The strategy funding for sports is a big lobbying victory – and the start of a new phase of advocacy work

When the results of the negotiations between the universities and the Ministry of Education and Culture were released, the OLL office sat down for celebratory coffees. Out of all the funding that universities and universities of applied sciences receive, 5–10 percent is made up of strategic funding. The allocation of this funding to strategically important areas is decided for a few years at a time.

Now the Ministry and the universities have agreed that some of the strategic funding will be used to promote physical activity. The Ministry’s press release stated that in the negotiations they agreed with all universities on measures which will promote wellbeing in the university community, including sports.

This is a much larger lobbying win than the jargon suggests. OLL has been trying to get sports included in the universities’ funding and agreement system for years. The recently published history of the 100 years of student sports states that 19 years ago we were already working with SAMOK and SYL on preparing a paragraph on students’ wellbeing and student sports services for the universities and universities of applied sciences’ goal agreements.

This year we have been promoting the funding solution in collaboration with the Finnish Olympic Committee.

Since 2012, the Ministry of Education and Culture has supported universities in implementing the national recommendations for university sports through project and development funding. During the 2023 parliamentary election, we campaigned for sports to be taken into consideration in the funding for universities through some kind of incentive. Before the strategic funding, the universities were already allocated project funding of nearly one million euros as part of the Get Finland Moving programme.

This year we have been promoting the funding solution in collaboration with the Finnish Olympic Committee. At the start of the year, the national sports and athletics organisation delivered our message to the Ministry: the way to achieve the most long-term improvement in the conditions of exercise is by including the promotion of physical activity and the improvement of conditions of exercise in some way in the university funding model.

Aiming for permanent solutions

The lobbying does not end with the strategy funding. Our next task will be to work with our members to ensure that the universities will make the right investments from a student perspective into both sports services and other ways of increasing physical activity in the study environment. Even though the development work has expanded and focuses more on teaching solutions and facilities that support an active lifestyle, there is still plenty of work to do to improve the traditional sports services. The services are not yet equal at all universities.

These new agreements cover the period 2025–2028. It is to be hoped and expected that some of the new active measures will take root in the daily life and culture of the universities during the agreement period. And if we and our members have any say in the matter, the traditional sports services will also become better and more equal at the same time. According to the conclusions of the recently published Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (THL 2024) it is vital to increase physical activity, reduce excessive sitting and take movement breaks in the study environment and culture.

In addition to the fact that the strategy funding is temporary, another challenge is that it doesn’t increase the money available to the universities, but instead it redistributes existing funds.

I believe that we will be shouting about permanent funding solutions again at the 2027 parliamentary election. In addition to the fact that the strategy funding is temporary, another challenge is that it doesn’t increase the money available to the universities, but instead it redistributes existing funds. Traditionally universities have not been excited about ring-fenced funds, but instead want to decide autonomously on how the money is used as much as possible. We do however want to find solutions that will last beyond parliamentary terms and strategic periods.

One permanent solution that we have long been suggesting is to formalise the status of university sports as part of the duties of the universities. This can mean entries into laws and agreements, but most of all money.