Kingston University and Kinetic Foundation partnered on innovation project
Kinetic Foundation
As part of BIG South London’s Innovation Support Programme, Kingston University worked with Kinetic Foundation, a charity based in London which uses football to educate, inspire and progress the next generation of young people.
With funding provided by BIG South London, the purpose of the collaboration was to increase the impact of Kinetic Foundation’s football programme and make it accessible to wider communities across the Greater London area. This would be achieved by inspecting and interpreting participant and programme data; and leveraging the in-depth interpretation and careful inspection of programme data to improve the football programme. The project was led by Dr Stone Hsieh, Lecturer in Biological Psychology, who has expertise in health psychology and developmental neuroscience.
The challenge
When the project began, Kinetic Foundation’s football programme was available in limited areas of London (mostly South London). The company primarily used whether participants went on to higher education or employment as a measure to assess whether their football programme had impacted on their progress. Additional data was needed from participants to provide a fuller picture. Refining the reporting and dissemination of data collected from participants could increase the visibility, accessibility and impact of the company, and lead to the consideration of additional strategies and approaches to assess the effectiveness of the football programme.
The solution
Over the course of six weeks, Stone analysed the participant data and wrote a report which included a set of recommendations. Based on the preliminary data provided by Kinetic Foundation, the strengths and weaknesses of the football programme in terms of accessibility and diversity were successfully identified by Stone. These strengths and weaknesses were considered in the charity’s impact plan, and improvements that were suggested were implemented in the recruitment of a new cohort of participants in late 2022.
Outcomes
As a result of the project, Kinetic Foundation have been able to enhance their football programme and broaden their target audience. They have also increased visibility and engagement of their programme, and seen an uptake of participation in the football programme helping more young people with their health, education and career.
The partnership between Kingston University and Kinetic Foundation also facilitated valuable knowledge exchange and demonstrates how a University can leverage its academic expertise and research skills to support the development of a business, facilitate local growth and create societal impact.
Next steps
Kinetic Foundation is keen to continue collaborating with Kingston University, and additional funding schemes are now being considered. Discussions are ongoing about collecting data for additional outcome measures such as mental health, and fitness assessments delivered during football training or health/education workshops.
