The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is thrilled to announce an exciting opportunity for a co-funded position(s): Postdoctoral Senior/Research Fellow(s) in Sport Participation. This role will support the delivery of Australia’s national participation strategy, Play Well, which unites government and the sport system under one clear vision: ensuring everyone has a place in sport.

The establishment of the Play Well Research Unit aims to build a robust evidence base that supports the vision and strategic objectives of Play Well. The Unit will operate at the critical intersection of research, policy, and delivery, generating and translating best-practice evidence to ensure Australia’s sport system thrives.

To achieve this, the Play Well Research Unit seeks a strategic and innovative academic partnership to address key research gaps in national sport participation. The partnership will deliver high-quality research and accelerate the translation of evidence into decision-making and practice within government and the sport system.

We urge applicants to co contribute funding to the research position from the university which could alter the number of research appointments made.

Background

Sport participation throughout life enriches the lives of all Australians and their communities. The benefits of participating in sport are well known; Positive improvements shown in an individual’s physical and mental health, community social connection and cohesion whilst also boosting national productivity and economy. Despite these known benefits, participation remains unequal, with many Australian communities facing barriers to experience sport. Participation rates have been shown to be lower in adolescents, women and girls, first nations, people with disability, low socio-economic and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

The release of Play Well, Australia’s National Participation strategy, sets a clear vision to ensure everyone has a place in sport, by creating safe, welcoming, inclusive and fun sporting experiences. The establishment of the Play Well research unit will increase research capacity in community sport research. The unit will answer cutting-edge problems facing community sport. It will unite sport participation academic community and will accelerate the translation of research throughout government and sport system.

Position Overview

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Senior/Research Fellow(s) to co-lead the implementation of the Play Well Research Unit, dedicated to increasing national sport participation, ensuring that everyone has a place in sport. This position is integral to strengthening sport participation opportunities for all, while enhancing the capacity and capability of the sport system to conduct and translate research into policy, strategic thinking and program delivery. Achieving this, will position Australia as a world leader in community sport participation research and impact.

The successful candidate(s) will work closely with the Australian Sport Commission, to support a portfolio of high-quality research, fostering a national community of academics specialising in community sport participation whilst creating a positive reciprocal learning environment across government, sport and academia. To achieve this the Postdoctoral Senior/Research Fellow will co-ordinate research focused in the following areas:

1. System approach to increasing participation

   Increasing participation throughout life for everyone remains a priority for the Australian sport system. Participation rates have been shown to be lower in adolescents, women and girls, first nations, people with disability, low socio economic and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. It is important to understand the system’s factors influencing participation and support the systematic factors to deliver effective interventions that increase participation and reduce inequalities.

   People also choose to engage in sport in various ways throughout life. Greater understanding into how people engage in sport is required and the quality of their experience measured. Through Play Well, participation in sport includes active participation, volunteers, coaches and officials.

   Exploration into how participant journeys throughout sport could be measured to increase understanding of drop out, retention and trends would be welcomed. Consideration on how to measure the creation of sporting environments that are positive, safe and inclusive is encouraged. The development of a validated measurement tool for the experience of sport that can be implemented and scaled nationally is a priority.

2. Value of Sport

   Sport is widely perceived to improve the lives of individuals and communities generating an economic and social benefit. Increasingly, there is demand to demonstrate the effectiveness of investment into sport. Numerous reports and methodologies have been conducted in Australia to quantify the value of sport, yet a lack of consensus on outcomes and variations in data collection and quality have made a robust outcome challenging. This area of research will undertake an evidence-based approach to measuring the Social Value of Sport, identifying optimal data sources and surveillance systems for measurement with robust stakeholder consultation throughout. Consideration must be given to strengthening data and evidence on sport and social connection and wellbeing, and underrepresented groups including children and young people, first nations and people with disability.

3. Children, Youth and School environments

   The positive benefits of sport in schools are widely accepted but not understood and appreciated through evidence. There is little evidence on the ways that students are being active during the school day, how often they are being active and if sport is improving academic performance and school attendance. To support us to advocate for sport in schools, we also need to understand from a student’s voice, what their current experience is and what may need to change for them to participate more.  There is also an increasing interest in understanding the use of school facilities for community use. To develop policy in this space, research needs to be undertaken to understand the current use of school facilities.

Key Responsibilities:

The role is pivotal in supervising doctoral and postdoctoral research students to achieve academic outcomes while embedding real-world industry experience into their research. Additionally, the position will focus on building research capability across the sport system by fostering collaboration and partnerships, ultimately enhancing delivery and decision-making within the sector.

Key responsibilities include:

• Develop and lead successful participation research programs aligned to Play Well and the National Sport Research Agenda (NSRA).
• Provide academic leadership and a supportive environment for early career academics whose areas of expertise align to Play Well and the ASC.
• Supervise postgraduate students for research priorities identified in Play Well, offering placement opportunities in the ASC and sport system for real world experience.
• In collaboration with the Director Sport Program ASC, establish a vibrant community of participation focused researchers who can support the implementation of research identified though the Play Well national strategy and provide strategic advice to meet the ad-hoc needs of government, community, and community sport partners.
• Manage staff, projects and budget as required and agreed by the University and ASC leaders.
• Seek out research grant opportunities and help coordinate major grant applications that support Play Well research priorities.

Key Attributes

• Extensive leadership experience in Sport Participation, Management and/or similar disciplines.
• High level technical skills in assessing the quality of research.
• Extensive track record of leading teams and working harmoniously in a range of organisations.
• Support from university employer to engage with ASC in a co-funded position.
• Knowledge of working within government and sport systems.
• Experience of being involved in the research grant application process.
• The successful applicant will also demonstrate personal attributes that are congruent with the ASC values Integrity, Respect, Excellence and Teamwork.

Term and Funding

The term of the agreement will be from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2028. The ASC will contribute an annual amount as a co-contribution to the successful applicant’s University towards the position. The successful candidate will be physically present at ASC offices at Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra as negotiated on appointment.

Applications close at 5:00 PM Friday 7 March 2025

Potential respondents should be aware that they will need to submit the following form in order to view the application steps and contact information. Submitting this form alone will not be considered a complete application. Please await the automatic reply email for further information.