Members of the project team ‘Economic dimension of volunteering in sport’ are moving towards an important milestone: finalising the methodology for measuring the economic impact of volunteering in sport. Once the methodology is completed and agreed upon by the members of the project team, they will proceed with pilot research in 8 EU Member States (Austria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Netherlands, Spain and the UK).
Methodology is a crucial part of the project. It is, therefore, important to develop it carefully and to take into consideration all aspects of voluntary work in sport and economy. Relevant public bodies such as national statistics offices will be able to use the methodology to measure the economic value of volunteering in sport, which will enable them to provide data to the policy makers in the field of sport. Insofar, policy making was not informed in relation to the impact on voluntary work in the sport sector. Negative trends in volunteering in sport and a strong dependence of the sector on voluntary work require policymaking to take into consideration the impact of new policy measures on volunteers in sport. Given the strong sectoral dependence on voluntary work, this is a high-level priority in policy making in the field of sport.
