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The OSS will launch a first major research project into sport and disability in Scotland in 20 years when it partners up with Scottish Disability Sport and a wide range of stakeholders to investigate barriers to activity for more than 20% of the population currently registered with a disability. The one-year project will be sponsored by the Peter Harrison Foundation.

The OSS this year conducted a research review, led by Professor Richard Davison and Professor Gayle McPherson and the University of West of Scotland, which sought to understand the existing data and identify knowledge gaps. It will report in January, but already it has discovered significant knowledge gaps and inconsistencies across the definitions of disability and collation of data that are hampering efforts to reach people with physical, learning and sensory disabilities.

Welcoming the research, Scottish Disability Sport CEO Gavin MacLeod, said: “It is very difficult for organisations to properly understand and develop strategies to engage people with disabilities in more regular activity if we don’t have proper, up-to-date data.

“We have enjoyed working with the OSS in shaping this study and are looking forward to helping to drive it in 2021, to enable us to create much-needed consistency across the landscape that will help us as an organisation, our partners and all working in sport, and, most importantly, people with disabilities right across Scotland to become more active in a fun and enjoyable way.”

For more information, or to be part of the disability sport research, please contact David Ferguson: david@oss.scot.