Chaire de recherche Sécurité et intégrité en milieu sportif (SIMS)

What Chaire de recherche Sécurité et intégrité en milieu sportif (SIMS) does

Chaire de recherche Sécurité et intégrité en milieu sportif (SIMS) is a publicly funded university research chair created in November 2020 and housed at Université Laval's Faculté des sciences de l'éducation in Québec City, Canada. Its mission is to prevent violence in sport (VCS) — encompassing sexual, psychological, and physical violence, neglect, and abuse — through transdisciplinary scientific research, surveillance of violence prevalence, development and validation of measurement instruments, and knowledge mobilization to sports professionals, policymakers, and the general public. The chair is led by chairholder Sylvie Parent (Ph.D., Professeure titulaire) and operates through a three-pillar research program: (1) surveillance, (2) development, implementation and evaluation of interventions, and (3) knowledge mobilization and transfer.

SIMS's core technical outputs are three scientifically validated measurement instruments — the Conformity to the Sport Ethic Scale (CSES, 2020), the Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ, 2019), and the Perceived Instrumental Effects of Violence in Sport Scale (PIEVS, 2024) — translated into French, English, Dutch, Japanese, and German, and distributed to international researchers via a formal access request process. The chair also produces practical guides for coaches, peer-reviewed scientific publications, annual reports, and an annual symposium. The organization is governed by a steering committee comprising Université Laval and the Quebec Ministère de l'Éducation and Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, which jointly provide its core funding.

SIMS is not a commercial entity and does not sell products or services. Its revenue model is government grant funding, with project-specific additional funding from the Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur du Québec (Hors-Jeu project, 2022–2027). Its customer base is therefore institutional: scientific and academic researchers, Quebec sports federations and organizations, the Fondation de l'athlète d'excellence du Québec, the Institut National du Sport du Québec (INS Québec), the Programme national Plan de Match, and the Centre de règlement des différends sportifs du Canada (CRDSC/SDRCC). Outputs are distributed freely through the bilingual website, social media channels, academic publishing, and events. Headcount is approximately 7 core staff (chairholder, coordinators, research professionals, research assistants, postdoctoral fellow) plus a larger network of graduate students and 20+ co-investigators across Quebec, Canada, and internationally.

Name

Chaire de recherche Sécurité et intégrité en milieu sportif (SIMS)

Legal name

Chaire de recherche Sécurité et intégrité en milieu sportif (SIMS)

Website

https://sims.chaire.ulaval.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SIMS is a publicly funded university research chair at Université Laval that conducts transdisciplinary research on violence in sport, develops validated measurement instruments (CSES, VTAQ, PIEVS), and produces practical guides, scientific publications, and an annual symposium for the Quebec sports community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Sport Safety Research

NAICS

Other Spectator Sports (711219)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Compliance, Governance & Integrity Services (Safeguarding, Anti-Doping, Match Integrity) (MPAKAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Anti-Doping & Integrity Bodies (WADA, match-fixing/integrity units) (MPAKAFAJ)

Keywords

• Sport safety research
• Violence prevention research
• Research chair services
• Knowledge mobilization
• Validated measurement instruments

Headquarters

HQ city

Québec

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government research funding: The SIMS research chair is funded by the Quebec Ministry of Education (financial support) and the Ministry of Health and Social Services (contribution). Funding supports the production and mobilization of knowledge on violence prevention in sport.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Chaire de recherche Sécurité et intégrité en milieu sportif (SIMS) is a university research chair at Université Laval that conducts transdisciplinary research on violence in sport, develops and validates proprietary measurement instruments (CSES, VTAQ, PIEVS), produces practical guides for coaches, and mobilizes knowledge through publications, reports, and an annual symposium targeting researchers, sports professionals, and policymakers.

Product overview

The Chaire SIMS is a research chair at Université Laval focused on safety and integrity in sport, created in November 2020. It does not offer a traditional tech product but rather serves as a knowledge hub producing: (1) research programs across three pillars (surveillance, intervention development/implementation/evaluation, and knowledge mobilization); (2) validated measuring instruments for the scientific community including CSES, VTAQ, and PIEVS scales; (3) practical guides for coaches on violence prevention topics; (4) scholarly publications including scientific articles, annual reports, and books; and (5) an annual symposium for knowledge exchange with the sports community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Measuring Tools (CSES, VTAQ, PIEVS) Validated measurement instruments for assessing violence in sport, including the Conformity to the Sport Ethic Scale (CSES), Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ), and Perceived Instrumental Effects of Violence in Sport Scale (PIEVS). Used by researchers internationally to assess athletes' conformity to ethics norms and types of interpersonal violence by perpetrator (athlete, coach, or parent).
• Practical Guides for Coaches Series of practical guides designed for coaches covering topics including positive discipline, mental resilience, motivation, healthy boundaries, parental involvement, emotion regulation, conflict resolution, bystander intervention, and positive body image. Distributed freely via the SIMS website.
• Transdisciplinary Research Program on Violence in Sport Core research program organized around three pillars: (1) Surveillance of violence in sport, (2) Development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions, and (3) Knowledge mobilization and transfer. Includes large-scale studies such as ÉVAQ (athletes aged 14-30) and ÉJOQ (young officials).
• Publications (Scientific Articles, Reports, Book Chapters) Scientific articles, annual reports, research reports, and books/book chapters produced by chair researchers on topics related to violence, safety, and integrity in sport. Over 100 scientific articles published from 2020 to 2026 across international journals including the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Frontiers in Psychology, and Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Quantifiable outcome

• CSES and VTAQ instruments have been used in international research projects documented on the SIMS cartography of projects, spanning Canada, Europe, and Australia
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Centre de règlement des différends sportifs du Canada (CRDSC / SDRCC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partner in the Allié.es project (2023-2026), which conducts a training needs analysis for sport stakeholders about athlete maltreatment. The CRDSC provides a sport dispute resolution context for the research.
• Fondation de l'athlète d'excellence du QuébeccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in the longitudinal study on athlete wellness (Bien-être des athlètes en développement). Provides access to athlete network and expertise on athlete development.
• Programme national Plan de MatchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational program partner in the longitudinal study on developing athlete wellness. Supports the project through the Plan de Match athlete development network.
• Institut National du Sport du Québec (INS Québec)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigh-performance sport institution partner in the longitudinal study on developing athlete wellness. Contributes expertise and athlete access.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Australian Sports Commission (AIS / ASC Safeguarding): Australia's national high-performance sport agency with a safeguarding unit producing research and training. Comparable in combining government funding, applied research, and sport-system policy translation.
• Coaching Association of Canada: Canada's national coaching body, with broad remit including coach education and safe-sport training. Overlaps with SIMS's practitioner-facing guide distribution model for coaches.
• Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA): Global sport integrity umbrella organization promoting standards across governance, betting, and safeguarding. Comparable in integrity mandate, though operating at global scale versus SIMS's research-academic posture.

Direct peers

• Institute of Coaching and Performance (IoCP) — Edge Hill University: UK-based academic research group within Edge Hill University, a SIMS research partner, focused on coaching and athlete performance. Comparable as a university-anchored research entity producing practitioner-facing knowledge.
• Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport: University-based research center at University of Minnesota studying gender and athlete welfare in sport. Closely comparable to SIMS as an academic research hub generating empirical knowledge on athlete experience.
• Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC): Canadian not-for-profit sport knowledge mobilization hub that curates research for the sport community. Comparable to SIMS in producing research-based outputs for sport stakeholders, though at broader sport-information scope rather than safety-only.
• Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES): Canada's national sport ethics organization addressing doping, match-fixing, and athlete welfare. Directly comparable to SIMS in mandate around sport integrity and safeguarding in the Canadian sports ecosystem.
• Centre de règlement des différends sportifs du Canada (SDRCC / CRDSC): Canada's national sport dispute resolution centre. Already an active SIMS partner in the Allié.es project, and highly comparable in operating at the intersection of sport governance, integrity, and stakeholder support.
• Canadian Women & Sport: Canadian organization advancing gender equity and safe participation in sport. Comparable to SIMS in addressing athlete welfare and creating safer sport environments, including research and policy advocacy.

Emerging players

• The Drake Foundation: UK-registered foundation funding research on brain health, welfare, and integrity in sport. Comparable as a sport-welfare research funder and producer of evidence used to inform sport policy, though operating as a foundation rather than academic chair.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCWQovTa6n9FlfpdfXGqaT3Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/PreventionVCS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chaire-sims

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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