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Our organisation
Governance and organisation
The Swedish Research Council for Sport Science (CIF) is a government agency that funds research and serves as a knowledge centre in sport science. It operates under the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, which is its parent organisation. The CIF secretariat is also located within this institution.
CIF’s governance is regulated by a government ordinance and annual appropriation directives issued by the government.
The board consists of a chair appointed by the government and 13 members appointed by Swedish higher education institutions. An independent Scientific review panel is affiliated with the board and is responsible for the scientific evaluation of research grant applications.
The day-to-day operations are managed by a secretariat with seven employees. and Christine Dartsch Nilsson is the head of the secretariat.
The Board and the Scientific Review Panel
The board consists of a chair appointed by the government and 13 members appointed by Swedish higher education institutions.
The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences appoints one member, while the Swedish Sports Confederation appoints two members. The following higher education institutions each appoint members in consultation with their partner institutions:
– Lund University, in consultation with Malmö University and Linnaeus University
– University of Gothenburg, in consultation with Karlstad University and Halmstad University
– Karolinska Institutet, in consultation with Stockholm University
– Örebro University, in consultation with Uppsala University and Linköping University
– Umeå University, in consultation with Mid Sweden University, Luleå University of Technology and Dalarna University
All board members are appointed for a maximum term of three years. For each member, other than the chair, a deputy may be appointed. Deputies are appointed in the same manner and serve for the same term as their respective board member.
Chair
- Björn O. Nilsson (Chair)
Members
- Torbjörn Andersson, Malmö University
- Toni Arndt, Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences
- Erik Backman, Dalarna University
- Frida Eek, Lund University
- Marie Hedberg, Swedish Sports Confederation
- Charlotte Häger (Vice Chair), Umeå University
- Andreas Linderyd, Swedish Sports Confederation
- Eva Carin Lindgren, Halmstad University
- Carolina Lundqvist, Linköping University
- Stefan Pettersson, University of Gothenburg
- Elodie Ponsot, Örebro University
- Torben Spaak, Stockholm University
- Anders Stålman, Karolinska Institutet
Deputies
- Jesper Augustsson, Linnaeus University
- Susanna Geidne, Örebro University
- Joanna Kvist, Linköping University
- Ola Stadler, Swedish Sports Confederation
- Liselott Ohlson, Swedish Sports Confederation
- Johan Lindholm, Umeå University
- Erika Schagatay, Mid Sweden University
- Carolina Lunde, University of Gothenburg
- Henrik Gustafsson, Karlstad University
- Marita Löfgren Harringe, Karolinska Institutet
- Magnus Kilger, Stockholm University
- Victoria Blom, Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences
Each year, the Swedish Research Council for Sport Science appoints a scientific review panel to review and evaluate the submitted grant applications.
The panel is organised into three review groups, each consisting of four to six members. In addition, a complementary review panel evaluates applications for grant funding for organisations, networks and collaboration.
Members of the Scientific Review Panel are appointed by the Board following consultation with the Swedish Research Council.
Basic and Applied Biological Sciences
- Oliver Witard (chair), Reader in Exercise Metabolism & Nutrition, King’s College London, United Kingdom
- Florentina Hettinga, Professor, Vriije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Abigail Mackey, Clinical Professor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Olivier Seynnes, Professor, Department of Physical Performance, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NIH), Norway
Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences
- Jørn Hansen (chair), Professor Emeritus, Department of Sports Science and Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark
- Paul Kitchin, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, School of Sport, Ulster University
- Anthony Papathomas, Reader in Mental Health in Sport, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
- Sebastian Ruin, Professor of Movement and Sport Pedagogy, University of Graz, Austria
- Ulrica von Thiele Schwarz, Professor of Psychology,
Mälardalen University, Sweden - Anne Tjønndal, Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Nord University, Norway
Sports Medicine
- Olof Sköldenberg (chair), Professor of Orthopaedics,
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden - Brit Elin Øiestad, Professor, Centre for Intelligent Musculoskeletal Health, Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), Norway
- Eamonn Delahunt, Professor; School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Ireland
- Eivind Inderhaug, Professor, Leder for FAIT (Forskningsgruppen for Artroskopi og Idrettstraumatologi), University of Bergen, Norway
Complementary Review Panel 2026:
Grants for organisations, networks and collaboration
- Pia Lundquist Wanneberg (chair), Sweden
- Eva Jansson, Professor Emeritus, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
- Apostolos Theos, Associate Professor in Sports Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden