2024 - 2026 Strategic Refresh

UKAD Strategy

Our mission to protect sport is essential to ensuring that the values of fair play are upheld, that clean athletes are rightly rewarded for their efforts, and public trust in sport is maintained.

We work with athletes, athlete support personnel and national sports bodies to promote clean sport and ensure compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code, primarily through the UK Anti-Doping Rules and implementing the UK's National Anti-Doping Policy.

Our Strategic Refresh: Athlete First revitalises the pre-existing strategy 2021 - 2025 and extends its plans to 2026.

Strategic Refresh Athlete First

Download the full Strategic Refresh 2024-2026.

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Strategic Objective One

Build a clean sport environment in the UK and for UK athletes worldwide

How will we achieve this?

  • Work with sporting organisations to embed an ‘Education First’ principle to support and inspire the next generation of clean athletes whilst deterring doping by enabling protective behaviours
  • Build inclusive, accessible anti-doping policies and practices informed by athletes’ views and experiences
  • Empower athletes to share their voices and advocate on behalf of clean athletes
  • Act as a strong and influential partner to the national sports community and to the international anti-doping community
  • Investigate and prosecute doping cheats – we take firm action to hold to account athletes, athlete support personnel, and others who break the rules
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Strategic Objective Two

Develop and deploy detection and deterrence methods to uphold a level playing field

How will we achieve this?

  • Deliver an intelligence-led risk-based testing programme of the highest standard

  • Work with strategic partners to develop and/or implement new deterrent and detection techniques

  • Enhance our testing capabilities and the excellence of our Doping Control Personnel and technology

  • Encourage greater reporting of suspected doping, urging athletes, athlete support personnel, National Governing Bodies and others in sport to speak up when they encounter threats to the integrity of sport and protect those who have the courage to speak up

  • Be an innovative leader in anti-doping scientific research and technology

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Strategic Objective Three

Improve the way we regulate

How will we achieve this?

  • Secure the appropriate powers to improve our ability to investigate doping, including appropriate access to digital information pertinent to a live investigation
  • Through the Assurance Framework, work with National Governing Bodies to grow from minimum standards to sharing and implementing best practice in anti-doping
  • Develop a range of strategic partnerships with organisations and sectors to strengthen integrity in sport
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Strategic Objective Four

Leverage research and analytics to enhance our insight on the threats to clean sport

How will we achieve this?

  • Monitor the threats to clean sport and produce strategic thematic threat assessments
  • Stimulate and influence the research agenda in anti-doping
  • Harness the latest research, behavioural insight and knowledge to ensure robust evidence underpins our policies and practices
  • Harness developments in data analytics and AI to deliver enhanced effectiveness and efficiencies across our operation
  • Share our anti-doping insight with sport, government, academics, the public and others in order to inform and influence policy and practices regarding clean sport and sport integrity (and wider public health concerns) in the UK and internationally
Other Strategic Resources

Download the previous version of our Strategic Plan (2021-2025) and view the National Anti-Doping Policy.

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