Commercial Partnerships
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UK Sport has in recent times been able to draw upon unprecedented levels of public funding support from the government Exchequer and the National Lottery. However, with a shifting economic environment, it has become increasingly necessary to look towards the commercial sector to provide an additional income stream to support World Class Performance Programme activity.
While the Team 2012 Partnership has been created to support core World Class Performance investment, we have also sought to create value-in-kind partnerships with companies that have either services and/or expertise that can be of direct added value to core athlete support programmes that underpin the World Class Performance Programme.
How do Commercial Partnerships differ
from other forms of fundraising?
We undertake no other fundraising activity outside Team 2012. However, we do seek to create and deliver bespoke partnerships with organisations that can supply expertise, specific activity and other services to UK Sport and sports/athletes on a value-in-kind basis.
In this way we are able to add real value to the athlete support services that we currently provide to the World Class Performance Programme – in particular around areas such as Research and Innovation, Talent Identification and Recruitment and Performance Lifestyle.
What Commercial Partnerships exist?
Two significant arrangements are currently in place:
- A five year Partnership with world leading engineering company BAE Systems to deliver expertise in structural and mechanical engineering, aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, mathematical modelling and simulation, human factors and materials science to a range of sports
- A four year Partnership with British Airways to provide discounted flights and other travel benefits to all athletes, plus selected officials, managers, coaches and family
In addition UK Sport’s Research and Innovation team has a number of non-commercial partnerships with companies such as epm:technology group, Fraser-Nash Consultancy and McLaren Applied Technologies to further assist in the development of world beating sporting equipment.
