Academy of Finland preparing two new Academy Programmes

The Academy of Finland has decided to launch two new Academy Programmes: Environmental Health in a Changing Climate and Molecular Regulatory Mechanisms of Life. The Academy has reserved 8 million euros for the former and 7 million euros for the latter. The preparations for the new programmes will kick off and the first calls will open in spring 2019.

Molecular Regulatory Mechanisms of Life is an Academy Programme that aims to increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate the interaction between an organism’s endogenous and exogenous factors and the genome. Research in this area has been made possible by recent methodological advances in the study of genome-wide regulatory mechanisms. Two million euros of the programme’s budget will be used to fund a new type of programme element, which will be planned in more detail as the main programme is prepared.

The other Academy Programme, Environmental Health in a Changing Climate, aims to provide the knowledge base needed when selecting best practices for adapting to climate change. The impacts of climate change and the mitigation measures on human health and wellbeing have received relatively little research attention in Finland.

More than 200 proposals

The Academy of Finland opened an online survey in November 2017 to invite proposals for new Academy Programmes and strategic research themes. The Academy received 205 proposals in total. The online survey also enabled dialogue between respondents.

The proposals were discussed at a workshop between the Academy’s research councils in March. The workshop resulted in eight programme initiatives, from which the Academy Board then selected two. In particular, the final selection was based on the timeliness of the topics and their appropriateness for programme-based funding.

Academy Programmes are research programmes funded by the Academy of Finland. They are science-driven, thematic and target-oriented bodies of research projects that are aimed at supporting scientific regeneration and increasing scientific and societal impact. Academy Programmes support multi- and interdisciplinary research of the highest quality, promote networking between researchers and provide platforms for international research cooperation. In Academy Programmes, funding is provided for at least four years. The Academy currently funds 13 Academy Programmes.