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In 2005 London secured the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games following a promise the Games would "inspire a new generation to choose sport". This promise was made without any knowledge of the evidence about whether or how this could be achieved.
Research since 2006 in the Centre for Sport, Physical Education & Activity Research (SPEAR) has provided evidence for the processes that might be harnessed to use the London 2012 Games to encourage physical activity and sport participation, and identified the groups among whom such processes can be effective. Chronologically, the impact of this evidence has been to: (a) introduce new evidence-based concepts to policy-makers and the public (2007-2009); (b) inform national government policies and programmes (2009-2011); (c) inform regional and local plans, programmes and activities (2010-2012); (d) hold government policy to account and inform international debate (2010-2013). In addition, for end users (b) and (c) have impacted upon sport and physical activity behaviours, whilst (a) and (d) have stimulated debate, in the UK and internationally, about the possibility of using major events to generate physical activity and sport participation outcomes.
As a consequence of research carried out at the University of Stirling, as set out in this case study, enhancement of the capacity of National Sport Associations has been achieved:
Sports Integrity is focused on supporting the development of infrastructure by governments, sports bodies, betting operators and law enforcers, internationally, for identifying and addressing vulnerability to corruption in professional sport, demonstrating the following impact:
The Birkbeck Sport Business Centre has been involved in research examining governance within the sport industry since 1999. Findings from research into the football industry have contributed to policy debate through parliamentary enquiries while research on the broader sports sector has been used by the Sport and Recreation Alliance to improve governance practices across national governing bodies of sport (NGBs). In particular, the research informed the development of the Voluntary Code of Good Governance for the Sport and Recreation Sector, a best practice guide that has been adopted by more than 60 National Governing Bodies of Sport in the UK.
Research by Dr Sakis Pappous on the legacy of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games in Greece has challenged conventional wisdom that sporting mega-events automatically lead to health benefits for the host population via a supposed increase in grassroots participation in sports and physical activity. These findings were reviewed by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and mainstream British media (e.g., BBC and The Guardian) to stimulate and inform public debate on the health legacy of London 2012. Pappous's research has also informed the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the House of Commons and the House of Lords about the difficulty in achieving sustained sports participation after the Olympic Games.
Internationally, Pappous's research has informed debate in the US media (USA Today) and among sport managers and policy makers in Africa, South America and Europe. International policy makers informed and influenced by Pappous's findings include the Nigerian Minister of Sports and the Vice Director of the Colombian Department for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure (COLDEPORTES). As a direct consequence of Pappous's findings, they now acknowledge that a broader strategy promoting an active lifestyle must be implemented if any sporting excitement caused by a mega-event is to sustain sports participation.
Brackenridge's research on sexual abuse and prevention has informed a range of practice communities including: law, psychiatry, sport psychology, medicine, the arts, sports development and social work. It has effected change in policy, practice and regulation at local, national and international levels, including: advocacy (e.g. for the FA); professional development (e.g. for the IOC, FINA and FIFA); committee and expert advice (e.g. for the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers Research Committee, the Dame Janet Smith enquiry into abuse by Jimmy Savile at the BBC, and the NSPCC's Child Protection in Sport Unit). At the international level, this work has prompted reform in the management of welfare services in the Olympic movement and in UNICEF's network of sport for development programmes. This impact was recognised through the award of an OBE in 2012.
The staging of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London brought the practices and history of sport to the forefront of the public imagination. Dr O'Mahony's research into the visual culture of sport and the Olympic movement has underpinned a number of public events, collaborations with sport museums and schools, and the launch of interactive, public facing projects, such as the `My Games' image blog. These activities have enabled diverse audiences to explore and engage with the visual history of sport, to deepen their awareness of the impact of visually mediated representations of sport, and also to contribute to the expanding visual legacy of the London 2012 Games.
In the last decade, sport has earned unprecedented recognition in international policy circles as a tool to support international development. Nonetheless, many have challenged this `new social movement' (Kidd, 2008), concerned by its uncritical application of Global North models of sport to Global South contexts. Addressing these concerns, Brunel researchers and collaborators have drawn on the field of international development studies to investigate how principles of local ownership and partnership can be applied to sport. Since 2010, empirical studies and critical conceptual analyses have contributed to this. Specifically through building organisational capacity at local level, supporting partnership between funders and recipient organisations, and developing national as well as international policy guidance to ensure community level experiences and perspectives are represented in sport for development policy and strategies.
We improve Public Health and facilitate personal growth through promoting active lifestyles. We have provided an evidence-base of effective intervention approaches across settings, in `hard-to-engage' populations and through distinctive planning and delivery approaches. Our support for practitioners and commissioners has developed (i) ways to show the effectiveness of interventions to increase activity and (ii) programmes that achieve wider developmental aims. These effects are achieved by deploying innovative, often bespoke, realistic impact measures that improve programme effectiveness in locations, venues and groups where other groups do not go.
Comprehensive recommendations from research into barriers to participation in golf were adopted by a National Governing Body (NGB) of sport, England Golf, to inform their Whole Sport Plan (2013-17). In particular, the research focused on England Golf's GolfMark scheme: the national initiative used to widen participation. Substantial changes to the GolfMark scheme were made based upon the findings of the research. For example, the awareness that the barriers to engaging in GolfMark included a club's perceived inability to change and individuals' lack of knowledge, led to the development of an online signposting and resource system to guide and support clubs in achieving GolfMark status. The intended consequent outcome of increasing and widening participation in golf also contributes to many of the objectives of Sport England, the government body providing funding underpinning the existence of England Golf.