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“The Engagement & Development team works closely with other Departments, Impact Areas and our Regional Offices to build stakeholders’ confidence and trust in WADA through a structured and coordinated framework. Our work centers around facilitating engagement and development activities through strategic planning and optimized information sharing with the ultimate goal of supporting and guiding Anti-Doping Organizations and other relevant stakeholders to implement effective anti-doping programs that are compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.”
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To achieve these goals, we use insights and data from various sources to identify priorities, build capability and capacity, and focus our engagement with our stakeholders in order to maximize impact and collaboration.”
- Tom May | Director, Engagement and Development
Engagement
WADA engages with stakeholders daily as the global regulator for anti-doping. These stakeholders come from a wide range of different profiles, including public authorities, sport organizations, anti-doping organizations, service providers, and athletes*, etc.
Stakeholder engagement is a core component of WADA’s operations, and this is reflected in the Agency’s structure. Stakeholder Liaison Departments for Government Relations, Sport Movement Relations and National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) Relations, along with four Regional Offices, work closely with these respective stakeholder groups of the international anti-doping community.
WADA’s Engagement Strategy and respective strategies for Government Relations, Sport Movement Relations, and NADO Relations form a framework to strengthen WADA’s relations with these key players. WADA is developing a range of resources and tools, including a Stakeholder Relation Management (SRM) system, to optimize the interactions with stakeholders through a coordinated approach from planning to implementation.
*Athletes are at the center of anti-doping and are crucial stakeholders for WADA. Therefore, Athlete Engagement stands as a separate impact area with dedicated strategy and programs.
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Government Relations
WADA works closely with Governments across the world and intergovernmental organizations to enhance the public authorities’ commitment to effective anti-doping at the national and international levels. WADA leadership has regular meetings with governments, senior officials responsible for sport in their countries, and intergovernmental organizations, such as UNESCO, Council of Europe, African Union, and American Sports Council, etc.
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Sport Movement Relations
WADA’s Sport Movement Relations (SMR) team, based within WADA’s European Office, is responsible for WADA’s global strategy related to the Sport Movement. WADA’s main Sport Movement partners include Olympic & Paralympic Movements, International Federations (IFs), and Major Event Organizations (MEOs). Our key activities center around establishing and maintaining effective relations with IFs and MEOs, assisting them in implementing anti-doping programs that comply with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), fostering collaboration, and providing capacity building for those IFs and MEOs that need assistance. The overall strategy for these core activities is the responsibility of the SMR team, which develops and implements it in close cooperation with other WADA departments and Regional Offices.
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NADO Relations
WADA maintains regular contact and open dialogue with NADOs and associations of NADOs to discuss anti-doping matters impacting them and to seek guidance and recommendations to WADA.
In 2015, WADA established the NADO Expert Advisory Group (NADO EAG) whose responsibility is to review anti-doping issues impacting NADOs; provide guidance and recommendations to WADA on its strategies and activities; and enhance collaboration with and development of NADOs globally. Following the May 2022 WADA governance reforms, the NADO EAG became an elected group comprised of ten representatives, with two from each of the five regions (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania). Through these reforms, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the NADO EAG became members of WADA’s Foundation Board, representing NADOs’ voices in WADA’s highest decision-making body.
Development
WADA provides daily assistance to Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) and stakeholders to support implementation of anti-doping programs in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code. To this end, WADA has built a framework to continuously assess data and information in order to identify anti-doping program gaps and coordinate development initiatives to enhance the quality of anti-doping programs of ADOs.
The Development Strategy encompasses several programs to enhance ADO capability and capacity:
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Continental Results Management Panels
To help RADO member countries meet the requirement of having independent results management panels under the World Anti-Doping Code, WADA supported the establishment of three independent Continental Results Management Panels (CRMPs), one for the Americas, Asia/Oceania and Africa respectively, and provided initial training to the CRMP members. Each CRMP elected a chairperson and operates independently according to its procedural rules. WADA continues to support CRMP members by providing ongoing capacity building.
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Development Projects
Projects / activities with a set timeframe can be initiated based on data and insights, including development needs, to address a specific program gap at the regional and/or national level. Some previous development projects include Partnership to Effective Testing, Results Management in the Americas, Data Privacy, and Therapeutic Use Exemption for RADO countries.
