Speakers
Description
Providing an appropriate environment for successful athlete development is a highly complex endeavor for elite sports systems. Given the lack of suitable organizational development approaches in this regard, we have designed what we call the “PRIO-Intervention.” It is an athlete-focused organizational development instrument for elite sports networks that follows a participatory approach. Drawing on the identified practical challenges vis-à-vis athlete development (Hear phase), the central goal of this approach is to collaboratively create appropriate solutions for the identified challenges (Create phase). Consecutively, the proposed solutions are transferred to the sports network structures (Deliver phase). All of these interconnected phases are planned, implemented, and evaluated by a multi-stakeholder coordination team.
This presentation aims to elaborate the theoretical and conceptual background of the participatory PRIO-Intervention program, which is currently being implemented in the German elite sports network in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region.
To start with, we conceptualize athlete development as a complex management task that needs to be approached with rather complex solutions and an ability to adapt to societal changes. Thereafter, we reflect on the potential of participatory approaches to identify and define practical solutions that address common challenges. Finally, we consider structural preconditions for the sustainable transfer of jointly developed solutions.
The PRIO-intervention is meant to give to the elite athletes the voice and power to actively engage in developing solutions that improve their personal sports environment. Furthermore, by evaluating the implementation process, new insights can be gained on the opportunities and limitations of participation-based interventions in elite sports.
