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INVESTMENT THEMES
Health
East Head Impact grants approved to date total £695,000
VIEW GRANT RECIPIENTS
WHAT OUR PARTNER SAYS
"East Head Impact's commitment to our work, and in particular to our research on sports injury experienced by young people going through the adolescent growth spurt, helps us to plan ahead and capitalise on our findings in this growing area of research, leading to better science, better knowledge and creating change for young people, wherever they play sport.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Marc Boughton and his team for working with us to create impact in the historically overlooked area of youth and grassroots sports injury. We feel that, alongside East Head Impact, there is a real opportunity to make a difference."
GRANTS IN HEALTH - 2022-24
Podium Analytics
Podium Analytics is a registered charity with a vision to create a world with more sport and less injury. Founded by Sir Ron Dennis CBE, its mission is to significantly reduce the incidence and impact of sports injury, with a focus on youth (11-24-year-olds) and grassroots sport.
Podium was founded with the belief that, to see the full benefit of sports participation, more needs to be done to address the issue of youth and grassroots sports injury, which is an under-researched, under-resourced and often overlooked issue, despite being where the vast majority of sport is played.
*Registered Charity Number: 1183716 (England and Wales) and SC051893 (Scotland)
GRANTS IN HEALTH - 2022 - 2024
Charity Overview
Podium believes that minimising the likelihood and the impact of sports injury in grassroots sport, and in particular in the crucial youth years of 11-24, will have a hugely positive effect on participation in sport and on the health and wellbeing of participants over a lifetime, and of young people as they grow. This will protect their ability to participate in the sports and activities that they love for years to come but also will create a positive knock-on effect on all aspects of their lives.
Podium’s approach is science-led and data-driven. Its objectives are to:
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Develop the world’s best insight and intelligence into youth and grassroots sports injury, prevention and management.
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Build a leading-edge digital platform to enable Podium’s activities and create solutions.
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Identify opportunities for the development of new and improved standards to enhance sports safety and minimise the incidence and impact of injury by improving the overall quality, effectiveness, availability and adoption of products, training, and education.
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Build strong collaborations and partnerships in order to enable systemic change.
Podium’s programme has two core elements:
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The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford provides world-leading academic research, developing the best insight into the cause and effect of sports injury and developing technologies to monitor, analyse and ultimately prevent injury in sport.
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The SportSmart programme delivers (free of charge to UK schools and clubs) projects and services which both collect data from the world of sport (using digital App technology) and translates real-world data and academic research into applicable solutions for the school and grassroots club environment.
The work of Podium is at an early stage. It has set itself multiple impact ambition targets in order to measure whether it succeeds in creating a safer world of sport.
Broadly, these targets cover: sports, education and health stakeholders change sport policy and governance to improve safety in sport; the incidence and impact of priority injuries in youth and grassroots sport are reduced; the overall quality, effectiveness and adoption of training and education in sport health is improved; sports safety is enhanced through new and improved standards in sports safety equipment and apparel, improving the overall quality, effectiveness, availability and adoption of products; and a sustainable, long-term model for the delivery of youth and grassroots injury prevention is achieved.
Data collection involves a targeted roll-out of the SportSmart programme to schools and clubs in the UK and Podium has also entered into collaboration agreements with Sports Governing Bodies, clubs and Leagues, including England Athletics, England Rugby, The Lawn Tennis Association, The Royal Ballet School, Gloucester Rugby and England Hockey.
The purpose of East Head Impact’s 2022 grant was to assist in the funding of Podium’s overall research programme.
For insights, educational content and features about the key topics in youth sport health, visit Podium's SportSmart Hub
GRANTS IN HEALTH - 2024
The 2024 grant
The purpose of East Head Impact’s second grant to Podium, awarded in early 2024, is to fund a three-year research and development programme designed to reduce sports injury sustained during the adolescent growth spurt.
The growth spurt is a stage of development associated with rapid increases in height and weight, and marked by changes in body composition, physique, and functional capacity. All healthy children are susceptible to overuse injuries during this development stage.
The objectives of Podium’s Growth Spurt Programme are to:
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Accelerate knowledge of young people, teachers, coaches and parents about the growth spurt and its effective management.
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Reduce the uncertainty of the impact of the growth spurt in the context of sport for young people, teachers, coaches and parents.
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Implement preventative measures to reduce the incidence and impact of growth spurt-related sports injury, both physical and mental.
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Establish the foundations for a female growth spurt programme, addressing the key factors which affect girls disproportionately.
Podium is working with its Growth Spurt Programme research partner, the University of Bath, in order to achieve these objectives.
GRANTS IN HEALTH - 2022-23
Grant Impact
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