New research explores visibility, communication and sustainability in inclusive sport
Inclusive sport organisations create meaningful social impact every day – but that impact is not always visible to the wider public, media, potential partners and supporters.
The Beyond Barriers Research Report: Digital Visibility and Capacity in Inclusive Sport explores how organisations working with people with disabilities in Bulgaria and Greece communicate their activities, use digital platforms, engage with media, approach sponsors and build their organisational visibility.
The research combines a survey of 51 organisations – 30 from Bulgaria and 21 from Greece – with qualitative interviews, providing both measurable data and practical insights into the challenges organisations experience in their everyday work.
Being online does not always mean being visible
The surveyed organisations already have a significant presence on social media. 86.27% use Facebook and 52.94% use Instagram, while 45.10% maintain an official website.
However, the findings reveal an important difference between documenting activities and communicating their impact.
While 92.16% publish photos from their activities, only 23.53% publish participant stories, and just 11.76% publish sponsorship-related content.
This points to an important opportunity: moving beyond simply showing what happened towards communicating why it matters, whose lives are affected and what change inclusive sport creates.
What makes visibility difficult?
For the organisations participating in the research, the most frequently identified barrier was lack of time, reported by 54.90% of respondents. This was followed by low media interest in inclusive sport, identified by 47.06%.
The findings also reveal differences between the two countries. Bulgarian respondents reported a broader combination of internal capacity challenges, including skills, equipment and knowledge about approaching media. Among Greek respondents, 66.67% identified low media interest in inclusive sport as a barrier.
The stories are there – they need to be told
One of the strongest findings concerns storytelling.
84.32% of respondents rated storytelling as highly important for promoting inclusive sport, with an overall mean score of 4.39 out of 5.
At the same time, only 23.53% reported publishing participant stories.
The contrast points to a clear gap between recognising the value of storytelling and having the capacity, resources and practices needed to use it consistently.
Visibility also matters for sustainability
The research shows that communication and organisational sustainability are closely connected.
84.31% of surveyed organisations have worked with sponsors or donors either regularly or occasionally. Yet attracting and maintaining support remains challenging.
When asked about barriers to sponsorship, 76.47% identified low public awareness of inclusive sport, while 45.10% pointed to limited networks and 41.18% to lack of visibility.
These findings underline an important principle behind Beyond Barriers: visibility is more than promotion. It can contribute to stronger partnerships, greater public recognition, fundraising opportunities and more sustainable organisations.
From research to practical support
The organisations were also asked what kind of capacity-building would be most useful to them.
Sponsorship and fundraising was the most frequently selected topic, chosen by 74.51% of respondents, followed by social media management at 58.82%. Storytelling, video creation and media relations were also identified as areas where additional support would be valuable.
The research also demonstrates strong interest in practical resources: 76.47% of respondents indicated that they were likely or highly likely to use the digital tools developed through Beyond Barriers, with an overall mean adoption score of 4.14 out of 5.
These findings provide an evidence base for the next steps of the Beyond Barriers project and the development of practical resources that can help inclusive sport organisations strengthen their communication, storytelling, media relations, fundraising and long-term growth.
Inclusive sport is already creating impact.
Our challenge is to make that impact visible.
Explore the research yourself
Want to take a closer look at the results? Read the full Beyond Barriers Research Report and explore what the participating organisations told us about visibility, communication, media relations, sponsorship and capacity-building in inclusive sport.
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Together, we go Beyond Barriers.
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