Creating an evidence-base for our work and sector

We want to work with researchers to build evidence that drives real change.

While we have a lot of great data on what’s happening in sport and physical activity, we often know less about why and about what works to help reduce inequalities in sport and physical activity.

That’s where our new Areas of Research Interest (ARI) come in.

They’re now live, and we’d love you to take a look and share your thoughts and any research evidence you have with us.

Why we’ve created the ARIs

In order to help us build our evidence-base, we’ve pulled together the key research questions we think need answering to help tackle inequalities in sport and physical activity.

They cover everything from how people think and feel about being active, to how we build more inclusive systems or how climate change is already reshaping sport and activity in people’s lives.

We’ve launched them to help steer research efforts and collaboration towards the areas where new evidence could make the biggest difference, not just to policy and strategy, but to people’s lives.

Why we’re looking for collaborators

We want to make an open invite to anyone in the research community, so if you’re working on any of the above topics – or want to – we want to hear from you.

Our goal is to build a growing network of people and organisations interested in these areas.
 

We want to create a space where researchers, practitioners and policymakers can come together to better understand what works, for whom and in what context.

We’re especially keen to hear from people looking at under-researched groups, where the evidence-base is often thinner – like older adults with a disability or long-term health condition, or girls from lower affluence families, to name but just a couple.

What you’ll find in the ARIs

There are currently 20 ARIs, which are grouped into four themes:

• How people think, feel and behave in relation to sport and physical activity.
• What influences those thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
• The people and organisations that make sport and activity possible.
• The value of sport and physical activity to individuals and society.

We’ve also included Sport England’s definition of under-represented groups – shaped by our Inequalities Metric, which identifies who is least likely to be active.

But it's key to highlight that this isn’t a one-off publication.

Our ARIs will evolve through continued engagement, collaboration and learning with partners as new evidence emerges and priorities change.

How the ARIs can help you

If you're an academic, practitioner or policymaker, the ARIs can help you:

• align your research with real-world priorities
• identify gaps in the existing evidence
• connect with others working in similar areas
• strengthen funding bids (we can offer letters of support)
• share your insight and help shape future decisions.

Ready to explore the ARIs?

Visit our ARIs page to explore the full list of topics, download version 1.0, and access our contact form to sign up to the network and share your ideas, research or feedback. We’d love to hear from you.

To end this piece, I have to say that I’m proud that Sport England is one of the first arm's-length bodies to publish ARIs alongside government departments.

This reflects the scale of the challenge – and the importance of building stronger, more inclusive evidence to meet it.