Bringing science to an Olympic team
US Olympics Committee Success Story
The Challenge
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado with sport-specific associations spread throughout the 50 states.
USOPC is responsible for protecting, supporting and empowering America’s athletes, and for fielding US teams for the for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games as well as various other international events. They receive only very limited federal support at a national level. This means individual sports associations have to raise their own funds to ensure their athletes can prepare for the major games. USOPC approached the =mc consulting decisionscience team to increase support to underfunded sports – both financial and in terms of participation.
What We Did
=mc designed a programme of a national webinar and an onsite masterclass training for senior staff of sports associations in the Colorado Springs HQ. The aims of the programme were:
- To help senior members of associations to understand the potential of decision science to encourage supporters, foundations and corporations to provide support.
- To explore which online techniques could help encourage participation and engagement in sport among the wider community – so promoting health.
The webinar offered a basic introduction to =mc’s well-known EASIEST framework to a large number of individuals representing different sports. The focus was on fundraising in a mass setting, largely through online campaigns.
Following this a smaller number of senior sports specialists were invited to the onsite event. This covered:
- Detailed exploration of the importance of system 1 and system 2 in decision making and when to use them.
- How framing, goal grading and normalisation could promote greater engagement in sport.
- The importance of ethics when using these techniques to avoid ‘sludge’ – manipulation of choice.
Participants undertook case studies and were able to work on their own challenges guided by =mc’s Senior North American consultant, Alan Hutson.
The Impact
It’s always difficult to quantify the impact of a training programme. But the numbers attending, and the positive response to ideas presented, suggested individuals were energised by the ideas and took back various practical initiatives to their separate associations. What is true is that the US Olympics teams have raised more money than ever before to attend the next Games scheduled for Japan in 2020 and now postponed to 2021. And more people than ever are taking an active part in a wide variety of sports.
Next Steps?
Have a similar challenge or want to explore a project?
Contact Bernard Ross, Director.
bernardross@mc.consulting
+44 7976 280314
More of our Success Stories
Persuading shoppers to be more caring
In recent years foodbanks have become a common phenomenon in towns and cities across the UK as poverty becomes a sad part of everyday life. Many are locally run and managed some by churches, some by charities, some by local authorities.
=mc consulting decisionscience team was asked by the UK’s largest coordination agency, The Trussell Trust, to help them explore how to raise more funds using decision science techniques.
Securing funds for humanitarian causes
Doctors Without Borders (DWB), is the name by which Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is known in the USA. DWB is one of the world’s leading humanitarian agencies. It provides specialist medical teams – doctors, nurses, surgeons, anaesthetists, health workers – to work in the most challenging situations imaginable. DWB approached the =mc consulting decisionscience team for help to design set up a series of online experiments exploring how decision science might help improve giving from prospects and supporters.
Bringing science to an Olympic team
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado with sport-specific associations spread throughout the 50 states.
They approached the =mc consulting decisionscience team to increase support to underfunded sports – both financial and in terms of participation.
Better behaviour through decision science
ISSA, the International Step-by-Step Association, is based in Holland and works across Europe and Central Asia. It is an association of agencies committed to protecting and developing the interests of early years children. Always on the lookout for new ways to improve these systems, ISSA asked us to help them explore the potential of decision science to help them achieve their goals.
Encouraging more visitors to do more
Bristol Museums and Arts Galleries is one of the UK’s leading cultural service. It comprises six venues throughout Bristol, each with a different focus and designed to address a specific audience. The most contemporary of the venues is M-shed.
=mc consulting decisionscience team was asked to focus on M-shed and advise on how to increase sales in the museum shop, which should have been a key source of earned income.
Engaging supporters more in conservation
Including the Highland Wildlife Park, RZSS Edinburgh Zoo is one of Europe’s foremost wildlife conservation agencies and one of Scotland’s leading visitor attractions. It also has onsite projects in Africa and undertakes research worldwide.
=mc consulting decisionscience team were hired to improve the way visitors engaged with the animals and supported the wider conservation work of the Zoo.
