The public perception of SFISM today is determined to a large extent by the network of organisations with which it works closely, as a part of FOSPO, as a service provider for Swiss Olympic, and as a Department of the Bern University of Applied Sciences.

The Federal Office of Sport FOSPO promotes sport and its values, for all ages and abilities and across all social and cultural boundaries. It is considered to be a federal centre of excellence for Swiss sport. Sport and exercise play an important role in society. FOSPO shapes and develops national sports policy accordingly. Apart from the political perspective, the pedagogical and scientific aspects of sport are fundamental to FOSPO. FOSPO delivers education, training and services for elite, high-performance and recreational sport.

The Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen SFISM is a division of the Federal Office of Sport. Other FOSPO divisions are Sports Policy and Resources, Youth and Adult Sport, the National Sports Centre Magglingen, and the National Youth Sports Centre Tenero. As part of FOSPO, SFISM is tasked with promoting all forms of sport.

Swiss Olympic serves both as the National Olympic Committee for Switzerland and as the umbrella organization for governing bodies representing both Olympic and non-Olympic sports. Swiss Olympic was formed from the merger of the Swiss National Association for Sport with the Swiss Olympic Committee, with the simultaneous integration of the National Committee for Elite Sport.

FOSPO and Swiss Olympic have signed a cooperation agreement which defines, among other things, the services SFISM is to perform on behalf of Swiss Olympic. These include, for example, providing sports science-based services to support emerging athletes at the performance level, developing and promoting youth high-performance sport and coach education, as well as delivering services to selected national governing bodies in the areas of coaching science, sports medicine, sports physiotherapy, sports psychology and sports nutrition.

The Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH is one of Switzerland's seven universities of applied science. It prepares students for work in professions involving the application of scientific findings and methods or aspects of artistic design. The courses offered by the BFH and its research and development activities are all practice-centred.

SFISM has been attached to the BFH since 1998. 2022, the two universities signed a corresponding association agreement to continue the cooperation. Together with quality development, above all the close links between the Rector's Office and BFH management, plus involvement in the Teaching, Research, Equal Opportunities, Evaluation and Continuing Education committees, facilitate academic and interdisciplinary exchange, creating a reference system with university-specific structures. SFISM collaborates closely with individual BFH departments in a variety of development projects.