Author(s): GÜBELI, C., KEMPF, H., Institution: SWISS FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF SPORT MAGGLINGEN, Country: SWITZERLAND, Abstract-ID: 2394

Introduction
With ongoing professionalization and commercialization of sport, research and innovation (R&I) are gaining attention in sports federations. In Switzerland, recent federal policy delegates responsibility of research and innovation to the national sports federations (NSF). While research and innovation of international sports federations has already been investigated (Crespo et al., 2023), little is known about the institutionalization of R&I in national NSFs (Corthouts et al., 2023). While recent findings from a cross-sectional study on Swiss NSF’s show an overall low level of institutionalization of R&I with high heterogeneity (Gübeli et al., 2025), little is known about the institutionalization on the level of the individual organizations.
Methods
In order to address this knowledge gap, a qualitative collective case study has been conducted on eight Swiss NSF’s, which have been selected based on their annually acquired R&I grants from the umbrella federation Swiss Olympic. In addition to a qualitative content analysis of federation documents, problem-centric interviews have been conducted with scientific and executive federation staff members.
Results
While the final analysis is still in progress, currently available results confirm previous findings of low institutionalization of research and innovation in Swiss NSF’s and vast differences between NSF’s. The previously documented high focus on elite sports could also be confirmed, with very little evidence of the federation’s resources in R&I on grassroot sports or physical activity.
Discussion/Conclusion
The low institutionalization of R&I in Swiss NSF’s poses a challenge for the Swiss sport system as a whole. As only few federations are able to increase their R&I capacities due to subsidies from Swiss Olympic, there is a high probability for increasing heterogeneity in the upcoming years. Further research is needed to analyze potential strategies of federations with little financial and human resources, the potential of knowledge transfer between NSFs, as well as the role of volunteer researchers.

Corthouts, J., Winand Mathieu, & and Scheerder, J. (2023). A three-dimensional model of innovation within Flemish non-profit sports organisations. European Sport Management Quarterly, 23(3), 853–876. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2021.1936115
Crespo, M., Botella-Carrubi, D., Jabaloyes, J., & Martínez-Gallego, R. (2023). How do International Olympic Sport Federations innovate? The use of crowdfunding and the impact of COVID-19. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 18(3), 889–901. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541221096922
Gübeli, C., Kempf, H., Emmenegger, S., & Ganné-Chedeville, C. (2025). The institutionalisation of research and innovation in Swiss sports federations – Analysis of the status quo. Current Issues in Sport Science (CISS), 10, 007–007. https://doi.org/10.36950/2025.2ciss007