The International Observatory on Sports Policies (IOSP) is a common research entity launched by the University Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne and the University of Lausanne in January 2016. It develops essential scientific tools for the implementation of international and national sports policies and for their evaluation as part of mandates with important stakeholders of the sports world:
- national and international sports organisations,
- states and supranational institutions,
- regulators, media, sponsors, …
The added value of the IOSP concerning expertise is based on the multidisciplinary approach and on the academic independence of both universities.
Indeed, the complexity of the sports phenomena and the multiplicity of actors and issues require to promote a multidisciplinary approach. Thus, the IOSP brings together not only lawyers, economists, specialists of management, political scientists, but also historians, specialists of civilizations, sociologists, ethicists and philosophers, specialists of media sciences…
The IOSP is rooted in a tradition of independence of both founding universities towards all the powers which excludes conflicts of interest.