Correspondence: Nico Schulenkorf, School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism, University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 222, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia. E-mail: nico.schulenkorf@uts.edu.au

¹studied International Business and Management in Germany and Italy, before moving to Australia in 2004. He graduated with a Masters of Sport Management from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) in 2005, and has since been conducting his PhD thesis on the role of sport events in contributing to social development between disparate communities. Nico is the current student president of the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand (SMAANZ).

Received 13 January 2009; Revised 13 January 2009.

Abstract

The area of sport event tourism has been growing over the past decade, which has led to an increasing amount of research on both the economic and social impacts of sport events. Whereas a substantial number of ex post assessment frameworks for event evaluation is available, there is growing demand for process-orientated ex ante frameworks that guide the strategic study of social utility of events. To address this issue, this paper presents a framework suitable for theoretical and practical research in the area of inter-community sport events. It combines the areas of community participation, intergroup relations, social identity and event impacts in a process towards generating social development within and among communities. The ex ante framework is designed to support the strategic investigation of inter-community sport events and their contribution to social capital, social change and capacity building, and ultimately the enhancement of communities' quality of life.