Dr. Stephen Behan

My research focuses on two connected questions: how people develop the skills and opportunities to participate in physical activity, and how evidence can improve decisions in sport. I am interested in physical literacy, movement competence and inclusion across the lifespan. Moving Well-Being Well has allowed me to study children’s movement skills at a national scale, while my work with Vision Sports Ireland examines barriers to participation for people with vision impairment.

I am particularly interested in making movement assessment more accessible. I lead the Research Ireland funded Moving Well-Being Well Computer Vision Assessment Tool project, which is exploring how video and AI can be used to assess children’s fundamental movement skills. I also contribute to the European ENABLE project, which investigates digital assessment and rehabilitation for children with neuromotor conditions.

My research in sport examines coaching expertise, talent development, athlete pathways and performance analysis. Through CoEx|Lab and collaborations with the Premier League, Premiership Rugby and the GAA, I use data from sporting environments to inform coach development, organisational decisions and policy. Across all of this work, I value research developed with practitioners and communities so that its findings can be put to use.