The Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre (SPARC) is one of the largest sports and physical activity research clusters in the UK. The centre comprises four research groups, which carry out internationally renowned, world-class research in sport and human performance, physical activity and health, sport business and economics and sport engineering.

SPARC facilitates collaborations across multiple disciplines to address real world research questions and to have an impact at individual, local and population levels. Its research is delivered with national and international partners, ranging from elite sporting organisations, such as Sport England, Team GB Olympic, and FIFA, to health sectors and charities, including the NHS, Department of Health, Public Health England and Macmillan Cancer Research. The centre boasts world-class facilities, and its staff work closely with the AWRC.

The world leading Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) is transforming lives with innovations dedicated to improving health and wellbeing through movement. The centre offers world-class research and design through state-of-the-art facilities and wide-ranging academic expertise.

The AWRC focus their efforts across 5 strategic themes:

1. Undertake world-class research in physical activity,
2. Develop collaborative community, academic and industry partnerships to co-design and evaluate products, interventions and services that help people move
3. Provide consultancy services to global businesses, dynamic SMEs and the public sector including incubation and acceleration services to take concepts through to commercialisation
4. Act as an innovation centre for health and care services – co-designing products, interventions and services that improve the social, behavioural and environmental determinants of health.
5. Through postgraduate courses, CPD and apprenticeships, educate and train the next generation of researchers who can work across academia and industry.