Recreation Study

1.3.1 Desktop researchTo gain an understanding of sport and recreation locallyand internationally, the research team reviewed:• International definitions of sport and recreation;• International case studies of sport andrecreation interventions;• National and provincial policies in South Africa;• SRA strategy documents and job descriptions.The key contextual insights from this review are capturedin Chapters 3 and 4 of the report.1.3.2 ConsultationsAt the beginning of the project, exploratory workshopswere held with recreation officers, play leaders, facilitymanagers, area managers and district managers. Thepurpose of the workshops was to gain buy-in for theresearch, as well as to ensure that the outcomes of theresearch would be relevant to those working in the fieldand in the SRA’s offices.1.3.3 Identification of an appropriatesocio-economic indicatorWhile some studies use the Living Standard Measure(LSM) as a socio-economic indicator, the City of CapeTown uses the Socio-economic Status (SES) Index tomeasure the social and economic well-being of communities.It is derived from four indicators: 1) income levels;2) educational attainment; 3) unemployment levels; and4) percentage of the labour force in unskilled occupations.FIGURE 7: RESEARCH PROJECT TEAM MEETING (SOURCE: SRA)1.3.4 Exploratory focus groupsBefore conducting the household survey, six focusgroups, with a total of 93 participants, were held toexplore the topics that would be covered in the surveyand to provide a forum for communities to discuss theirexperiences with sport and recreation.The criteria for selecting the communities were:• Evenly spread across SRA’s 6 districts.• A range of SES indexes (4 low, 2 high).The six sites are indicated in the table below.TABLE 8: SRA DISTRICT AND SES INDEX OF FOCUSGROUP SITESSRA DistrictSES IndexAtlantis 1 46.20Claremont 2 9.38Delft 4 60.81Khayelitsha 3 66.29Lwandle 6 74.23Observatory ii 1 14.73SOURCE: MTHENTE, 2010For the purposes of this research and other studiesconducted by the City, communities that score 40 andabove are considered low income, while communitiesthat score below 40 are considered middle to upperincome. 8 The selection of SES Index for this study allowsfor greater comparability with other City studies.To ensure substantial representation of the communitiesin most dire need, the research was weighted in favourof lower income areas – four of the six focus groupstook place in lower income areas and 70% of the quantitativeinterviews took place in lower income areas.FIGURE 8: DELFT FOCUS GROUP (SOURCE: MTHENTE, 2010)ii.Two attempts were made to hold a focus group in Durbanville to represent District 5. When these were not successful, Observatory was substituted asanother upper income area. Thus, two focus groups were held in District 1.RESEARCH REPORT JANUARY 201115