The High Performance Wellbeing - by Design Conference
Published on 10 June 2026
The High Performance Wellbeing - by Design Conference at Nottingham Trent University was a fantastic opportunity to bring together 150 researchers, practitioners, and leaders from 80 organisations across 9 countries who are committed to understanding how high-performance environments can be intentionally designed to support both achievement and wellbeing.
The day began with an inspiring keynote from Baroness Sue Campbell, one of the most respected figures in British sport and a true trailblazer for women’s sport. Drawing on her experiences as Chair of UK Sport and Director of Women’s Football at The FA, Sue shared invaluable insights into leadership, culture change, and the importance of creating environments where people can thrive while pursuing excellence.
Throughout the day, speakers explored a range of thought-provoking topics, including:
- The multi-level factors that facilitate (or hinder) elite athlete mental health in UK sport.
- Building high-performance environments where people and performance flourish.
- Relational wellbeing as a performance system.
- Tracking resilience on the pitch in academy football.
- Understanding the practitioner experience of implementing an interdisciplinary approach to wellbeing.
Delegates also experienced a provocation panel, where they were presented with four challenging statements related to high-performance wellbeing. These led to Design Labs with attendees working collaboratively to develop solutions these wellbeing challenges to benefit the those within high-performance systems.
Organised through a collaboration between the Wellbeing Science Institute (WSI) and NTU Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement Research Centre (SHAPE), the conference provided compelling evidence that wellbeing should not be viewed as an add-on to performance. Instead, it should be intentionally embedded within the culture, systems, and daily practices of sporting organisations. Professor Chris Harwood, SHAPE Research Centre Director, noted: “This has been a great opportunity to showcase the range of well-being research, knowledge exchange and practice that takes place at NTU and, shoulder to shoulder with WSI, to further the conversation around integrating well-being into high performance sport systems and cultures."
A valuable and insightful day that reinforced the message that sustainable high performance and wellbeing go hand in hand.
“Really humbled to be asked to play a small part in what was an outstanding conference - I left feeling energised and full of ideas.”
Steve Swinyard, Newcastle United FC