Introduction

Sport and leisure presents a diverse landscape that is home to many activities, individuals and organisations that make key contributions to the social fabric of societies. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book attempts to make sense of evaluation in sport and leisure, and provides a broad contextual outline of the history, policy context and types of evaluation in use within the field. It outlines a variety of case studies that explain and analyse various types and methods of evaluation. The book offers a more reflective and critical assessment of evaluation in sport and leisure contexts, given the previous case studies, is broader in scope as we move forward into new modes of governance and a constantly fluid and changing context for sport and leisure.