How Research Can Drive Meaningful Change in Sport

Professor Dan Kilvington will be delivering his inaugural professorial lecture and will speak about five essential principles to create impact with research.

At the heart of Professor Kilvington’s research is a drive to better understand inequality in sport and online spaces, and to use evidence to help create fairer, more inclusive environments.

During his inaugural on Wednesday 11 February, he will reflect on several research projects that represent some of his proudest academic achievements. These include delivering a TEDx talk, The Virtual Stages of Hate, and leading or contributing to major projects focused on tackling online hate in football, promoting anti-racist coaching practice, and increasing diversity in refereeing and match officiating in English football. Together, these projects demonstrate how his research has translated into practical action and meaningful change across the sport sector.

Liam Anderson, Premier League Coaching Insights Manager, said: “Dan’s support and expertise in the creation of our Anti-Racist Coaching Workshop has provided us a platform to increase the awareness of inclusive coaching practice across the entire professional academy environment in football and has laid the groundwork for our ambition to ensure that all academies are supported in their adoption of a proactive inclusive approach that is effective and sustainable.”

Alexis Simms, EDI Development Partner for Lawn Tennis Association, said: “Dan’s work is helping to reshape how inclusion and impact are understood. His research amplifies voices that are too often unheard and is directly influencing practice, policy, and wider understanding of the lived experiences of ethnically diverse participants and coaches.”

Tahir Khan, Development Manager for Yorkshire Sport Foundation said he owes a lot to Dan: “I first met Dan at a workshop he was running about the lack of diversity around coaches in professional football, specifically around ethnicity. I turned up and I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d been trying to get into the sector – I was smashing my head against the wall trying to have an opportunity to work in football or work in sport and there was nothing anywhere. On that night I made some really good connections, and Dan spent a lot of time with me, helped me immensely, followed that up with some emails, made some connections and then from that it just snowballed. I got into football and from there I’ve progressed to where I am now at York Sport Foundation. I always tell Dan that he’s made the biggest impact on my career – genuinely without Dan I wouldn’t be where I am today.”  

As an action researcher, Dan has always attempted to use his research to develop outputs which lead to real-world impact. Impact has been secured through, for example, developing policies through evidence, changing attitudes and behaviours through newly developed educational resources, and using data to inform protection and support mechanisms for those affected by abuse.

Along this journey, he has learnt many lessons and for the first time he will share five essential principles which help turn evidence into impact.

Daniel Kilvington is a Professor in Media and Culture in the School of Humanities and Social Science at Leeds Beckett University. His teaching and research focus on race/ethnicity, racism, anti-racism and anti-discrimination more broadly in sport and new media contexts.

This lecture is part of Leeds Beckett University's inaugural professorial lecture series.