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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.
With its origins in work commencing in 2004, research within the Centre for Sport, Physical Education & Activity Research (SPEAR) since 2010 has helped guide and inform national interventions and policy to increase physical activity and sport participation among less active young people by identifying the processes most successful in increasing such participation. Specifically, the work has: (a) provided a rationale for government (Department of Health) and commercial (LloydsTSB) investment in school sport initiatives targeting the least active; (b) contributed to the wider evidence-base used by policy makers; (c) contributed to programme improvements in Change4Life School Sport Clubs and National School Sport Weeks (NSSW); (d) impacted on young people's engagement and physical activity levels.
Research related to the economic and social impact of major events and festivals conducted by the Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) has provided a catalyst for the logical evaluation of hosting events. SIRC staff have provided national level research leadership culminating in the launch of an event evaluation framework (www.eventIMPACTS.com) in 2010, which is widely viewed as representing the `gold standard' by which the impacts of events and festivals are evaluated. The website has helped public and private organisations to assess and forecast the value of events, thus justifying public investment in events as well as benefiting their planning of events.
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.
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.
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.
Research undertaken by Hughson has impacted on the decision-making of two museums, principally the National Football Museum (NFM) in England and the National Sports Museum (NSM) in Australia. In the NFM, research has informed the acquisition and display of items for the permanent collection and temporary exhibition, led to an appointment as historical advisor to the selection committee of the National Football Hall of Fame, and has also supported the NFM's successful bid for `Designation' status with the Arts Council. With regard to the NSM the research has informed the public education dimension of a major exhibition on Olympic posters.
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.
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:
Since 2000 we have conducted research and evaluations into sport and physical activity provision for people with severe and enduring mental health problems. Findings have impacted practitioners and professional services leading to improved management, provision and delivery of physical activity and sport groups for users of mental health services in Bristol. As a result of improved practice, a further impact has been on the health, welfare and social inclusion of people with mental health problems through increased participation rates in physical activity and sport.