Studies, surveys and conferences. The objective of studies, surveys and conferences supported through the Preparatory Actions was aimed at „supporting the Commission‟s structured dialogue with sport stakeholders and identifying future actions in the field of sport on the basis of priorities identified in the 2007 White Paper‟. Studies that were funded by the Commission in recent years also covered the treatment of non-nationals in sport competitions, volunteering in sport, and the training of young sportspeople in Europe, as well as regular Eurobarometer surveys on sport and physical activity. Conferences were / will be organised on the functioning and merits of licensing systems and on the role of sport agents. While data on the ultimate impacts of the activities carried out so far is lacking, tackling these transnational issues at European level provides policy makers with the information needed to develop effective and coherent policies. Bringing stakeholders from around Europe together also reinforces the European dimension of the issues at hand. Findings Transnational projects succeeded in contributing to the development of a European dimension in sport in several ways, namely through kick-starting cooperation between organisations working on sport from around Europe, creating sustainable partnerships, and, in general, through fostering a European outlook among relevant stakeholders. However, given this does not appear to be the case for the broader public, despite some activities aimed at this group. Support for major sport events has achieved the most success when funds were also used to support specific activities to communicate European supporting issues, in addition to supporting the running of the event. The lack of an open tendering process or specific award criteria for event sponsorship acted a sharp brake on the capacity for such events to work towards the Commission’s objectives.
