Programme Development

Programme Development

National Governing Bodies and other organisations who wish to develop new coach education programmes or review existing programmes as part of the Coaching Development Programme for Ireland (CDPI) should firstly make contact with one of the Coach Education Development Officers in Sport Ireland Coaching.  They will be able to guide you through the process of

1. Programme Proposal
2. Programme Development 
3. External Programme Review
4. Programme Approval
5. Programme Delivery and Certification

All programmes who wish to be part of the CDPI must go through this process.  Further details are provided here and the Coach Education Development Officers in Sport Ireland Coaching will support you along the way.

1. Programme Proposal

The first step in the programme development process is to scope out the programme using the CDPI Programme Proposal template.  The purpose of this initial step is to

• Formally notify Sport Ireland Coaching of the intention to submit a coach/instructor development programme for inclusion on the CDPI
• Outline the main elements of the programme e.g. programme aim, who the coach will work with, coaching context, rationale for the programme, broad learning outcomes
• Consider the resources and supports required to develop and implement the programme e.g.  programme development team, programme delivery team, timescale for the development of the programme, quality assurance elements.

This initial step must be discussed and approved by Sport Ireland Coaching before any significant development work begins on the programme.

2. Programme Development

Once the Programme Proposal is approved, the next step in the Programme Development process is to start fleshing out the detail of the programme. An important part of this process is to nominate a Programme Lead Officer and establish a Programme Development Team. The Programme Lead Officer will take the lead in the development of the programme and liaise with Sport Ireland Coaching on a regular basis. The Programme Development Team should be established by the Programme Lead Officer and consist of suitably qualified and experienced people who are available to develop the programme within the specific timeframe. The programme should be documented on the CDPI Programme Descriptor Template.  This ensures that information on different CDPI awards and from different organisations is provided in a format that is consistent, clear and can be compared to other awards at the same level. The Sport Ireland Coach Education Development Officers will provide support, when needed, during the programme development process.

Supporting materials should also be submitted for the programme. These typically include Coach Developer materials/resources, assessment strategy for the programme, assessment materials, learner notes and any other materials that support the programme.

Programme Developers must show how the programme meets the following;

• CDPI Approval Criteria: This requires the completion of a Self-Evaluation Report where Programme Developers identify how each of the CDPI approval criteria are met

• The identified standard on the relevant CDPI Framework

For further information and support, please contact a Coach Education Development Officer in Sport Ireland Coaching at coachinginfo@sportireland.ie 

3. External Programme Review 

Following the development of the programme, as identifed in Step 2 above, the programme is submitted for external peer review. A minimum of two External Programme Reviewers, selected from Sport Ireland's External Programme Review Panel, will conduct the review. The Reviewers will have expertise in coach education programme development. They will review the programme against the CDPI approval criteria and compile a report of their findings including recommendations for the programme.

The NGB Programme Lead Officer is required to consider all recommendations and arrange for the completion of any subsequent action as deemed necessary and appropriate. When all actions have been completed to the satisfaction of the Programme Lead Officer and Sport Ireland Coaching, the programme will be forwarded to Sport Ireland's Education and Training Council for final approval.

4. Programme Approval

All CDPI programmes must be approved by Sport Ireland's Education and Training Council. This Council are responsible for overseeing the effective functioning of quality assurance for education and training programmes offered by Sport Ireland and to ensure appropriate standards are consistently adopted, applied and maintained.  The Council makes recommendations to the Sport Ireland Board and other Sport Ireland Committees on quality assurance policies and procedures related to education and training. The Education and Training Council will review the programme documentation and the External Programme Review Reports and will either approve the programme or refer the programme back to the NGB for further work.

5. Programme Delivery and Certification

The final step in the process is programme delivery and certification. The programme is delivered by the NGB in accordance with the approved Programme Descriptor and programme materials. The programme must be registered on the Sport Ireland Coaching Database prior to each delivery. Learners who succesfully complete all elements of the programme will receive a Sport Ireland Coaching CDPI certificate. For certificates to be issued, learner details must be submitted to Sport Ireland Coaching following the programme.

The procedure for registering programmes and certifying learners under the CDPI can be found here.