Theme 01
Performance under pressure and psychological response to demanding environments.
RESEARCH & KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION
Research and Knowledge
We want to produce, examine and translate knowledge that helps us understand performance in African contexts and improves the quality of practice around it.
RESEARCH MANDATE
Close to Real Performance Questions
Research at MindGame Africa is intended to sit close to real performance questions. We are interested in work that is methodologically sound, ethically responsible and useful enough to deepen understanding, challenge assumptions, improve professional practice or inform the design of better performance interventions.
An important part of our mandate is to contribute more African evidence to fields in which performance knowledge is still too often imported from contexts that do not fully reflect the realities in which African athletes, coaches, practitioners and organisations operate.
INVESTIGATION AREAS
Research Themes
Current research interests and developing themes, investigated across real performance environments.
Theme 02
Mistake response, recovery and performance after error.
Theme 03
Confidence, self regulation, attention and behavioural adaptation.
Theme 04
Coach behaviour and its influence on athlete development and performance.
Theme 05
Team psychology, communication and performance environments.
Theme 06
Talent development and the experiences surrounding athlete progression.
Theme 07
African performance environments and the contextual factors that shape practice.
Theme 08
Practitioner development, professional standards and the translation of evidence into practice.
Theme 09
Performance technology, assessment and the responsible use of measurement.
Theme 10
Interdisciplinary approaches to athlete and team performance.
METHODOLOGICAL RIGOUR
Our Research Approach
Research at MindGame Africa adheres to rigorous ethical, methodological, and translational standards designed to produce actionable evidence.
Principle 01
Start with questions that matter in practice.
Principle 02
Use methods that are appropriate to the question rather than forcing every problem into one methodological tradition.
Principle 03
Protect ethical standards, informed consent, confidentiality and responsible data handling.
Principle 04
Distinguish clearly between evidence, interpretation and speculation.
Principle 05
Work with universities, practitioners and performance organisations where collaboration improves the quality of the work.
Principle 06
Translate findings into usable knowledge for practitioners, coaches, athletes and decision makers.
ACADEMIC & SECTOR COLLABORATION
Collaborate With Us
We are open to conversations with universities, academic departments, researchers, postgraduate students, sport organisations, clubs, federations, practitioners and international institutions interested in African performance research, programme evaluation, applied studies, research translation or joint knowledge development.
Pathway 01
Joint research projects.
Pathway 02
Applied research within sport and performance environments.
Pathway 03
Programme evaluation.
Pathway 04
Research supervision or practitioner research collaboration where appropriate.
Pathway 05
Data collection partnerships.
Pathway 06
Research translation and knowledge dissemination.
Pathway 07
Guest researchers, research associates and specialist collaboration.
Have a research question or collaboration idea?
Direct engagement for researchers, institutions, and performance organisations.