to pay. The study provides academic insights that have been indicated by previous authors as currently missing and it presents event managers options to improve the sustainability of their event in a financially feasible way.The sixth and last paper of this manuscript focuses on mega sport events. The study examines to what extent people’s perception of environmental sustainability in mega sport events influences their support to potentially host a mega event in the future. The data was collected using a survey conducted in Germany, which resulted in 917 cases that could be used for further data analysis. Multinomial logistic regressions reveal that positive and negative perceptions of the environmental sustainability of an event are important predictors of support for and opposition to hosting a mega sport event. The findings have important implications for the bidding processes of future events, because the local host community has, to a certain extent, a say in whether or not a future mega sport events will be organised. The results show that people’s perception of environmental sustainability influences this decision.It can be stated in its entirety, that this manuscript examines sport federations and sport events and aims to provide empirical research that can assist these sport settings in becoming more environmentally sustainable. While the findings of the studies highlight several venture points for the management of sport organisations to upscale their sustainability, a big part of the challenge and the necessary commitment will have to come from the organisations themselves. The results of the studies already revealed spontaneous commitments among numerous sport organisations. However, to fully institutionalise sustainability in the sector, the currently unengaged organisations will have to be nudged and most sport organisation that took first initiatives will need extra support to evolve to a more permanent and strategic environmental commitment." "Different studies on sport organizations, environmental sustainability in sport and eSports" "Thomas Könecke" "Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group" "This series of studies looks at three different topical areas: a) sport organizations and events, b) environmental sustainability in sport and c) eSports. These areas are not analyzed strictly separated from one another. Depending on the specific study, there can rather be considerable overlap. The primary focus in topical area a (sport organizations and events) is on sport mega events and the organizations behind them (for instance, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)). The studies in topical area b (environmental sustainability in sport) scrutinize the relevance, the organizational implementation and financial aspects of environmental sustainability in the sport sector as well as related topics. The main focus of topical area c (eSports) are analyses of the effectiveness of specific aspects of brand management in and with eSports. " "Sport and physical activity policy, sport participation and physical activity among school-aged youngsters in Flanders (Belgium)." "Jeroen Scheerder" "Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group, Physical Activity, Sports & Health Research Group" "The present project consists of a scientific research focusing on trends, profiles and determinants of sport participation and physical activity among school-aged youngsters in Flanders (Belgium). This research will be conducted by using existing data on sport participation and physical among Flemish youth. If needed, additional analysis will be performed. The project consists of two parts. In the first part, trends and profiles of youth sport in Flanders will be documented. In a second part, the relationship between physical activity and health in school-aged youth will be discussed, resulting in physical activity promotion strategies in order to maximize young people's commitment to lifelong physical activity as part of healthy lifestyle." "Promotion of physical, mental and social well-being in young people through organized sport clubs in Flanders." "Jan Seghers" "Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group, Physical Activity, Sports & Health Research Group" "Sports clubs are important settings of growth for children and adolescents and are the largest organized activity outside school. Youth sports club activities should not only focus on the development of skill competence that help children to perform well in sports, but should also offer a platform to promote health and wellbeing in young people. This includes all the dimensions of health and wellbeing (physical, social and mental). However, youth sports club activities do not automatically contribute to the health and wellbeing of young people. Within the framework of a resolution of the Flemish government concerning ethics in sport, all subsidized sports federations and sports clubs in Flanders are stimulated to promote fair play, health, enjoyment and integrity in youth sports. The main objective of this project is to inform the Flemish government about the actions that Flemish sports federations and sports club can undertake in order to promote physical, social and mental well-being of children and adolescents participating in organized sports." "DoctorAte in Sport Ethics and Integrity" "Thomas Könecke" "Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group, Leuven Institute of Criminology, Interfaculty Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law, Department of Movement Sciences, Institute for Labour Law" "The DoctorAl Training Network in Sport Ethics and Integrity (DAiSI) is an interdisciplinary network comprised of 5 prestigious universities (KU Leuven (Belgium, lead), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany, beneficiary), Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (Norway, beneficiary), Swansea University (Wales, beneficiary), and University of Lausanne (Switzerland, associated partner)) and 8 leading international sport federations, sport organisations and non-governmental organisations: International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), International Biathlon Union (IBU), and Athletics Inegrity Unit (AIU). Our research domains include cheating, doping, match-fixing, data protection, sexual harassment and abuse, credibility, reputation and damage-limitation. We examine the problems, identify published and novel solutions, deliver multi-disciplinary research and work with stakeholders to improve policy and guidelines to prevent future harms to sportspersons and organisations. The network provides extensive training and interdisciplinary doctoral education to 13 selected doctoral researchers, recruited impartially from around the world. Every thesis contributes to a coherent programme of research, which takes a three-dimensional approach, at the individual, competition and organisational levels (each of which has its own ethical, legal and social challenges). Our researchers will graduate from the programme with a joint doctorate from at least two leading universities, as well as having gained real-world experience and skills that make them immensely attractive to employers." "Studying the impact of gambling advertising in sport on the normalization of gambling and gambling behaviors" "Bram Constandt" "Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Department of Communication Sciences" "This research project encompasses two parts:(1) A systematic literature review of existing research on the impact of sport sponsoring by gambling companies.(2) Two experimental studies on respectively the impact of shirt sponsoring and billboard sponsoring by gambling companies in sport." "Research platform Sport" "Veerle De Bosscher" "Motor skills and Didactics, Sports Policy factors Leading to International Sporting Success, Movement and Science, Movement and Sport Sciences" "Theme 1: Policy monitoring - Measuring the impact of the policy focuses on low-threshold sports, innovation and youth sport Theme 2: Sport participation in Flanders Theme 3: Monitoring development: from Multimove to Multisport."