New report calls for fresh sport policy direction in Scotland to improve health

Full report

People with disabilities being penalised for seeking to be more active

OSS calls for action to follow largest ever study of disability in sport in Scotland

Full story

How to make public sport and leisure sustainable

Sport England report analysed

Comment

Scottish leisure trusts in crisis mode

Sport facility closures dominate planning for 2023-24

Full report

MSPs back OSS calls for national sport strategy

Parliamentary committee calls on government to make sport activity more accessible to improve health

Full story

OSS aims to inform, connect and challenge

New projects for 2022 turn spotlight on mental wellbeing, town centre regeneration, connecting older people and sport's value to Covid recovery

What is the OSS?

How has Covid impacted children's activity?

OSS with Data for Children Collaborative and UNICEF investigate

Full story

How sport is supporting people with Parkinson's

Drumchapel Table Tennis Club at forefront of using sport as tool to tackle health issues

Full story

Are children being priced out of sport?

Scotland striker sparks BBC debate on rising cost of sport participation

BBC discussion

Women in Leadership in Scottish Sport

Progress analysed and key barriers identified

New research

Mental health: Kathleen shares anxiety strategies with SSS players

OSS Ambassador drops in on Dundee charity

Full story

Gemma powers into UK's top 100

OSS and UWS Master student recognised as influential leader

Full story

Covid impact greatest on children and young people

Sport England report reveals 12.5m people inactive, and fears for future

Full story

Teenage girls keen to return to activity post-Covid

Women in Sport research reveals fears of loss of ability and big groups

Hear from the girls

Minister calls on health and sport to step out of silos and join forces in Covid recovery

Event turns spotlight on health, sport and leisure's ability to solve health problems

Event report

Scots' activity levels fall during pandemic

Sport and exercise seen as key to mental health and Covid recovery

Full story

School sport aids self-regulation and attainment

New study links school activity to behaviour and academic performance

Full story

New vision needed for community sport provision

Report reveals more than 100 community sport facilities face permanent closure and over 900 are on hold

Full story

'Let's create something unique to Scotland'

Shelley Kerr and Gregor Townsend see community sport as key to recovery

Full story

'Focus on the children' - Sir Kenny on changing the trend of sporting decline

Sir Kenny Dalglish joins guests from sport, business and politics at first London breakfast

Watch interview

Latest News & Comment

Comment

Thought Piece from Charlie Raeburn for Reform Scotland

Our Founder and Board member Charlie Raeburn has contributed a piece to the Devolving Scotland forum. He writes: "Too often these days Sport is thought…

OSS News

People with disabilities being penalised for being active

New research has revealed that many people in Scotland with a wide range of disabilities are threatened with having their benefits cut if they become…

OSS News

OSS thanks departing Chief Executive and Research Manager

The Observatory for Sport in Scotland (OSS) has paid tribute to its CEO David Ferguson and Research Manager Ryan Brown, who stepped down this month.…

OSS News

‘Over 90% of community sports clubs fear for their future’ – Sported research

New research from Sported, one of the UK's largest charities supporting grassroots and community sport, suggests that virtually all clubs and groups are fearing for…

See All News & Comment

Events

Come along to any of the OSS hosted events throughout Scotland.

MAPPING SCOTLAND'S SPORT RESEARCH

OSS University Forum

June 2019 (date & venue TBC)

More Info

Independent Support To The Community Sports Sector

Think events and publications

OSS hosts events and publishes papers from sports academics on subjects ranging from sport and social inequality, sports for the future, quantifying the benefits of sports participation and gender diversity in sport and how this impacts governance, infrastructures, practices and participation in Scotland.

Policy and Practice recommendations

OSS focuses research on areas of importance for Scottish sports policy and engages stakeholders across sport and business to support policy and practice recommendations.

Knowledge Exchange and Forums

OSS has academic, stakeholder, business leader and local community forums. Our knowledge exchange is about sharing new thinking and bringing people across the sports sector together to hear and exchange evidence, analysis and ideas that are key for informing best policy and practice developments.

Evidence and analysis

OSS is independent of any political party and raises funds as a charity to enable objectivity in the evidence and analysis that it commissions and collates.

International Benchmarking

OSS is inspired by and gets support from partner organisations the Mulier Institute in the Netherlands and the Danish Institute of Sports Studies (IDAN). Both provide objective, independent, evidence and analysis to their sports sector to ensure policy making is informed and effective.

Research

OSS conducts research into sports participation in Scotland and areas of interest for the sector and shares this with stakeholders in order to advance evidence-led decision making and effectiveness in sports policy and practice.