Exploring the effectiveness of anti-doping interventions

This innovative, WADA-funded three-years research project aims to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of anti-doping education interventions in sport. The project will run across four different countries, Austria, Russia, South Africa and the UK and will focus on the individual, organisational and societal contexts of the education programmes run in each country.

The project will aim to deliver five outputs:

• a review of the available academic literature;

• a study of anti-doping interventions investigating the relationship between programme theories, mechanisms and outcomes. This new knowledge will significantly enhance the understanding of the nature of anti-doping interventions and their practical effectiveness;

• a user-friendly anti-doping evaluation tool in multiple languages;

• an original book on anti-doping interventions mapping and evaluation that will inform research in the field and be used around the world.

• a stakeholder engagement international conference including various academic and sport organisational participants that will provide a forum for knowledge sharing, dissemination, and policy and practice development.

Participate in our research survey

As part of this research project, we are interested in further understanding the anti-doping experiences, perceptions and insights of athletes. We will be collecting data through an online survey. Further information about this survey and the link to participate will be included shortly.

Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project

Dr Vassil Girginov - Dr Vassil Girginov is Professor in Sport Management/Development. Previously he has worked as advisor to the Chairman of the Bulgarian Sports Union, on the Sofia bids for the Winter Olympic Games and in higher education institutions in Bulgaria and Canada. He has been researching the sports development legacy of the 2012 London Olympic Games and the relationship between the culture of national sports governing bodies and participation in sport. Vassil is the editor of the two volume collection on the London 2012 Games published by Routledge, and is also an Executive Editor of the 2012 Routledge Special Olympic Journals Issue that involves some 40 journals from a range of academic disciplines. Vassil’s current research projects include: ‘Creation and transfer of knowledge within the Sochi Organizing Committee of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games’ (supported by the Russian International Olympic University), and ‘UK National Governing Bodies of sport leveraging of the London Olympics for capacity building’. His research interests, publications and industry experience are in the field of Olympic movement, sport development, comparative management and policy analysis. His most recent books include Sport Management Cultures (Routledge, 2011), The Olympics: A Critical Reader (Routledge, 2010), Management of Sports Development, (Elsevier, 2008), The Olympic Games Explained (Routledge, 2005, the book has been translated in 5 languages) and Handbook of the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games (Vol. 1 & 2 - 2012-3). Dr Girginov is Visiting Professor at the Russian International Olympic University,  the University of Johannesburg and the KU Leuven. Professor Girginov is the President of the European Association for Sport Management.

Project last modified 09/07/2021