The UKs only fully independent think tank dedicated to sport is formally launched today at www.sportsthinktank.com with a Guest Blog from Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Patron of the Sports Think Tank, Lord Seb Coe said "A sports think tank would be a great legacy from the 2012 games, enabling future generations to benefit from long term, well researched, and evidence-based sports policy making in the UK"

The Sports Think Tank has been launched by joint Directors Andy Reed and Nick King with strong backing from the key players in the sport and policy development landscape.

Andy Reed said "It seems everybody in the sports sector agrees we need to join up our policy making with the best academic research, practice and innovation. Both Nick King and I have been involved at the heart of sports policy for a number of years and witnessed how rarely this happened.

"We have therefore created the Sports Think Tank to be a home for showcasing the best academic research to policy makers in sport and Whitehall. We want to create a safe space where challenge to ideas and innovative thinking will be rewarded. We will be developing long term policy solutions based on the best evidence from the UK and internationally and provide a regular programme of papers, reports, roundtables and events where this will happen."

Nick King said "We have been overwhelmed with the positive response from all the different sections of the sports industry and this enthusiasm demonstrates the obvious need for a Sports Think Tank and a clear appetite for the work we will be doing.

"We have an exciting range of activities lined up for 2012. We have pieces of research proposed which will help develop thinking around some of the current big issues in sport and we have a series of events planned which we anticipate will help bring policy-makers, academics, the media and the wider sporting world together.

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Notes to editors:

Early Partners include Sported, the ASA, Sportsleaders UK, StreetGames, and the Leisure database company.

Links to academic work are vital and Barrie Houlihan from Loughborough University sits on the Advisory Group.

Discussions are ongoing to build the base of partners and supporters and anybody interested in contributing to the Sports Think Tank should contact Andy Reed or Nick King at www.sportsthinktank.com

In its early stages the Sports Think Tank will be publishing work at www.sportsthinktank.com. You can also follow us on twitter at @sport_thinktank