Rekruttering og fastholdelse af frivillige i idrætsforeninger

Abstract

Problemstilling: Danske idrætsforeninger oplever problemer med at rekruttere og fastholde frivillige kræfter til at drive foreningen. Denne problematik er særligt udbredt efter nedlukningerne af det dan- ske samfund grundet Covid-19 pandemien. Problemer med at skaffe frivillige kræfter eksempelvis i form af bestyrelsesmedlemmer og trænere, gør det sværere at udbyde idrætsaktiviteter til danskerne, og svækker derigennem idrætsforeningers bidrag til fysisk, mental og social sundhedsfremme. I for- bindelse med nedsat grad af frivillighed ses en diskrepans mellem samfundsmæssige tendenser og for- eningers organisering, hvorfor problematikken anskues fra en organisatorisk og ledelsesmæssigt vin- kel. Formål: At undersøge hvilke muligheder og begrænsninger idrætsforeninger oplever i forbin- delse med rekruttering og fastholdelse af menneskelige ressourcer og på den baggrund opstille en re- fleksionsmodel, som kan anvendes i idrætsforeningsregi, til at overveje organisatoriske muligheder og begrænsninger mhp. forandring. Metode: Det overordnede design er inspireret af Maxwells (2005) interaktive model for kvalitativ forskning, og specialet har videnskabsteoretisk en fænomenologisk- hermeneutisk position. Der er anvendt et komparativt kvalitativt case-studie design, hvor der er foreta- get tre semistrukturerede interviews med ledere i tre idrætsforeninger, hvor hver forening repræsente- rer en case. Interviewene blev analyseret med Dahlager og Fredslunds (2011) analysestrategi. Der er endvidere foretaget en systematisk litteratursøgning opstillet som en bloksøgning med tre facetter – “Organisering og ledelse”, “frivillighed” og “idrætsforening” – hvorfra der blev inkluderet 12 artikler, som indgår i et review. Der blev søgt i Scopus, SportDiscus, idunn.no og Den danske forskningsdata- base v. SDU. Resultaterne af den kvalitative analyse og litteraturreviewet blev opstillet i logiske mo- deller, hvori der blev identificeret ressourcer, aktiviteter og potentielle outputs og outcomes. Der blev endvidere udviklet en refleksionsmodel gennem en refleksiv syntese af specialets resultater. Der blev anvendt en teoretisk referenceramme med afsæt i Luhmanns systemteori. Resultater: Der blev identi- ficeret en række ressourcer, der potentielt har indflydelse på en idrætsforenings evne til at rekruttere og fastholde menneskelige ressourcer: Relationelle-, planlægnings- og ledelseskompetencer; engage- ment og ambition samt tilgængelighed af menneskelig og strukturel kapacitet. Der blev også identifi- ceret en række aktiviteter med potentiel indflydelse: Kompleksitetsreducering gennem selektering, ud- deling og koordinering; fortælling, ejerskab og anerkendelse; forventningsafstemning og kommunika- tion; sociale events; udvikling af en specifik frivilligstrategi; og uddannelse af medlemmer. Konklusion: Både samfundsmæssige forhold, det lokale miljø som foreningen er situeret i, og for- eningens egen karakteristika udgør en række kontekstuelle forhold, som en forening bør identificere, analysere og reflektere over i relation til sin menneskelige kapacitet, kompetencer, beslutningstag- ning, kompleksitetsreduktion og strukturelle kapacitet.

Issue: Danish sports associations experience problems in recruiting and retaining volunteers to run the association. This problem is particularly prevalent after the closures of Danish society due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Problems with recruiting volunteers, for example in the form of board members and coaches, make it more difficult to offer sports activities to Danes, and thereby weaken sports as- sociations' contributions to the promotion of physical, mental, and social health. In connection with a reduced degree of volunteerism, a discrepancy is seen between societal tendencies and the organiza- tion of sports associations, which is why the problem is viewed from an organizational and manage- rial angle. Purpose: To investigate what opportunities and limitations sports associations experience in connection with the recruitment and retention of human resources and thereby establish a reflection model that can be used in sports associations to consider organizational opportunities and limitations in order to enact positive change. Method: The overall design is inspired by Maxwell's (2005) inter- active model for qualitative research, and the thesis has a phenomenological-hermeneutic position in scientific theory. A comparative qualitative case study design has been used, in which three semi- structured interviews have been conducted with leaders in three sports associations, with each associa- tion representing an individual case. The interviews were analyzed using Dahlager and Fredslund's (2011) analysis strategy. A systematic literature review has also been carried out, set up as a block search with three facets — “Organization and management”, “volunteering” and “sports associa- tion”—from which 12 articles were included in a review. Scopus, SportDiscus, idunn.no and the Dan- ish research database v. SDU were searched. The results of the qualitative analysis and the literature review were presented in logical models, in which resources, activities and potential outputs and out- comes were identified. Furthermore, a reflection model was developed through a reflective synthesis of the thesis results. A theoretical framework based on Luhmann's systems theory was employed. Results: Several resources that potentially have an impact on a sports association's ability to recruit and retain human resources were identified: relational, planning and management competencies; com- mitment and ambition; and the availability of human and structural capacity. A number of activities were also identified as having a potentially impact: complexity reduction through selection, distribu- tion and coordination; storytelling, ownership and recognition; alignment and communication of ex- pectations; social events; the development of a specific volunteer strategy; and education of members. Conclusion: Both societal factors, the local environment, and the association's own characteristics constitute a number of contextual conditions that an association should identify, analyze and reflect on in relation to its human capacity, competencies, decision making processes, complexity reduction and structural capacity.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Rekruttering og fastholdelse af frivillige i idrætsforeninger - en refleksionsmodel

[Recruitment and retainment of volunteers in sports associations - a reflection model]