Background: The Irish Rugby Union (IRFU) is the governing body for in . The IRFU is responsible for the development of the sport in schools, colleges and clubs and is one of the member unions of (formally the International Rugby Board (IRB)). The IRFU are inviting tenders for the development and implementation of a long-term high quality injury surveillance and prevention programme across rugby union within the amateur game. We are currently seeking applications from individuals and/or organisations to partner on this project to commence in January 2016.

Project Description and Aims: The objective of this injury surveillance project is to collect injury and prevention data from across the domestic game in Ireland (Ulster Bank League Level down to mini rugby). This would be a long-term funded project by the IRFU, which would provide continuous data for analysis. The preferred method is that of using a representative sample of clubs and/or schools, the data from which can be extrapolated into the wider game. While the long-term intent is for this to cover the whole game, it is anticipated that the project will have pilot phase and a staged roll out over a number of seasons at the different levels. Consideration should be given to the difficulties in conducting injury surveillance within community sport. It is widely recognised that injury surveillance at this level presents more challenges than at the elite end of the game, which has the trained personnel to record data (e.g. coaches, trainers, doctors, physiotherapists); an easily identifiable population; financial; and IT resources.

The research project needs to enable the IRFU to: • Measure the incidence, nature and severity of injury; • Monitor trends in injury over time; • Gain insight into the possible causes of injury; • Target research or further investigation into causal factors and mechanisms; • Plan, implement and evaluate measures to prevent injury;

• Prioritise the allocation of resources to injury prevention; • Assess the effectiveness of injury prevention measures; • Evaluate policy with regard to injury prevention; • Monitor and evaluate the effect on injury rates of: o Changes in the Laws of the game; o Coaching initiatives; o Refereeing initiatives; o Medical initiatives;

Instructions to Applicants: Applicants should give consideration to the following areas:

Tender Content: We invite tenders including detailed project plans.

Formatting: All applications should be a maximum of 3000 words and formatted in Times New Roman size 12 font. The IRFU requests queries or requests for clarifications in relation to any aspect of the tender to be sent to the IRFU no later than Wednesday, 16th September 2015 and should be emailed to [email protected] . All queries/requests for clarifications will be responded to via email.

Deadline: The deadline for applications is 5.00pm on Wednesday, 30th September 2015. All applications and related documents should be emailed to [email protected] The onus is on the applicant to ensure that the required documents are received before the deadline. The IRFU take no responsibility for documents that do not arrive by the deadline.

Review Procedure: Stage 1: Applications submitted by 30th September, 2015. Stage 2: An expert panel will review and shortlist applications based on pre determined criteria. All applicants will be informed of shortlisting by 28th October 2015. Stage 3: Shortlisted applicants will be invited to meet with the IRFU Medical Department, following which a decision will be made on the successful application. Applicants will be provided with feedback.

The IRFU reserves the right to engage with unsuccessful applicants regarding aspects of their proposal, which the IRFU believes may be of benefit to the project. Such engagement may result in a separate or supplementary engagement for the provision of services.

Conflicts of Interest: Any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest on the part of the applicant must be fully disclosed as soon as it becomes apparent. In the event of any conflict or potential conflict of interest, the IRFU may invite applicants to propose means by which the conflict might be resolved. The IRFU will, at its absolute discretion, decide on the appropriate course of action.

Withdrawal from the Tender Process: Applicants are requested to notify the IRFU via email to [email protected] if at any stage they decide to withdraw from the tender process.

Publicity: No publicity regarding this tender process or the award of a contract is permitted unless and until the IRFU has given its written consent to the relevant communication.