How we work

High-level international peer review is our key tool for identifying the best and most promising research projects to fund. We use it to find the best research ideas, the most talented researchers and the most attractive research environments.

Advantages of peer review and open competition

International peer review indicates the quality of the research in comparison to the international level in the field concerned. It allows us to support the best projects and researchers as well as helps us identify new research topics and perspectives.

We also support

development of research environments, such as research infrastructures

increased independence of early-career researchers

evidence-based policy and decision-making in various sectors of society

Funding opportunities at a glance

For researchers:

Academy Professor

Academy Research Fellow

Postdoctoral Researcher

Clinical Researcher

For research teams:

Academy Project funding

Academy Programme funding

Centres of Exellence funding

For research organisations:

Research infrastructure funding

Funding to strengthen university research profiles

Flagship funding

Strategic research:

Strategic research programmes

Who gets the funding

Academy funding granted for a research project is paid to the ‘site of research’, that is, the university or research institute where the researcher or research team works.

The university or research institute, also referred to as the research organisation, uses the funding to cover the research costs and salaries of the team members. The research organisation will invoice the Academy annually based on the actual costs.

On average, our funding for a four-year project comes to 500,000 euros. Of this sum, 35–40% goes to the research organisation as overheads, which is used to cover rents, information system costs and administrative costs.

The researchers are employed by the university or research institute that hosts the project.

Strategy

1. Research funding and expertise - The Academy of Finland offers competitive peer-reviewed research funding and actively contributes its science policy expertise to advance the quality and impact of scientific research, support the renewal of science and develop research environments in Finland.

2. The role of science and research - Science and its results have both intrinsic and instrumental value. For example, science provides a sound basis for knowledge and an understanding of the world, sustainable welfare and wealth, informed decision-making, better education and the improvement of practice. The pressing need to resolve issues related to climate change and other sustainability challenges, for instance, highlights the many crucial roles of science. Scientific research, research-based competencies and various applications of scientific knowledge are closely interwoven.

3. The Academy’s values and principles - The core values guiding the Academy in all its activities are openness, transparency, reliability, equality and non-discrimination.

Responsibility is a cross-cutting principle in the Academy’s operation as well as in all Academy- funded research.

In the context of the Finnish research, education and innovation system, the Academy works closely with other stakeholders and the wider society.

4. The Academy funds high-quality, high-impact and innovative research - Science is made by people. Academy research funding is open to application from all scientists and researchers. Our funding decisions are based on an international peer review process that is constantly being improved. The single most important criterion for the Academy is the high quality of research.

Research has multiple impacts both within science and in the wider society. The channels, targets and timespans of these impacts vary. In many fields of research, impact is considered integral to scientific quality. Science renews itself in many ways, such as by identifying new research topics, creating new research communities and developing new approaches, concepts and methods. Open science, data management and analysis and research infrastructures are gaining ever greater significance in almost all disciplines. International exchange and cooperation are crucial to high-quality research.

5. The Academy produces information about science and research - The Academy works closely with other stakeholders to produce information and analyses about science and research and in this way contributes to more informed science policy decision-making.

6. Expertise and know-how - The Academy of Finland’s operation depends on the expertise of its officials, staff members and outside reviewers. An ongoing commitment to improving staff skills and wellbeing in the workplace supports the Academy’s self-renewal and responsible and interactive engagement with the science and research community and the wider society.

Organization

Our Administration Office consists of two departments: the Department of Research Services and the Department of Joint Services. The two departments comprise ten divisions.

The Department of Research Services includes three divisions that support the Academy’s research councils and one that supports the Strategic Research Council (SRC). There are also separate divisions for research funding development and strategic planning and analysis. The Department of Joint Services has four divisions: Administrative Services, Financial Services, Information Management and Communication Services.

The Administration Office prepares and implements decisions made by the Board, research councils, the Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee, the Strategic Research Council, subcommittees and the Academy’s president, and signs the agreements resulting from the decisions.

The Administration Office is headed by a president and two vice presidents. The VP for administration is responsible for administrative operations and development. The VP for research is responsible for science policy planning and research funding development.

With a staff of some 150, the Administration Office sees to our administration, does all the necessary groundwork for official decision-making by our Board and research councils, and executes their decisions. Staff at the Administration Office also prepare science policy surveys and plans and participate in several Finnish and international working groups.

International cooperation

International cooperation is an important tool for supporting and reinforcing the quality, impact and renewal of research. All our funding opportunities are designed with a view to supporting the internationalisation of Finnish science and Finnish researchers. We also help researchers in applying for international funding, we participate in European and global organisations and networks, and we disseminate information about Finnish research and the Finnish science and research system.

Boosting the internationalisation of research requires close collaboration with researchers, research organisations and funding agencies as well as national and international actors. We also engage in funding cooperation with key countries to ensure that Finnish researchers are in the best possible position to engage in high-standard international research collaborations.