Dr Shushu Chen BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Shushu Chen

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
Associate Professor in Sport Policy and Management

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 7242
Email
s.chen.5@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Shushu Chen is an Associate Professor in Sport Policy and Management at the University of Birmingham, UK, and a Visiting Professor at the Capital University of Physical Education & Sports, China. Her principal research interests include sport policy analysis and evaluation, and major sporting event legacy studies (particularly in the areas of impact evaluation). She is a British Academy Innovation Fellow. Her recent research projects focus on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, investing the role of sport and major events in promoting social inclusion and reducing inequalities. Shushu is currently serving as an Academic Advisor to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, a Discipline Expert of Sport Management Digestion, and she was a member of the United Nations Expert Group (the Division for Inclusive Social Development).

陈姝姝博士是英国伯明翰大学体育政策和管理的副教授，同时也是中国首都体育学院的客座教授。她的主要研究兴趣包括体育政策分析与评估以及重大体育活动遗产研究（尤其是影响评估领域）。她是英国创新学会（British Academy）的学者，并担任英联邦奖学金委员会的学术顾问，体育管理摘要（Sport Management Digest）的学科专家，她曾是联合国包容性社会发展部门（the Division for Inclusive Social Development）的专家组成员。

姝姝博士毕业于英国拉夫堡大学（奥运学习与研究中心，博士全奖，博士指导老师是Ian Henry教授和Barrie Houlihan教授）。陈博士的研究兴趣包括体育政策评估与分析，奥运会遗产以及影响的评估。姝姝牵头或参与了13个大小不一的国内外科研项目，并在国际知名的体育管理，体育政策相关杂志上发表了多篇文章，她还曾应邀在欧洲，亚洲，美洲的国际体育管理大会上发表演讲，分享其学术成果。她诚邀来自中国的优秀学生加入她的研究团队。

Research website: https://www.majoreventlegacy.com/

Qualifications

  • PhD - The London 2012 Olympics Legacy Evaluation for a Non-Hosting Region, Centre for Olympic Studies & Research, Loughborough University, UK
  • MSc – Sport Management, Loughborough University, UK

Biography

As an internationally recognised expert in sport policy evaluation, Shushu is frequently sought after for her specialised knowledge and experience. Her recent projects include a series of work relevant to the legacies of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Before these projects, Shushu collaborated with Professor Ian Henry from Loughborough University) on several projects. These included a meta-evaluation of the London 2012 Olympic Games' impacts and legacies, commissioned by the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport, and another international project commissioned by the government of the UAE. The latter project, conducted with Professor Holger Preuss of the University of Mainz, concerned the evaluation of bids to host the Universal Expo 2020.

Originally from a science background, with a BSc in bioengineering, Shushu joined the University of Birmingham in 2016 as a lecturer in Sport Policy and Management. She had previously obtained her postgraduate qualifications from Loughborough University, specifically an MSc in Sport Management and a PhD in Sport Policy and Management.

Shushu has a successful track record of securing prestigious grants from various sources such as the ESRC, British Academy, the World Anti-doping Agency, and the sports industry. She frequently publishes in top journals within the discipline, including the Journal of Sport Management, European Sport Management Quarterly, and Sport Management Review.

Shushu has frequently given media interviews upon invitation, appearing on platforms such as the BBC, Financial Times, The Guardian, France Info, ABC News, and Yomiuri Shimbun. Additionally, Shushu has written expert commentaries and contributed to Routledge’s Handbook series for various research institutions, funding bodies, and international think tanks.

Teaching

Dr Chen teaches on both the Sport, P.E. and Coaching Science programme and the Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences programme.

Postgraduate supervision

Shushu is interested in supervising doctoral research in the areas of sport policy and management in both contexts of the UK and China particularly focused on:

  • Policy analysis and evaluation
  • Major events impact

Her PhD students include:

  • Qi Wang: Women sport in China
  • Zhaoyu Duan: Social integration and sport
  • Tingyu Hou (Waseda University): Mental health and sport
  • Kakkanang Prapaisub: Thailand sport policy
  • Dr Xiao Liang (completed): Major events and impacts on local small-medium-enterprises

Research

Selected Research Grants (2020-present)

  • [UK] British Academy. Innovation Fellow
  • [UK] Research England (QR funding, the University of Birmingham). Major events legacies: Getting the communities ready for the next major event. (PI)
  • [UK] Siemens, the Russell Partnership Collection, the University of Birmingham, and ESRC IAA, Legacies of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games for disadvantaged communities and individuals (PI)
  • [International] World Anti-Doping Agency. Evaluating the impact of the WADA international standard for education at the global and anti-doping organisation levels (co-I)
  • [UK] Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Games-wide evaluation of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games legacies (co-I)
  • [International] China National Social Science Foundation. Research on the practical wisdom and global significance of China's approach to the governance of dual Olympic elite sports legacy under the concept of Olympic sustainable development (co-I)
  • [International] China National Social Science Foundation. The planning, delivery and evaluation stages of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games (co-I)

Other activities

Shushu serves as an editorial board member for the following journals:

  • Event Management
  • International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics
  • Sport in Society
  • Asian Journal of Sport History & Culture
  • Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy Journal

Publications

Selected Journal Articles and Book chapters:

  • Girginov, V., Chen, S., Alhakami, F., Batuev, M., & Chalip, L. (2023).Government policy responses to Covid-19 in sport: a comparative study of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UK and the USA,International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. [online first]. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2023.2197001
  • Chen, S., Yu, H., & Baker, E. (2022). Urban Development, City Planning, and Hosting Major Events: The cases of Birmingham and Guangzhou, Sport in Society. Online First. 10.1080/17430437.2022.2152676
  • Chen, S., Xing, X & Chalip, L (2022). Planning and Implementation of Event Leveraging Strategy: China’s Legacy Pledge for Motivating 300 Million People to be Involved in Winter Sport, Sport Management Review. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2021.1987737.
  • Liang, X., Chen, S*., Liu, D., Boardley, I., & Shen, L. (2021). Strategic thinking and planning behind the development of a sporting event portfolio: the case of Shanghai. Sport Management Review, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2021.1975402
  • Chen, S. (2022). Section Introduction: Sport Policy, Law and Governance, in H.Fan & L. Liu (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Sport in China, Part 4, chapter 1. London: Routledge
  • Chen, S., & Henry, I. (2020). Assessing Olympic legacy claims: Evaluating explanations of causal mechanisms and policy outcomes. Evaluation, 1356389019836675. doi:10.1177/1356389019836675
  • Chen, S., & Misener, L. (2019). Event Leveraging in a Nonhost Region: Challenges and Opportunities. Journal of Sport Management, 33(4), 275. doi:10.1123/jsm.2018-0210.
  • Chen, S., Preuss, H., Hu, X., Kenyon, J., & Liang, X. (2019). Sport Policy Development in China: Legacies of Beijing’s 2008 Summer Olympic Games and 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Journal of Global Sport Management, 1-30. doi:10.1080/24704067.2019.1566756
  • Chen, S., Zheng, J., & Dickson, G. (2018). Volunteering for sports mega events: a non-host region perspective, Managing Sport and Leisure, Online First. doi:10.1080/23750472.2018.1530609.
  • Chen, S. (2018). Sport policy evaluation: What do we know and how might we move forward? International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Special Issue: Theory and methods in sport policy and politics research, 1-19. doi:10.1080/19406940.2018.1488759.
  • Chen, S., Zheng, J., & Dickson, G. (2017).An organisational life cycle approach to exploring the elite sport legacy of Summer Olympic host nations: The cases of China (Beijing 2008) and Australia (Sydney 2000), International Journal of the History of Sport (In press).
  • Chen, S. & Henry, I. (2017). Schools’ engagement with the Get Set London 2012 Olympic education programme: Empirical insights from schools in a non-hosting region. European Physical Education Review, doi: 10.1177/1356336X17721437.
  • Zheng, J., & Chen, S. (2016). Exploring China's success at the Olympic Games: a competitive advantage approach. European Sport Management Quarterly, 16: 148-171. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2016.1140797
  • Chen, S., & Henry, I. (2015). Evaluating the London 2012 Games’ impact on sport participation in a non-hosting region: a practical application of realist evaluation. Leisure Studies, 35: 685-707. doi: 10.1080/02614367.2015.1040827
  • Chen, S., Henry, I., & Ko, L.-M. (2013). Meta-evaluation, analytic logic models and the assessment of impacts of sport policies. Chapter 4 in Henry, I & Ko, L-M (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Sport Policy. London: Routledge.
  • Chen, S., & Henry, I. (2012). Women in Management and Leadership in the Olympic Movement in Muslim Majority Countries: An Empirical Evaluation of Huntington's Clash of Civilisations Typology. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 1-14.

Book & other commentaries:

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Sport policy, major events, legacies and impacts

Expertise

China/Chinese sport; Olympic Games; sporting mega events legacy and impacts; sport policy evaluation; elite sport and mass sport participation