Members of the European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI) decided at their general assembly on Aug. 31 to adopt the Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) as a roadmap for its activities in the five-year period until 2021. The networking organization strives for a more innovation-friendly environment, in order to stimulate technological innovation and to create companies with a focus on innovative technology. The SRIA aims to promote innovation in sport as a means to tackle various health issues; to address the demand in the evolving sports market, with more intelligent and functional products; and to develop sustainable products and facilities. It calls for stronger innovation and business creation capacity in the European sports sector, with a clear focus on small and medium-sized companies and alliances between public and private interests. To increase the impact of the platform, the general assembly has decided to expand the scope of its communications and to organize events and conferences on a more regular basis. After evaluation of the annual conference held in the Netherlands in June, it started discussing the next edition, to be held in Portugal or Hungary in 2017. The EPSI network's assembly also welcomed a new member, the Star Carnot Institute, a scientific center for research applications consisting of 13 academic research laboratories. The next date on the EPSI calendar is the brokerage event in Brussels on Sept. 28.

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