RCF announces funding decisions on sport science projects

The Research Council of Finland (RCF) has granted a total of 2.45 million euros in funding for four separate projects and one consortium project within the Academy Programme for Sport Science and Physical Activity (ACTIVE). The aim of the ACTIVE programme is to advance the quality, innovativeness and impact of research on sport and physical activity. In this round, the RCF received 49 applications for a total sum of  nearly 24.4 million euros. An international panel of experts reviewed the applications.

The funded projects will study, for instance, physical activity and sports in the context of cancer prevention and treatment as well as the mechanisms of physical activity in obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. In addition, the funded projects cover topics such as the inequality of physical activity in Finland and ways to create everyday environments that support physical activity among young people. The projects will also develop a Nordic sports school model and produce information that can help promote the wellbeing, health and opportunities for young people to participate in physical activity and sport across the Nordic countries and in different educational systems. One of the research topics is good governance in sport. The project will produce practical recommendations to promote more transparent and responsible sports governance.

The ACTIVE programme generates new knowledge to promote physical activity by directing research funding to high-quality, innovative and multidisciplinary research. A key objective of the programme is to promote impact, accountability and sustainable development in sport science research, targeting different population groups and various forms of sport and physical activity at both amateur and professional levels. The aims also include building up competence and multifaceted cooperation in sport science research.

Professor Taina Rantanen, Chair of the RCF Subcommittee for Academy Programme for Sport Science and Physical Activity, said: “The funded projects represent a wide range of research designs. The current programme format has increased interest in submitting applications whose scopes cover several disciplines.”

Within the framework of the programme, the RCF and the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture cooperate in funding sport science research and in developing activities so that the sports policy objectives set by Parliament can be implemented in the best possible way in awarding government grants for sport science research.