Impact case study database

The appropriate dissemination and implementation of these sometimes sensitive research findings required serious ethical consideration. UK Sport, with Lew Hardy and Matt Barlow, ran a series of 10 workshops across the UK for Heads of Sport, Performance Directors, programme coaches, and pathway managers from the entire World Class Programme (42 sports [5.1]), to disseminate the findings. The reports from these workshops subsequently informed an Advisory Panel of high-performance sport experts who developed a wider implementation and dissemination strategy for UK Sport. In line with this strategy, the findings were presented, discussed, and revisited at three consecutive UK Sport World Class Performance Conferences (November 2013, 2014, and 2015), 10 pilot projects were run with individual National Governing Bodies and other special interest groups, and a series of 8 multi-media articles were developed for UK Sport’s confidential talent development website, ‘ Talent Matters’. It would be crass to suggest that this project was the source of Team GB’s unprecedented Rio Olympics success, but it is one of the reasons why the rest of the world generally regards UK Sport as the world leader for talent development in sport [5.1, 5.2]. In the words of the former Director of Performance at UK Sport, “the project contributed to UK Sport’s global reputation as the world leader in Olympic / Paralympic sport and talent development” [5.1].

The former Director of Performance at UK Sport states that the “GBM (Great British Medallists) findings have made a very significant contribution to the systemic development of the 42 elite Olympic and Paralympic performance / talent pathways that UK Sport, and also the 4 Home Nation Sports Councils support” [5.1]. Specifically, “the findings were a major contributing factor to the enhancement of UK Sport’s Pathway Health Check (annual quality management and continuous improvement process for the 42 funded sports’ pathways) and, sport / talent analytics and intelligence processes” [5.1]. As such, all athletes involved in UK Sport’s talent development programmes have benefitted from the findings and subsequent changes implemented by governing bodies.

The dissemination and implementation process also highlighted the importance of athlete mental health and well-being, and led to the appointment of Changing Minds (a company of clinical forensic psychologists specialising in working with young offenders) to help National Governing Bodies develop better ways of psychologically profiling, case conferencing, and developing the talent and mental well-being of their athletes. This work commenced at the start of 2014 and is funded to continue through the next Olympic Games.

The dissemination and implementation of the GBM findings also led most National Governing Bodies to change their data capture and profiling procedures to routinely and prospectively capture the most important demographic, practice, training, competition, and psychosocial data relating to their pathway athletes. These changes have had far-reaching consequences in terms of National Governing Bodies’ ability to intelligently interrogate their talent-related data, case conference their pathway athletes, and design more appropriate talent development programmes. Indeed, as part of their ten-year strategic plan between 2016 and 2026, UK Sport has trebled the size of its Sports Intelligence Department to help achieve this aim. This includes the investment, with the Economic and Social Research Council, of GBP235,000 to fund 3 Bangor University PhD research practitioners to conduct the four-year ‘ Pathway to Podium’ study of the UK Sport Performance Pathway (between 2017 and 2021). In the words of the current Head of Performance Pathways: “the findings have formed a key foundation from which the EIS and UK Sport have sought to orientate interventions and work with sports to evolve approaches to athlete development. In particular, to explore further questions emerging from GBM, we initiated the ambitious ‘Pathway to Podium’ research project with Bangor University, to seek to understand development as it happens” [5.2].

The former Director of Performance at UK Sport summarised the systemic changes in practice that occurred due to the project: “Sports’ leaders, coaches and scientists have learned to evolve daily training and coaching practice and annual competition planning to optimise talent development as a direct result of the GBM research findings. In addition, coach development programmes, psychological, personal development and wellbeing support for athletes in preparation for, and during major transitions (e.g., from junior to senior sport, retirement, etc.) have also evolved and improved as a consequence of the research findings” [5.1].

The GBM project also led to further significant and wider impact as attested by the former Director of Performance at UK Sport, “Professional sport in Britain has also recognised the significance of the GBM research findings with sports such as Cricket, Football and Rugby seeking to conduct similar studies with past and present elite players in their teams” [5.1]. Indeed, sport-specific versions of this research and implementation work have been completed by 4 Bangor University PhD and postdoctoral research practitioners for England and Wales Cricket Board (awarded in 2013, 2014, 2019; total funding GBP236,993), Rugby Football Union (awarded in 2015; GBP106,235), and British Triathlon (awarded in 2016; GBP30,000).

As further recognition of the impact realised from the research, the project was one of five shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Supplement’s Research Project of the Year Award in 2016 [5.3], and it has been the subject of literature with significant worldwide reach [5.4 – 5.6].

In summary, the GBM project “made a significant impact upon leaders’, coaches’ and sports scientists’ understanding of what talent is, and how it develops” [5.1]. Moving forward, “GBM’s finding will serve a valuable compass as we navigate what may be challenging waters ahead” [5.2].