Road to Rio - Performance Planning Document

Introduction

The Road to Rio high performance (HP) Strategy and Investment process has been developed by the Irish Sports Council (ISC) and the Institute of Sport (IIS) as an overarching strategic planning process aligned to the annual HP planning process already used by National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) through the London cycle. The aim of the process is to assist you in developing your HP Strategic Plan for Rio (Rio Strategy). It will support development of your business case for HP investment to the ISC. The current Irish HP system is in existence since 2002. Since then, over €100m has been invested in Irish HP sport. The system has gone through clear stages of development framed by each of the Olympic cycles. An analysis of the Irish system has demonstrated a clear and significant relationship between investment and performance at a national system level, illustrated by the increase in medals across all levels over this period of time. What is more important however is how this investment is targeted to ultimately impact on the performance of the highest potential athletes. The Rio cycle will see further evolution and development within the Irish HP system through longer term planning defined by a clear demarcation of roles and responsibilities of agencies involved in high performance. It will be streamlined with investment targeted at where the highest medal returns will be generated. NGBs will be measured by their stage of development and capability to deliver a high performance programme. The importance of committed organisational leadership as a key driver of an NGB achieving sustainable success with their HP programmes will also be observed. Some NGBs may not have the capacity to deliver full HP programmes but may have specific projects or individual athletes that have the potential to deliver medals if investment is targeted. The Rio cycle is also defined by a very different economic environment. Strong evidence of performance impact will help the ISC to make a stronger case to Government and protect the current investment whilst ensuring a return for this investment. There will continue to be a strong accountability framework applied to athletes, high performance units and NGBs. This guide details the process that the ISC will use to assess each business case for investment over the Rio cycle. It includes investment criteria and processes used by the ISC in reaching investment decisions. It also outlines the processes of performance tracking and review that is used to track the investment impact on your NGB on an annual and quadrennial basis. We, the ISC, have a shared interest in your success and look forward to continuing our strong engagement in supporting you to achieve it.