European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI) (Belgium)
EPSI is a base-networking organisation within Europe that strives for a more innovation-friendly environment for the EU’s sports industry. EPSI has embraced a cross-sectoral approach, which covers the health, economic, social and cultural dimensions of sport, and it has cooperated with a growing number of partners, including universities, research institutes, clusters, industries and organisations.
EPSI is created with the aim to initiate and kick off activities among its members to respond to regional, national and European industrial and societal challenges. This leads to projects with the aim of finalising and deploying innovation and contribute to the dissemination of new knowledge, product and services into society. The platform on itself focuses on physical activity related to sport leisure and health. EPSI is at EU level the partner of the sport sector to stimulate and strengthen the innovation potential of academic and industrial stakeholders and especially SMEs. It also provides access to an increasing network of sport Field Labs for creation, development and evaluation of sport products and services. EPSI is partner of the House of Sport which gathers 23 partners throughout Europe.
EPSI counts amongst its constituents a great variety of members amongst which there is Assosport and VSSÖ which represent respectively the Italian and the Austrian Sporting Goods Industry association with some 500 affiliated companies, These companies can be defined as both suppliers and retailer operating in the 3 main sport sectors i.e. textile / apparel; footwear and hardware with a majority of members coming from small and medium sized enterprises as opposed to big multinational.