A new proposed national alliance, SEITA Scotland (The Sports Enabled Innovation & Technology Alliance) has launched its consultation and design phase to explore how Scotland can become a global leader in sports and sports-enabled innovation.
Initially supported by funding from the Scottish Funding Council, SEITA is being co-sponsored by Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Stirling.
The project will bring together founders, athletes, researchers, clubs, governing bodies, investors, manufacturers, health innovators, public bodies and community organisations to shape a practical national alliance that connects Scotland’s sports, and sports-enabled, innovation assets.
The initiative is being led by Professor Susan Brown, PhD, Head of Sport Engagement at Edinburgh Napier University; Professor (Hons) Ross Tuffee, Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Stirling Business School; and Dr Dylan Powell, PhD, from the Faculty of Health Sciences & Sport at the University of Stirling.
SEITA’s stated purpose is to connect Changemakers to Playmakers:
- Changemakers are the people and organisations trying to solve problems, build ventures, test ideas and prototypes, create evidence, unlock investment or improve lives through sport.
- Playmakers are the people, facilities, partners and organisations that help them move faster - providing access, expertise, funding, testing environments, credibility, research, manufacturing capability or routes to market.
Initial areas being explored include:
- Data & AI Sovereignty - how sport can act as a proving ground for trusted data set development, ethical AI, athlete data ownership and high-integrity validation.
- Wellness & Sustainability - how sport, and learning from sport, can support prevention, rehabilitation, wellbeing, social value, healthier communities and sustainable impact.
- Engineering & Manufacturing for Extremes - how Scotland’s environments, industrial expertise and applied research capability can support products and technologies designed for demanding conditions.
Professor Susan Brown, PhD, Head of Sport Engagement, Edinburgh Napier University, said: “Scotland has outstanding capability across sport, health, research, innovation and community impact.
“What we need now is a clearer way to connect those strengths so that ideas can move more effectively from insight to evidence, from evidence to implementation, and from implementation to impact.
“SEITA is an opportunity to explore how sport can become a more deliberate catalyst for innovation in Scotland.
“This is not only about elite performance or technology for sport. It is about how sport can help us address wider challenges in health, wellbeing, inclusion, sustainability and social value.
“The consultation phase is critical. We want to hear from the people who understand the opportunities, the barriers and the practical realities. SEITA must be shaped with the people it is intended to serve.”
Professor (Hons) Ross Tuffee, Entrepreneur in Residence at University of Stirling, said: “Scotland has all the ingredients needed to build something genuinely disruptive in sports-enabled innovation.
“We have world-class academic capability, strong entrepreneurial talent, globally successful athletes, data and AI leadership, applied research expertise and a compact and well supported entrepreneurial ecosystem where the right connections can happen quickly.
“But ingredients are not enough. We need a system that makes those connections easier to find, easier to activate and easier to scale.
“SEITA is about creating that system. It is about connecting Changemakers with Playmakers - founders with testing facilities, athletic cohorts and researchers, athletes with innovators, clubs with technology providers, investors with credible opportunities, and Scottish capability with global markets.
“This consultation is the starting point. We are inviting people across sport, technology, enterprise, research, health, manufacturing, investment and community impact to help shape what the alliance should become.”
Call for contributors
SEITA is now inviting contributors to take part in the consultation and design phase. The project team is looking to speak with:
- Founders and entrepreneurs developing sports-enabled products, services or platforms
- Athletes, coaches, clubs, teams and governing bodies
- Researchers, universities, colleges and applied research groups
- Investors, funders and economic development partners
- Product designers, engineers, manufacturers and technology developers
- Health, wellbeing, rehabilitation and public health innovators
- Community sport organisations and social impact leaders
- Public bodies, policy teams and international partners
- Anyone with insight into where Scotland can credibly lead
Participants will be invited to share their views through short consultation interviews, online feedback and public discussion as the alliance is designed in the open.
The project team is particularly interested in understanding where the current ecosystem is fragmented, what innovators need, what assets already exist, which pathways are missing, and what would make Scotland a more attractive place to build, test, validate and scale sports-enabled innovation.
To find our more about SEITA, you can visit their website or contact the project team.