The research calls on the industry to both examine the motivation behind its corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment and demonstrate that it is fulfilling its objectives. KantarSport, Kantar Media's specialist sport arm, interviewed more than 250 NGOs, international sports federations and corporates.
A key disconnect was that 72% of corporate respondents pointed to the positive impact of CSR on brand and reputation but only 41% of the CSR budgets in question were marketing-based. Those statistics add to the impression that the sport and development industry as a whole must demonstrate more effectively that CSR is not simply a charitable donation, but can be an important part of a company's business.
Likewise, those seeking to engage corporate investment should highlight the positive effect reported on issues such as improved relations with stakeholders. Despite tight budgets, two in three corporates are willing to provide employee time, therefore those NGOs that seek employee time and skills rather than straight financial injections are likely to achieve greater success in terms of attracting corporate support.
Nick Keller, the founder of Beyond Sport, said, "At Beyond Sport United in September, Harvard's professor Michael Porter spoke of the importance of taking CSR to a new level with the concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV) - the introduction by companies of social and developmental policies that benefit their business as well as having a positive effect on their communities. This research highlights a similar theme. It is up to us in the world of sport and development to demonstrate that backing projects seeking to have a real social impact through sport is in the best interests of corporate sponsors, rather than simply putting out our hands and hoping for hand-outs."
The research is the first stage of a project that is aiming to increase understanding of the motivations and challenges around investment in the sport and development sector. The findings will be presented at the Beyond Sport Summit from 5-8 December 2011.
Confirmed speakers at the summit include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Olympic legend Michael Johnson, multi-Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius, former South Africa national football captain Lucas Radebe and others from South African and international sport, politics and business.
Beyond Sport is a global initiative that seeks to celebrate and support any organisation or individual with the goal to drive positive social change through sport. It is partnered with Barclays Spaces for Sports, TIME Inc and UNICEF. For more information, go to www.beyondsport.org.
