As part of ThinkSport’s ongoing work on Sport and Physical Activity Innovation Boosters powered by Innosuisse, we held an engaging ideation session on Tuesday with the support of Swiss Olympic and led by Swiss Volunteers. The focus of the session was to explore a key question: How can we attract and retain volunteers of all ages for sports events, while creating meaningful experiences and building a strong sense of community?
The session brought together a diverse group of participants, including representatives from sports federations like FIFA and UEFA, public organisations such as BASPO and the City of Zurich, NGOs like CSHR, and technical experts. To ensure the discussions were grounded in real-life experiences, two volunteers joined as personas, representing the voices of those at the heart of the topic.
The day started with an introduction before moving into a fishbowl discussion, a format that encouraged open conversations and the sharing of ideas. Participants then explored volunteer and event organiser profiles to connect with different perspectives. This led to a brainstorming session where participants generated ideas for improving volunteering experiences. By the end of the day, five key ideas were chosen for further development.
The mix of participants brought different viewpoints to the table, combining insights from volunteers and organisers. Experiences from Qatar, Paris 2024, and sports events across Switzerland added valuable context and examples to the discussions.
The next step in this process is the Pre-Test Phase, which will take place on Tuesday, 19th November. This will be an opportunity to dive deeper into the selected ideas and start testing them to see how they might work in practice.
This session is part of ThinkSport’s broader mission to encourage innovation in sport and physical activity. By tackling the challenges of volunteering, we aim to create better experiences for everyone involved and strengthen the sense of community around sports events.
You can learn more about the different Innovation Boosters here.