Summary of the impact

The research, conducted at Loughborough University between 1998 and 2013, into two central issues in sport governance, gender equity and doping, has changed the policies and procedures of two international sports organisations and their domestic affiliates. For the International Olympic Committee (IOC) the change in policy was in the manner in which gender equity targets for National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are to be identified and met. With regard to the World Anti-Doping Agency the impact has been (i) on the way in which anti-doping education programmes are planned and evaluated and (ii) on the promotion of domestic legislation to combat doping in sport.

Underpinning research

The evaluation of governance policy and practices is a key research theme in the Sport Policy and Management group at Loughborough University and covers the full range of contemporary sport governance issues including accountability and compliance, representation and stakeholding, transparency and decision-making. The research reported in this case study centres on representation, decision-making, and compliance and accountability. The research in relation to the impact on governance and gender equity was concentrated in two studies from 2002-4 and 2008-10 by teams of staff all based at Loughborough University throughout the research, led by Professor Ian Henry (1989-present) as Principal Investigator, and funded by the IOC. The 2002-4 study involved as co-investigators Drs Eleni Theodoraki (1996-2008) and Emma Rich (2002-2008), Anita White (Visiting Professor 2001-5) and three RAs, Al Tauqi, Aquilina, and Radzi (assisting on the project May-October 2002). The research output from this first study [3.1, 3.4] identified the extent of gender inequity in selected national and international sport organisations and provided a theoretical analysis of the institutional barriers to gender equity and the impact of those barriers on women within the organisations. The research, which was reported to, and adopted by, the IOC's World Conference on Women and Sport in Marrakesh in 2004, informed the theoretical and methodological framework for the second study.

Henry also led the second study (Professor Leigh Robinson (2000-2010) was co-investigator). This research [3.3] (drawing on some pilot studies of national federations e.g. [3.2]), evaluated the difficulties experienced by women in gaining election to local agencies of the IOC, and identified electoral strategies for the successful election of women in different socio-political contexts across the five continents and in world bodies. The 2008-10 IOC research identified the range of structural and cultural factors which explained the pattern of election of women to executive positions in National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Sports Federations (IFs). It specified the difficulties of establishing a unified set of governance principles in highly varied cultural and political environments, and analysed electoral strategies which have been adopted in different contexts to achieve more equitable outcomes. It proposed a set of actions which would assist in addressing the problems of women's underrepresentation in decision-making bodies across cultures which were reported to the IOC Women and Sport Commission in 2011 and to the IOC World Conference on Women and Sport in 2012 [3.3].

Research by Professor Barrie Houlihan (1998-present) into the governance of anti-doping policy undertaken at Loughborough dates from the early 2000s and has been funded by the European Commission (2001, with PMP Consulting), the British Medical Association (2001-2), the Council of Europe (2002; 2003), UK Sport (2004), UNESCO (2009) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (2011, 2012). For the studies funded by UNESCO and WADA. Dr Borja Garcia (2008-present) was a co-investigator.

The initial phase of research had a similar focus to that on gender equity insofar as it assessed issues of stakeholder representation, compliance and accountability within and between domestic and international organisations. The main finding was to challenge the emphasis on deterrence and detection at the expense of education [3.5]. The later phase of research examined and developed methodologies for evaluating the impact of anti-doping activity [3.6]. The research provided insights into, inter alia: the problematic nature of providing a `voice' for athletes in the policy process; the weaknesses in existing anti-doping strategies and strategy evaluation. In particular the research emphasised the need for more effective monitoring of compliance and the development of techniques for ensuring better policy design in relation to anti-doping education.

References to the research

Papers:

Underpinning research was funded through a range of funded research projects including :

Women and Leadership in the Olympic Movement (2002-4) £40,000 funded by the IOC: Researchers: Henry, I (PI), Theodoraki, E, Rich, E, White A.

Gender Equity and Leadership in Olympic Bodies: Women, Leadership and the Olympic Movement 2010, £38,000 funded by the IOC: Researchers Henry, I and Robinson, L.

An evaluation of the Council of Europe Compliance with Commitments project, £2,500, 2003. Researcher: B Houlihan.

An evaluation of the location and status of the Drug Free Sport Directorate within UK Sport. Researchers: B Houlihan In association with PMP Consultancy, £25,000. 2004.

Developing a methodology for the evaluation of anti-doping education programmes, World Anti- Doping Agency, £30,000, 2010. Researcher: B Houlihan.

Evaluating the effectiveness of legislation as an instrument of anti-doping policy (2009-2012), £15,900, UNESCO and WADA, Researchers: B Houlihan and B Garcia.

Details of the impact

In relation to the impact on gender equity and governance in the Olympic world, in terms of reach, the initial 2004 report was presented as a keynote at the IOC's World Conference on Women and Sport in Marrakesh, 2004, and adopted in the Action Plan of the Conference [5.1]. The second report was a follow-up study commissioned by the Women and Sport Commission of the IOC, reporting to, and adopted by that Commission in Lausanne in June 2010 and was subsequently an invited presentation at the IOC's World Conference in Los Angeles in 2012 [5.2, 5.6, 5.7].

In terms of significance its presentation to the Women in Sport Commission and the World Conference informed policy change amongst key members of the global policy network on Women and Sport in the Olympic Movement. In addition, as a consequence of the Loughborough Univerity research, Professor Henry has regularly been invited to address NOC, IF, and IOC staff on the MEMOS [Master Exécutif en Management des Organisations Sportives] staff development programme on measures to foster gender equity in governance and more specifically he has acted as advisor to studies by staff from NOCs in Poland, Israel and the Sudan in relation to enhancing electoral policies and practices in their national systems [5.7].

As regards issues in the governance of anti-doping, the period since 1999 has been one of dramatic change in the global and domestic anti-doping regimes. The most significant events at the global level were the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the ratification of the UNESCO Convention Against Doping in Sport. WADA (and the National Anti-Doping Organisations) and UNESCO are the foundations of the global anti-doping effort. The Loughborough University research has had an impact on the way in which education programmes are planned by WADA and by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency [5.3, 5.4]. The research has also impacted on the policy towards using legislation to underpin anti-doping policy.

In terms of reach the research of Houlihan and Garcia has provided WADA with evidence to support its policy of encouraging governments to introduce legislation specifically concerned with controlling trafficking in performance enhancing drugs [5.3]. The policy analysis instrument (Improving and proving: A handbook for the evaluation of anti-doping education programmes, available at http://www.wada-ama.org/Global/Houlihan_Final_Report.pdf ) developed by Houlihan has been promoted by WADA as a model for the planning and evaluation of anti-doping education programmes. It is used by some of WADA's staff [5.3] and has been adopted by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency `for the purpose of planning its work in the area of anti-doping education' [5.4, 5.5].

In many respects the evidence of significance of impact comes from the foundational role of both WADA and UNESCO in shaping global anti-doping policy. The adoption or endorsement by either of these two organisations of research is significant insofar as they, especially WADA, are the reference points for all National Anti-Doping Organisations and all international sports organisations when devising their own anti-doping policies and activities.

Sources to corroborate the impact

The following sources of corroboration can be made available at request:

5.1. Report of the Third IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, Marrakesh 2004 which cites adoption of recommendations
http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Conferences_Forums_and_Events/Women_and_Sport/rp-finalreport-ConferenceMarrakech-engl-2004-07-12.pdf

5.2. Report of Fifth IOC Conference on Women and Sport, Los Angeles 2012
http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Commissions_PDFfiles/women_and_sport/report_5th_conference_women_and_sport_EN.pdf

5.3. Senior Education Officer at WADA has confirmed that she uses the instrument (email correspondence).

5.4. A tool for the evaluation of anti-doping education programs: http://www.wada- ama.org/Global/Houlihan_Working_Sheet.pdf

5.5. Letter from CEO of the Japan Anti-Doping Agency

5.6. Letter from Director of Department of International Cooperation and Development, International Olympic Committee (regarding gender equity).

5.7. Letter from Head of NOC Management Programmes (regarding gender equity)