Guidelines on building partnerships within cheerleading clubs
Kontturi, Kiia (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121034386
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121034386
Tiivistelmä
The sport of cheerleading has grown rapidly within recent decades. This requires clubs to professionalize fast. This thesis aims to develop step-by-step guidelines for the Finnish Cheerleading Federation’s member clubs considering partnership acquisition, management and development. The objective is to provide concrete support for building partnerships while acknowledging limited resources. This enables a lower threshold towards the partnership acquisition process and thus development of the sport.
The theoretical framework introduces different types of partnerships, emphasizing the possibility to mix these. The process of building a partnership is divided into four broad phases: defining the objectives, the responsible parties, the value of the club; budgeting, building a strategy and packages; the acquisition, contacting, negotiating, and building a contract; as well as evaluating and further developing the partnership. In addition, strategic perspectives are provided looking at resource allocation, professionalization, challenges within the contemporary sport scene and trends.
The development work was conducted as a qualitative study by conducting two questionnaires targeted at the clubs’ partnership representatives. It was sent to different non-profit sports clubs to gain experiences and perspectives related to partnerships. The questionnaires were distributed via the following digital channels: email, Facebook and LinkedIn. Twelve responses were received through the lighter survey and four responses through the more indepth one. The results were analyzed with a template analysis and divided into the following themes: personnel, strategy, choosing a partner, challenges and opportunities.
The results of the analysis revealed that larger clubs often appoint specific roles like executive directors for partnership management. Whereas smaller clubs often divide responsibilities among volunteers. Larger clubs exploit tailored strategies and packages that encompass visibility across various media. Smaller clubs focus on specific events and cost coverage instead. When selecting partners it is vital to align values and prioritize long-term agreements, especially for larger clubs. Smaller clubs also aim for these but might fail to have the flexibility to choose with the given opportunities. Challenges include resource constraints for both large and small clubs. Larger clubs sometimes overextend promised actions. Smaller clubs struggle with initial outreach due to limited resources and knowledge. Few clubs systematically evaluate their partnerships. Based on the results of the analysis and theoretical framework, a step-by-step guidance was created.
As a conclusion, clear resource and responsibility allocation are crucial. Awareness of the club’s realistic resources and ability to produce added value are important. Focusing on aligning values and strategically tailoring a partnership package to match the needs of the partner creates a solid ground. Systematic feedback check-ups and monitoring of progress enable continuous and long-term development.
The theoretical framework introduces different types of partnerships, emphasizing the possibility to mix these. The process of building a partnership is divided into four broad phases: defining the objectives, the responsible parties, the value of the club; budgeting, building a strategy and packages; the acquisition, contacting, negotiating, and building a contract; as well as evaluating and further developing the partnership. In addition, strategic perspectives are provided looking at resource allocation, professionalization, challenges within the contemporary sport scene and trends.
The development work was conducted as a qualitative study by conducting two questionnaires targeted at the clubs’ partnership representatives. It was sent to different non-profit sports clubs to gain experiences and perspectives related to partnerships. The questionnaires were distributed via the following digital channels: email, Facebook and LinkedIn. Twelve responses were received through the lighter survey and four responses through the more indepth one. The results were analyzed with a template analysis and divided into the following themes: personnel, strategy, choosing a partner, challenges and opportunities.
The results of the analysis revealed that larger clubs often appoint specific roles like executive directors for partnership management. Whereas smaller clubs often divide responsibilities among volunteers. Larger clubs exploit tailored strategies and packages that encompass visibility across various media. Smaller clubs focus on specific events and cost coverage instead. When selecting partners it is vital to align values and prioritize long-term agreements, especially for larger clubs. Smaller clubs also aim for these but might fail to have the flexibility to choose with the given opportunities. Challenges include resource constraints for both large and small clubs. Larger clubs sometimes overextend promised actions. Smaller clubs struggle with initial outreach due to limited resources and knowledge. Few clubs systematically evaluate their partnerships. Based on the results of the analysis and theoretical framework, a step-by-step guidance was created.
As a conclusion, clear resource and responsibility allocation are crucial. Awareness of the club’s realistic resources and ability to produce added value are important. Focusing on aligning values and strategically tailoring a partnership package to match the needs of the partner creates a solid ground. Systematic feedback check-ups and monitoring of progress enable continuous and long-term development.