How often does high-quality research make its way into policy? More rarely than we like to think. For this reason, researchers and policymakers around the world have frequently described a research-policy gap. An example is […]
Tag: Policy
A content map analysis of the national policy landscape in physical education, physical activity and youth sport in Ireland
This study advances policy research by providing a systematic, organisation-focused mapping of the Irish physical education, physical activity and youth sport policy landscape. It identifies the key policymaking bodies responsible for developing, co-ordinating and implementing policy, and […]
From Nerves to Networking: Presenting my PhD Work on the International Stage – Mairéad Grogan.
Attending my first international conference was one of the most rewarding milestones of my PhD journey so far. In early September 2025, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Kaunas, Lithuania, to take part […]
From Research to Practice: My Secondment at Sport Ireland – Dr sven Messing.
As part of my Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship PLATO, I recently completed a secondment at Sport Ireland, the national agency responsible for the development of sport. This experience was enriching both professionally and personally and was […]
What Policies Do Local Governments Use to Promote Physical Activity? – DR Sven Messing
We conducted a comparative analysis of municipalities from 4 EU countries and Japan, focusing on the policies local governments use to promote physical activity (PA): Jyväskylä (Finland), Nice (France), Erlangen (Germany), Fujisawa (Japan), and Cluj-Napoca […]
Understanding the development of physical education professionals’ policy capacity
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and others have emphasized the need for all physical education (PE) professionals to prioritize attention to, and action on, PE policy to improve quality provision. Yet, […]
Publication: Effectiveness of Physical Activity Policies in Early Childhood Education and Care
Research Impact: Dr Sven Messing and Dr Kevin Volf were involved in conducting a systematic review to analyse the effectiveness of public policies promoting physical activity (PA) in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) […]
Publication: Enacting a new curriculum: Chile’s social uprising and the reshaping of physical education
Research Impact: This paper explores the interplay between societal changes and educational policy through the lens of Chile’s post-social uprising physical education (PE) curriculum reform. Using a 14-month mini-ethnographic study, it examines educators’ experiences in […]
The PEP-4-QPE in Action: My Research Residency at the University of Lorraine – dr jenna lorusso.
What is policy and why does it matter? These were the two central questions that myself and third year undergraduate physical education students at the University of Lorraine considered together during my research residency there […]
ISPAH 2024 conference diary – dr kevin volf and dr sven messing.
Monday, 28th of October Pre-conference workshops. At our workshop, presentations on our project book-end interactive sessions designed to familiarise participants with the policy tool we have developed (the Physical Activity Environment Policy Index, PA-EPI). The […]
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