Academy Programme for Sport Science and Physical Activity (ACTIVE) 2025 call for applications

At the core of the Research Council of Finland’s activities is to provide funding for excellent scientific research. The research we fund is also expected to have high scientific and societal impact and follow the principles of responsible science.

Background

Under the Finnish Act on the Promotion of Sports and Physical Activity, the state budget shall include an annual appropriation for the purpose of granting aid and stipends for research and development in the field of sport and health sciences.

Responsibility for the government grant process for sport science was transferred from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture to the Research Council of Finland with an amendment to the Act in February 2023. For this purpose, the RCF has launched the Academy Programme for Sport Science and Physical Activity (ACTIVE). The RCF and the Ministry will continue to cooperate in funding sport science research within the framework of the programme.

The Ministry sets out the thematic areas and criteria for sport science research supported with government grants for the years to come in its Strategy Document for Research in Sports Science (in Finnish, abstracts in English and Swedish).

Aims

The Academy Programme for Sport Science and Physical Activity (ACTIVE) advances the quality, renewal and impact of research related to physical activity, exercise and sport. The research-based knowledge created through the programme contributes to increasing understanding and creating solutions to societal and public health challenges related to physical activity, exercise and sport.

In addition to a high scientific standard, research funded under the programme should demonstrate novelty value and innovativeness as well as scientific and societal impact. Additionally, the research should have applicability value for planning and decision-making on physical activity, exercise and sport as well as on the promotion of physical activity in practice, either in the short or long term. The applicability may be demonstrated at different levels of society or in communities.

The 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 of the programme also include building up competence and multifaceted cooperation in sport science research. In order to achieve these objectives, the programme will pay particular attention to the following viewpoints:

• added value created by a multidisciplinary research design for understanding complex sport science phenomena and solving challenges
• added value created by cooperation within sport science and with other disciplines nationally and internationally
• significance of a changing society and importance of drivers of change, including societal, political, environmental, economic or technological drivers, in sport science research
• interaction with actors who play a key role in using research findings at different stages of the research project lifecycle to improve the feasibility and quality of research.

Thematic areas of projects to be funded

In its Strategy Document for Research in Sports Science, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture defines some thematic areas for the funding of sport science research. These thematic areas have been derived from the societal impact goals set for the sport sector.

The thematic areas for funding research projects are:

1. physically active lifestyle and physical fitness as well as the effects and impact mechanisms of exercise and physical activity
2. equitable access to sports, physical activity and exercise, inclusion, sense of community, accountability and environmental sustainability
3. results and ethics in competitive and elite sports.

Research projects funded under the ACTIVE programme are expected to address one or several of these thematic areas. Applicants must justify the theme of the research and describe what new knowledge the project will generate to promote the theme.

Read the programme memorandum (PDF) for a more detailed description of the ACTIVE programme.

Applications are invited from individual research teams or consortia composed of two or more teams. The consortium parties may represent one or several research organisations.

A consortium application is an application built around a joint research plan, where each party to the consortium applies for funding. The Research Council of Finland treats a consortium application as a single application, although the funding is granted to each subproject separately. Consortium compositions cannot be changed after the call deadline. Read the guidelines for consortium applications.

In addition to a doctoral degree, the principal investigator (PI) of the proposed project must also have other significant scientific merits. Usually the PI is a researcher at the professor or docent (adjunct professor) level. These criteria also apply to subproject PIs in consortia. In addition, the applicant must have a close connection with Finland to support the implementation of a multi-year project. This connection must be evident from the application.

The PI of the application cannot be changed while the application is being processed (after the call has closed but before the decision). The only exception to this is if the PI dies.

Special terms and restrictions

In this call, we will consider (process) only one application per applicant (incl. consortium subproject).

A research project cannot receive simultaneous funding for the same purpose from two separate funding schemes of the Research Council of Finland. Nevertheless, if you apply for funding for different parts of a large-scale project simultaneously from both the Academy Programme for Sport Science and Physical Activity and another RCF funding scheme, you must submit the applications to both calls and with different research plans.

If you submit more than one application to the programme call, or two identical applications to two different calls in the 2025 winter call, only the first application to arrive will be considered (processed).

If you are the principal investigator of an ongoing research project under the ACTIVE programme, we will not consider (process) your application to the same programme.

Other special terms

You must immediately notify us if you receive funding from other sources for the same purpose after you have submitted your application to us.

We will not consider (process) an application by a person who has participated in the planning of the call to an extent likely to give them a comparative advantage over other applicants.

Nor will we consider an application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.

If the application includes cooperation with Russia or Belarus, you must take into account our policies.

If you have not submitted a final report on a completed or ongoing RCF-funded project by the set deadline, we may decide not to consider (process) your application.

An application will not be considered (processed) if the applicant or the application does not meet the competence requirements or other key requirements set for the call, or if there are otherwise no conditions for processing the case.

A scientific council or another decision-making body may decide not to fund an application based on science policy objectives, or if it is apparent for some other reason that the applicant cannot receive funding with the submitted application. Read more about the circumstances that may cause us not to consider (process) an application.

We will not consider (process) an application if the applicant is a member of the RCF Board or scientific councils or the Strategic Research Council.

The RCF Board decides the criteria for the RCF's funding decisions. Our scientific councils also have specific science policy objectives (to be updated).

The application consists of a form completed in the online services and its PDF appendices.

As an applicant, you have the right to submit your application in Finnish or Swedish, but we ask that you to submit it in English to facilitate the international review.

Before the call opens

Check your eligibility

• Read the section Who can apply? to see whether you meet the eligibility criteria.

Plan the contents of your application

• Start drafting your research plan and CV.
• Draft the above appendices on our templates (see ‘Application parts in the online services’). Read the instructions on using the templates. You have access to the templates even before the call opens.
• Read the review guidelines and review form. Write your research plan in such a way that reviewers can easily find the answer to the review questions.
• Contact your collaborators. Request letters of collaboration from national and international collaborators that are relevant to the implementation of the project. The letters must be appended to the application before the call deadline.

Plan the funding of your project

• Draft the budget in line with the guidelines of your organisation. Read more about the amount of funding and the terms and conditions in the call text under ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’.
• Contact your organisation’s support services now if you have any budget-related questions.
• Also read our funding terms and conditions. If you are granted funding, you are also bound by the terms and conditions.

When the call opens

• Sign up or log in to our online services. Check and update your personal details. Your up-to-date email address is important when we are in contact with you.
• Instructions on how to fill in the application form are available in the online services.
• If you are applying as part of a consortium, read the consortium application guidelines before you start drafting the application.

Application parts in the online services

The different parts of the application are listed below. A comprehensive A–Z index of application guidelines is available on our website. Instructions for filling in the application form are also on the tabs of the form.

• Personal details
• General description: topic, keywords and scientific disciplines of the project, details on the site of research
• Consortium parties: In the consortium application, the consortium PI names the subproject PIs.
• Theme drop-down list, from which you can select one or several of the call’s themes
• Abstract
• Public project description
• Project’s funding and commitment by site of research. See section ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’ in the call text.
• Salary costs of principal investigator
• Collaborators: list of collaborators. The collaboration should be described in the research plan.
• Mobility: list of research visits
• Affiliation with research infrastructures, Centres of Excellence and Finnish Flagships
• Short data management plan
• Research ethics
• Progress report on all RCF-funded projects that have not yet submitted final reports
• Most relevant publications and other outputs: up to ten publications and ten other research outputs that are most relevant to the project; Detailed instructions available on the application form.

Appendices to be appended on dedicated tabs

You must use our templates for the following appendices:

• Research plan
• Curriculum vitae

Other appendices

• The full list of publications is an obligatory appendix to the application.
• If necessary, append a letter of collaboration.

Submitting the application in the online services

You can submit the application when you have filled in or attached all the necessary information. A red warning triangle tells you that there is an error or information missing.

The joint consortium application is submitted by the consortium PI. They can submit the consortium application only after all subprojects have tagged their applications as complete.

You can authorise a person to edit or view the application on the tab ‘Authorisation’.

Submit your application in good time. You can supplement and edit the application and change appendices until the call deadline.

The Research Council of Finland’s total funding budget for this call within the programme comes to a maximum of 2.45 million euros. The funding amounts to up to 450,000 euros for an individual research project and up to 650,000 euros for a consortium for a period of 36 months. The funding period is 1 September 2025–31 August 2028.

The funding is primarily intended towards the salaries of researchers who work full-time on the project and for other project costs.

The PI of the funded project must have a close connection with Finland to support the implementation of a multi-year project. The funded researchers may, however, spend time working abroad during their funding period.

The funding to be distributed through this call depends on the Finnish Parliament’s decision to allocate the necessary funds in the 2025 state budget.

The funding is granted to a Finnish site of research (usually a university or research institute) through which the funding is paid.

Funding plan

As a rule, research funding granted by the Research Council of Finland is co-funding. The RCF’s contribution to the funding is up to 70 per cent of the total costs, and the applicant’s site of research (host organisation) will cover at least 30 per cent of the total costs.

Before submitting the application, you must agree with the administration at your organisation on the contribution of the site of research to the funding of the project. You must check with your organisation whether the funding planned as the own funding contribution suits this purpose.

On the tab ‘Funding for the project’, provide the following information:

• cost estimate including an estimate of the annual amount of funding needed, itemised by type of expenditure
• all funding granted for the project as well as funding that will be provided by the site of research if the project is launched.

Only costs that pass through the books of the site of the research must be included in the total costs.

The cost estimate must be realistic.

Justify the most significant research costs by type of expenditure in the free-text field.

You can apply for funding to cover, for example, the following direct research costs:

• research team salaries
• PI’s salary costs (under certain limitations)
• salaries of researchers returning to Finland
• essential implementation costs
• travel expenses
• collaboration and mobility in Finland
• international collaboration and mobility
• preparation of international projects.

Our funding cannot be used for economic activity. Read more about the eligibility of economic operators.

Only for compelling reasons can government grants be awarded to cover salary costs in cases where the applicant has obstacles related to illegal employment, as referred to in section 7(2) of the Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Transfers.

Research team salaries

As a rule, staff hired with RCF research funding must have an employment relationship. We recommend that they be hired for a period of employment no shorter than the funding period, unless a shorter contract is necessary for special reasons dictated by the implementation of the research project. Short-term research, studies or other assignments (max. duration six months) may also be carried out in the form of outsourced services.

Instructions on job titles at different stages of the research career.

Salary costs of principal investigator

RCF funding for research projects is primarily intended for the salaries of full-time researchers working on the projects and for other research costs.

The PI’s salary costs, including indirect employee costs and overheads, may not exceed half of the funding applied for from the Research Council of Finland. In order for the salary costs to be eligible, the PI’s tasks must be clearly specified and motivated.

Under ‘Salaries’ on the tab ‘Funding for the project’, choose the purpose for which funding for the PI’s salary is sought. Justify the salary on the tab ‘Salary of principal investigator’.

If the PI does not have an employment relationship

• If the PI does not have an employment relationship with, for example, a university or research institute for the duration of the funding period, they must explain how their salary will be covered during the funding period.
• Retired researchers can be granted funding on the same grounds as other researchers.

Mobility aid in research projects

The mobility aid is applied for as research costs related to the implementation of the research plan. The aid is applied for in accordance with the practices of the site of research. To obtain further information, you should contact the personnel and financial administration of the site of research.

In the online services, the aid is applied for on the tab ‘Funding for the project’ under ‘Travel expenses’. The mobility aid must be justified. Read more about the mobility aid in the funding terms and conditions.

What is required from the site of research?

The site of research is a Finnish research organisation such as a university or a research institute.

We require that the site of research provides the research project with all necessary basic facilities. These are determined based on the nature of the research and are the same as those available to other research staff at the site: office and laboratory premises, equipment (incl. computer equipment), and telecommunications, telephone, mailing, copying and library services.

The costs of ensuring immediate open access to peer-reviewed articles are included in the overheads of the site of research. The costs associated with storing and sharing research data are regarded as overheads for the project’s site of research. Only exceptionally and for justified reasons can they be accepted as research costs to be covered by RCF research funding.

The site of research also commits to ensuring that the data management plan can be implemented at the site of research, and that the measures to be taken comply with good data management practice. After a positive funding decision, the site of research will also approve the data management plan of the project.

When accepting the funding, the site of research is responsible for ensuring that necessary statements and permits from ethics committees have been obtained before the start of the project.

The application must include the overheads percentage, indirect employee costs and coefficient for effective working hours of the site of research. The site of research maintains these in the online services under the site’s details. The information is provided as percentages.

When the site of research is a university or a research institute, as a rule, the funding must be applied for VAT included. Consult the financial administration at the site of research for more information. RCF funding may also cover VAT costs, but only on certain conditions (see Value added tax and read more in our funding terms and conditions).

Read more in the guidelines for sites of research.

How to submit and supplement the application

The non-negotiable call deadline also applies to consortia. We will not consider (process) an application that has not been submitted by deadline. The deadline for applications is 8 January 2025 at 16.15 Finnish time.

The joint consortium application is submitted by the consortium PI. The PI can submit the consortium application only after all subproject PIs have tagged their applications as complete. While the call is open, the consortium PI may return the consortium’s subproject application to ‘incomplete’ status for supplementation.

Make sure to submit the application in good time before the deadline. The system will only accept applications that contain all obligatory information. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the content of the application appendices is correct.

You can edit and supplement the application until the deadline. For example, you can change the appendices to the application.

If you notice that your application lacks important information after the deadline, immediately get in touch with us via our helpdesk, so that the application can be reopened for supplementation. We will consider the supplemented information only if it is possible in view of the review and decision-making process.

We may ask you to supplement the application. In that case, you will receive a supplementation request by email. If you do not supplement the application by the given deadline, or if the application is substantially incomplete even after a request for supplementary information, we may declare it inadmissible (i.e. it will not be processed). Make sure that your email address is up to date.

How the application becomes pending

According to section 17 of the Finnish Administrative Procedure Act and section 8 of the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector, the sender is responsible for the application arriving by the set deadline. An application becomes pending when the online application and the obligatory appendices have been submitted in the online services. The system will confirm a successful submission by sending an email to the address you have provided.

Publicity and data protection

Except for the research plan, plan of intent, abstract and progress report, which are primarily confidential, the application and its appendices are public documents. For example, the CV is a public document and as such must not include any secret information. This publicity is based on the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities.

We are committed to following regulations on data protection. The applicant is responsible for the disclosure of the personal data contained in the application and, where appropriate, for requesting the consent of the parties concerned.

The GDPR-compliant privacy notice concerning the research funding process is available on our website under Data protection.

RCF funding is granted based on peer review. We mainly use foreign experts as reviewers, and they make up the review panels.

The review of applications follows a two-stage process. In the first stage, experts are asked to give at least two individual reviews on the application. If at least one expert has given an overall rating of 4, 5 or 6, the application will advance to the panel review.

Applications that receive an overall rating of 4, 5 or 6 from the review panel will be ranked. All applications submitted to the ACTIVE programme’s call will be reviewed in the same panel.

The fundamental principles of the review are transparency, integrity, equity, competence and diversity. Read more about responsible researcher evaluation.

Review criteria

• Compatibility of the research described in the research plan with the specific objectives of the ACTIVE programme (incl. societal impact)
• Scientific quality, innovativeness and novelty value of the proposed research as well as its impact within the scientific community
• Feasibility of the research plan (incl. responsible science)
• Competence of applicant/research team in terms of project implementation, possible researcher training
• Quality of research environment and collaboration networks (incl. possible researcher mobility)

See the review questions and guidelines on our website. The review guidelines and forms and the review principles are only available in English.

After the scientific review, the steering group of the Academy Programme will examine the applications and the results of the review and prepare a proposal on projects to be funded. One key consideration is to create a cluster of projects that is best placed to further the programme’s overall objectives.

The funding decisions are prepared based on the applications, the review reports and the panel rankings. In addition, research projects funded under the ACTIVE programme must meet the following criteria:

• meet the objectives of the programme as stated in the programme memorandum and this call text
• promote one or several themes of the programme
• demonstrate the wide-ranging societal impact of the research
• demonstrate applicability to planning and decision-making on physical activity, exercise and sport, and to promoting physical activity in practice.

Additionally, the decisions will be prepared considering the RCF’s criteria for research funding decisions and other guiding policies. Read about how funding decisions are made.

You will receive an email notification after the funding decision has been made. After receiving the email, you can log in to the online services with your user ID to view the decision and its justifications.

In the online services, you will also have access to the review report(s), which may include the panel ranking (panels rank the best applications).

How to receive the funding

A positive funding decision is accompanied by the funding terms and conditions. They include instructions on how to receive the funding (section 1.2). See the how-to guide: Decision notification, review reports and accepting funding.

• Contact us primarily via the helpdesk (select ‘Application guidance, non-thematic calls’).
• Technical issues with the online services? Contact us via the helpdesk (select ‘Online services and other technical questions’).
• Our telephone number (switchboard) is +358 295 335 000.
• See the Ask & Apply (winter call) webinar schedule and materials.
• Also see the winter call FAQ.