Innovation in Sport - How does Ireland compare?

In sport, no matter the size, the effectiveness of the organisation is primarily measured by the weight of the trophy cabinet. After all, competition is the ultimate decider.

Winning requires more than talent and training. It's the culmination of the process of finding tiny and incremental gains over the competition.

And so, the organisation invests more and more towards achieving this success. But this is a binary measure: all or nothing, which for many organisations means nothing: in success and in learning.

What if we change the language a little. The tiny gains are the product of Innovation: an improvement in materials; an investment in coach education; technology to manage long-term development. Or maybe it's about converting operational efficiency into more resources for athlete development. Or it's about fan engagement. Or inviting people to try your sport for the first time.

These small gains are core to every sports organisation, from National Governing Bodies through to the local sports club. Innovation creates impact, for all.

How do we measure innovation?

This is the why behind the Sport Innovation Index: to provide sports organisations with a validated questionnaire to assess organisational readiness across all processes, creating a living framework to measure for today, to compare against peers and to validate change through repeat measurement.

We invite you to join us for the presentation on the results and findings from this 2-year project, followed by an open discussion on innovation.

🗓️ Friday, 21st November 2025
🕒 15:00 - 16:00 Irish Time
📍 Online (Zoom)
🔗 Register online at https://forms.gle/9KASmsA7CF4eEsSU9

We look forward to seeing you there.

About this project

The Sport Innovation Project (SII) was created in response to the observation that sport in Europe is transforming rapidly through digitalisation, emerging technologies, and evolving social challenges. Yet many sport organisations lack the necessary tools to assess and understand their innovation capabilities.

Furthermore, without proper measurement frameworks, organisations struggle to identify strengths, benchmark performance, and develop strategic innovation pathways.

The project started in November 2023 and concludes in December 2025, was co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme and undertaken by 11 project partners from 9 member states:

• European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI), Belgium
• University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Mulier Instituut, Netherlands
• Cluster Sports and Technology, Netherlands
• Surpass Sport Systems Ltd., Ireland
• Sport Açores, Portugal
• 4iVLC, Spain
• LINKS Foundation, Italy
• VSSÖ, Austria
• Verde Klaster, Poland
• Olympiacos SFP, Greece

The project website is available on https://sportinnovationindex.eu.