Hi ##firstname##,
🙌 Great news! Today we're releasing our new White Paper:
The Current State of Innovation in Sports Tech: Pathways Toward Sustainable Ecosystems
🛫 This publication emerged from the discussions and momentum generated during and following our latest STRN Summit. A dedicated author group was formed, led by Susie Reiner, bringing together diverse expertise across academia, elite sport, and industry.
🔎 In the paper, we take a system-level perspective on the global sports technology landscape and address one of the industry’s central structural challenges: fragmentation. While innovation is accelerating, academic, elite sport, and commercial pathways often operate in parallel rather than in concert, limiting validation, scalability, and long-term impact.
👉 Inside the paper, we:
- Provide a helicopter-view analysis of how the three dominant innovation ecosystems in sports tech currently operate and interact
- Identify five key stakeholders and six critical drivers required for sustainable growth
- Examine funding gaps and the persistent “valley of death”
- Propose blended finance models and cross-industry strategies to de-risk innovation
🎯 Our objective is clear: to move beyond hype cycles and toward coordinated, durable innovation systems that serve athletes, practitioners, organizations, and society at large.
🔗 The White Paper is freely accessible on our website, no registration or email submission required: https://sports-tech-research-network.com/special-interest-group/innovation.
👉 We hope this report serves as a clear reference point that you can share with colleagues, partners, and decision-makers when introducing or explaining how the sports tech innovation ecosystem currently functions.
🤞 We warmly invite your thoughts, critical reflections, and suggestions. Constructive dialogue is essential if we are to refine these ideas and collectively strengthen the field.
At the same time, meaningful progress depends on action across all roles and organizations. Each of us can influence parts of this ecosystem, and together we can shape a sports tech landscape that delivers more robust, trustworthy, and effective solutions for individuals, teams, and organizations worldwide.
Save the Date: Monday, June 29th — we are preparing a dedicated session to further explore the themes of the paper and engage the community in discussion. More details will follow soon.
Kind regards,
Kristof from the Sports Tech Research Network | 
