Researching and working in sport policy and development

In this chapter I reflect upon some of the findings of my research in sport policy and development over the last two decades. I discuss some of the recent lessons I have learned from working with a range of professionals and publics, particularly in community sport and health, in the second decade of the twenty-first century. These issues are explored in the context of the changing landscape of higher education in England where, among other things, academic researchers are increasingly constrained to demonstrate the impact of their work on non-academic audiences, including through influencing policy making and practice. The chapter concludes by considering some of the professional and moral rationales underpinning the engagement of sociologists of sport in knowledge development and its dissemination to our publics.