Bidding for Development / Sports Economics, Management and Policy Bd.9 (PDF)

Masters of Science in Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College. While at Carnegie Mellon, Morgan served as a Liaison at the U.S. Department of State in the office of the Secretary's Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs where she worked closely with subnational officials in Africa, India, and China. An avid trail runner, Morgan loves living an active lifestyle with her husband and dog Arya, and spending time with her family on their farm in western Kentucky.

Mary "Trina" Bolton

In her profession as an international affairs officer in Washington, D.C., Trina has an opportunity to work on public diplomacy programs and people-to-people exchanges. Her inspiration to pursue a Master of Science in Public Policy  and Management from Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College and current role in D.C. are rooted in her attraction to global policymaking. After earning a degree in international affairs at George Washington University, Trina grew her knowledge in this arena with a job of three years at the Brookings Institution. Originally from Atlanta, she returned for several years before Carnegie Mellon to work and travel for GlobalAtlanta, an international journalism business. Her experience as a cross country athlete at GWU carried over as Trina still runs for fun and incorporates running and other sports in her day-to-day life.

positive and concrete legacies can be shaped by decision-makers early in the game. Bidding for Development: How the Olympic Bid Process Can Accelerate Transportation Development, came forth as a timely publication in which the authors use quantitative findings from real-world examples and trend analysis to answer questions and make well-informed guidelines on bidding. This book makes an even more unique case that cities can play an active role in preparing themselves to benefit from the Games, without even hosting them. How? By capitalizing on the Olympic bid process.

While many academic books on mega-events focus on cities with winning bids, this publication looks at the phenomenon of repeat Olympic bidders and the advantages that come from bidding for, yet never hosting, the games. In this context, the book explores the junction between transportation development, the Olympic bid process, and the resulting legacies for bid losers.

Whether one is academically, professionally, or personally interested in mega-event legacies and the daunting process that goes with any bid for an event, he or she can turn to Bidding for Development for conclusions on how bid leaders and the residents of a city can come out on top after a bid.

At just over 70 pages, this “how to guide” for prospective Olympic bidders features novel comparative analysis and original research drawn from interviews with subject matter experts, analysis of “bid loser” trends, and close review of Manchester’s and Istanbul’s bidding track records—two cities that have bid for the Olympics and Paralympics numerous times without ever hosting.

Drawing primarily on findings from Istanbul’s and Manchester’s bid histories, the authors present a backbone of facts and stats to support their Bid Framework, or logic model and guidelines for interested bidders. Paired with these quantitative findings, the book provides a great balance between the analytical and the enjoyable. I was intrigued by the storylines associated with what are described as “bid champions” in each of these cities. The book’s description on how the International Olympic Committee’s bid procedures have evolved over time to meet new global environmental demands adds a strong dynamic to the overall narrative as well.

As a resident of Washington, D.C., a city currently in the running for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games, I have direct interests in the bid process. After reading Bidding for Development, I am much better prepared to face my city’s bid phases and have a deeper understanding as to what we can do to make it worthwhile. I believe that the book reveals invaluable information to any reader—not only bidders—interested in how urban development strategies in preparation for a sporting mega-event bid process can cause lasting positive social change.

Bloomfield is the president of the American Council for Capital Formation. He is also the U.S. Ambassador to the Comrades ultra-marathon in South Africa. In this role he has received three Vic Clapham Comrades medals, received the Spirit of Comrades award, and was recognized at the unveiling of the Nelson Mandela statue in Washington D.C.