Sports Science and Physical Activity

The Academy Programme for sport science and physical activity advances the quality, renewal, and impact of research in sport science. The programme generates new knowledge to promote physical activity by directing funding to high-quality, innovative and multidisciplinary sport science research.

Sport science offers research-based solutions to many societal challenges. The research can help improve public health by improving conditions for physical activity and preventing exclusion and physical inactivity. The Academy Programme promotes international and national research and stakeholder cooperation to encourage the dialogue between researchers and decision makers and communication to improve the societal impact of sport science research and in a wider context.  

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and the Academy of Finland will cooperate closely in the Academy Programme in order to implement the sport policy objectives set by the Finnish Parliament in the best possible way in the awarding of government grants.

Going forward, the Academy of Finland will open an annual call for applications within the Academy Programme for Sport Science. The call will form part of the Academy’s winter call meaning that the first call will close on 17 January 2024.

The themes of the programme are defined in accordance with the Ministry’s strategy for knowledge-based management of physical activity  (Liikunnan tiedolla johtamisen suunta-asiakirja, only a summary available in English). The current strategy is effective 2020-2024 and will guide the first call. In the strategy the Ministry of Education and Culture and the National Sports Council have set the following thematic priority areas for the funding:

• Promoting a physically active lifestyle
• Ensuring equal access to physical activity
• Increasing participation in sports and physical activity
• Achieving results and responsibility in performance sports

The research projects funded in the programme must cover one or several of these thematic areas. The objective is to support applications for multidisciplinary and broad-based research projects that have a high applicability value. Cooperation between different fields of sport science is seen as an asset.