This toolkit is a collection of various information documents, guidelines, manuals and frameworks, all developed to give advice and support the implementation of Sport for Development (S4D) projects, workshops and training sessions. In cooperation with the German Sport University Cologne, the Resource Toolkit was developed between 2017 and 2023 and has been continued by giz's global project “Sport for Development” between September 2023 and July 2025.

The S4D Resource Toolkit gives you an overview of the essential aspects of S4D, the topics that can be addressed, and the materials and documents, which were developed in numerous countries across the globe, adapted to different countries, languages, sports codes, and thematic priorities.

Since December 2025, this toolkit is hosted by the Sport for Development Network Germany e.V., which is committed to continue to provide the national as well as international S4D sector with the necessary tools and materials for successful sport for development programming. 

The Toolkit is relevant for anyone with an interest in sport for development theory and practice.

The S4D Resource Toolkit website contains theoretical and practical resources for the sport for development community. It gives you an overview of the essential aspects of S4D, the topics that can be addressed, and the documents, which were developed in different languages (e.g. in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swahili, Bahasa etc.) on numerous countries across the globe. 

The Toolkit is structured according to the following sections:

(1) The S4D Essentials presents information responding to key questions, these describes the basic aspects of the S4D approach.  

(2) The S4D Topic Collection provides recommendations and practical examples on how sport can be used to achieve e.g. gender equality, employability or health and how it can be used in different contexts.

(3) In the S4D Global Country Collection, you will find S4D materials and documents, which were developed in numerous countries across the globe.  

You will find different types of tools, e.g. guidelines, M&E tools, templates, publications etc. (definitions of terms see GLOSSARY) to make S4D part of your own work.

What are the "SDGs"? What is the difference between an "S4D Instructor" and an "S4D Coach"? What is meant with the term "Capacity Development" and what are "S4D Competences"?

In our GLOSSARY you will find definitions for the various terms used on this website. 

Within the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (A/RES/70/1), sport is highlighted as an important enabler of sustainable development. It is viewed as a means to teach tolerance and respect and to contribute to the empowerment of women, young people, individuals and communities as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives. For example, the potential contribution of sport toward ‘gender equality’ is promoting female leaders and role models or raising awareness on gender issues. You can find more detailed examples of how S4D can be used in different contexts in the S4D Essentials. 

The target group for S4D programmes can be divided into three groups:

The first group is comprised of stakeholders and politicians who are possible supporters and partners of S4D programmes. This group also includes those who do not have a lot of prior S4D knowledge.

The second group consists of people who would like to become multipliers (e.g. trainers, coaches, social workers etc.) within the S4D field. They can participate in workshops and trainings where they will  learn how to teach S4D activities to children and youth as well as how to teach others to become trainers themselves.

The third group is made of the final recipients of the sport programmes, who  are children and youth; particularly those from regions affected by poverty. These young people often have to cope with additional disadvantages arising from the social, political and cultural circumstances in their home countries. Girls and young women receive special consideration, since there is a lack of projects geared to their needs and often they have only limited access to educational and social programmes.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is an essential part of the cycle of a S4D programme and part of all GIZ’s S4D activities on the ground. In general, monitoring is integral to evaluation. During an evaluation, information from previous monitoring processes is used to understand the ways in which a project or programme develops and stimulates change. Monitoring focuses on the measurement of the following aspects of an intervention:

• The frequency and quality of the implemented activities (outputs: What do we do? How do we manage our activities?)
• The internal processes of a project or programme (outcomes: What were the effects /changes that occurred as a result of your intervention?)
• The external processes of an intervention (impact: Which broader, long-term effects were triggered by the implemented activities in combination with other environmental factors?)

The evaluation process is an analysis or interpretation of the collected data which delves deeper into the relationships between the results of a project/programme, the effects produced by the project/programme and the overall impact of the project/programme.

In the S4D Essentials section you will find more information about M&E in the field of S4D.

In the S4D Country Collection sections you will find example M&E tools, which are used in our programmes and projects in different countries and contexts.