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SMGT40440

Academic Year 2026/2027

Sport Event M & Sustainability (SMGT40440)

Subject:
Sports Management
College:
Health & Agricultural Sciences
School:
Public Hlth, Phys & Sports Sci
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Professor Eleni Theodoraki
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module examines contemporary issues in sport event management alongside the practical steps involved in managing sport event projects. Beginning with the types of sport events and how they are governed, students go on to develop event project management skills, together with a broader understanding of the socio-cultural and economic contexts in which sport events take place. The module then turns to sustainability management across the sport event lifecycle, building students' sustainability management and reporting skills and a solid grounding in the challenges of delivering sport events sustainably.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module, you will be able to:
1. Understand types of sport events, how the organisations delivering them are structured, and how their effectiveness can be perceived from different perspectives.
2. Analyse the types and influences of sport event stakeholders, including the formal and informal power dynamics — such as institutionally embedded “permission” — that shape stakeholder voice and action.
3. Develop a sport event project portfolio using the PMI® project management methodology, incorporating emerging AI-augmented planning and monitoring tools.
4. Utilise business canvasses (business/mission models and value propositions) and project management tools (work breakdown structure, network diagram, risk register — including financial and governance risk categories — critical path analysis, RACI matrix).
5. Assess sport event footprints (social, economic, environmental, and climate-related health risks) and critically evaluate the methodological limitations of the indicators used to measure them.
6. Create a sport event sustainability report and plan, selecting and justifying appropriate sustainability standards and reporting frameworks (e.g. GRI, ISO 20121) in light of the evolving regulatory landscape.
7. Critically reflect upon sport event sustainability reports — distinguishing official organisational
narratives from independent academic critique — to evaluate strengths and weaknesses and identify gaps.
8. Use AI tools to analyse data, explore the meaning and application of concepts, and interrogate the literature, while critically evaluating the outputs, biases, and limitations of those tools and disclosing their use transparently.
9. Track and interpret the evolving regulatory and governance landscape for sport event sustainability (e.g. EU CSRD, IOC New Norm, sport federation mandates) and assess its implications for event planning and reporting practice.

Indicative Module Content:

Types of sport events (elite/recreational, e-sports, public/voluntary/private sector)
Contemporary issues in sport event management (professionalisation, commercialisation, athlete and civil protest, corruption, doping — international governance and accountability covered in depth in Semester 2)
Stakeholder analysis (formal and informal power, influence, legitimacy)
Event project management (PMI® methodology: business/mission canvasses, value propositions, WBS, network diagrams, Gantt charts, RACI matrices, risk registers spanning operational, financial, and governance risk)
Sport events' impacts and effectiveness (brief overview, reflecting the IOC's new Legacy Reporting Framework and EU/UNESCO developments in host-selection and impact measurement)
Sustainable development (UN SDGs, industry standards e.g. ISO 20121, evolving reporting regulation)
Sport event sustainability policies and management (case studies)
Sport event sustainability reporting and assurance (Global Reporting Initiative; official vs. academic critique)
AI applications for sport event management and sustainability management (data analysis, literature interrogation, critique of AI outputs and bias)
Sport, purpose, and diplomacy (equity, peace-building, social change)

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Competent

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Competent

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Competent

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Competent

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Advanced Beginner

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Advanced Beginner

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Advanced Beginner

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

End poverty in all its forms everywhere 3

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture 2

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages 3

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 2

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 3

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 1

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 2

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all 3

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation 1

Reduce inequality within and among countries 3

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 3

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 3

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 3

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 1

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss 1

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 2

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development 3
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

11
Seminar (or Webinar)

10
Conversation Class

10
Computer Aided Lab

5
Specified Learning Activities

54
Autonomous Student Learning

160
Total

250

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Active and collaborative learning
Lab work
Problem-based learning
Debates
Case-based learning
Student presentations
Conversation with experts and practitioners
Field trip

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Group Work Assignment: Team Sport Event Project Portfolio — 40% Week 6 Graded No
40
 No
Report(s): Individual Sustainability Report & Plan — 40% Week 12 Graded No
40
 No
Portfolio: Individual Reflective Portfolio — 20% Week 11 Graded No
20
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

Name Role
Dr Tom Fabian Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Ross Neville Tutor

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Laboratory Offering 1 Week(s) - 4, 7, 10 Mon 09:00 - 09:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 4, 7, 10 Mon 10:00 - 14:50
Autumn Laboratory Offering 1 Week(s) - 4, 10 Tues 09:00 - 09:50
Autumn Laboratory Offering 1 Week(s) - 7 Tues 09:00 - 09:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 10 Tues 10:00 - 14:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 4 Tues 10:00 - 14:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 7 Tues 10:00 - 14:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1 Wed 09:00 - 15:50
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