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Public Value in a School-Based HEPA Initiative: The Case of the Danish School Olympics
Thomas Skovgaard, Lars Breum Christiansen
SDU, Denmark
Background and Aim This study examines how a large-scale school sport initiative (School Olympics), understood as a health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) initiative, creates societal value through multi-level governance. It applies Mark H. Moore’s framework for public value creation (Moore, 2000). The study explores how legitimacy and support, operational capacity, and public value generation interact in the governance of this cross-sector initiative, linking empirical insights from a real-world program to a perspective that is rarely applied in this field.
Methods The paper combines empirical insights and theory, drawing on evaluation-based knowledge and stakeholder perspectives on the implementation of the School Olympics initiative in a Danish municipal context. The material is analyzed using Moore’s strategic triangle to explore how governance processes shape perceptions of public value.
Results Findings show strong alignment between local political priorities, school engagement, and community partnerships, creating broad legitimacy and support. Operational capacity developed through coordination roles, cross-sector collaboration, and shared learning processes. Public value emerged as increased participation and positive experiences for children, as well as stronger local cooperation, institutional learning, and a clearer role for physical activity in municipal agendas. Tensions included resource demands, long-term sustainability, and uneven effects over time.
Conclusions Viewing this HEPA initiative through a public value lens highlights how outcomes emerge through interactions between legitimacy, operational capacity, and value creation. The analysis shows how governance dynamics shaped the initiative’s ability to generate locally meaningful outcomes and offers insight into how school-based HEPA initiatives may contribute to broader strategic ambitions beyond participation outcomes.
