Youth activity provider SHOKK has announced a post-doctorate Knowledge Transfer Project (KTP) with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU).

The project, in partnership with LJMU's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, is being directly funded by the Department of Health (DoH), Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Technology Strategy board (TSB).

It will see SHOKK employ the services of Dr. Lee Graves this September, as head of research and development.

Graves is one of the principal researchers in the UK in the area of physical activity & interactive gaming.

For his PHD Lee investigated the effect of active video games on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and health in young people.

Part of his two-year placement will utilise his experience and work on projects to identify and evaluate scientific evidence to support the implementation of the SHOKK concept and make changes and improvements where appropriate.

Graves is expected to significantly contribute to the development of SHOKK Tactics, a web-based activity management, health assessment and retention system that monitors young people in leisure facilities, sports partnerships and health projects.

Generating unique research data on the physical fitness of local children will allow for regional/national comparisons of fitness and inform local behaviour change interventions. The progression of Tactics, and associated product enhancement and brand building, are central to SHOKK's growth plan to increase turnover to £9m within 5 years.

Kieran Murphy, SHOKK's marketing director, said: "As a commercial organisation we are excited about what SHOKK will gain from the KTP process.

"The skills of Lee couldn't be a more perfect fit and he has impressed us as an individual from day one. With direct management and the resources of a leading academic institution in LJMU behind us, it can only play a significant part in our current high growth strategy, increasing profitability and installing a heightened culture of knowledge transfer".