Promising sport innovations emerging from practice-based research at universities of applied sciences don’t always find their way to the market or wider society. To bridge this gap, Regieorgaan SIA, Sportinnovator and Innofest have joined forces. Together, they offer researchers the opportunity to test their ideas in real-world settings, with the goal of promoting vitality and making sports more sustainable.
Sportinnovator aims to strengthen the Dutch sports sector by stimulating innovation. The collaboration with Regieorgaan SIA and Innofest directly supports two of Sportinnovator’s core objectives:
Regieorgaan SIA enhances the quality and impact of practice-based research at universities of applied sciences by funding research and promoting collaboration between universities, businesses, and public institutions. Through the partnership with Sportinnovator and Innofest, SIA helps ensure that innovations become more widely available or are brought to market. In addition, research results are made visible to a broad audience.
Festivals and sporting events are temporary miniature societies with their own unique challenges—such as those related to energy, waste, water management, and logistics. This makes them ideal testing grounds for innovations. Real users can apply and test prototypes on the spot, enabling innovators to quickly gather valuable feedback from a large and diverse audience. An added benefit of testing in such a living lab is the visibility it creates. This can help raise the profile and expand the network of both the researchers and their innovations.
The Innofest x SIA Sport scheme has been established for researchers from universities of applied sciences and their practical partners. This scheme enables the step from theory to practice. It’s an opportunity to engage people, collect valuable data, and make the impact of research directly visible. A maximum of €10,000 can be awarded per project to test and further develop an innovation. You can read more about this funding here. After an application has been submitted and approved, the Innofest Team searches for a suitable testing location that aligns well with the innovation and its target group.
This year, eight innovative projects will test their innovations during the TT Festival, the Zwarte Cross, Into the Great Wide Open, and Military Boekelo. More information about the projects testing with Innofest and SIA Sport in 2025 can be found here.
Previously, projects like these tested their innovations at events such as the FBK Games and the World Cup Qualification Tournament in Thialf:
Curious about the impact of earlier projects? Read the full report for more information here, or watch the aftermovie below.