Two new strategic research programmes to be launched, calls for application published

The Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland launches two new research programmes. The programmes focus on two theme areas decided by the Finnish Government in October. The intent application phase of the two-stage application process will open on 4 December 2019 and close on 15 January 2020.

The new programmes:

• Climate Change and Humans
• Information Literacy and Evidence-Informed Decision-Making
  

A cross-cutting priority in both theme areas is communality.

In strategic research programmes, the application process is carried out in two stages. The call for letters of intent is open for all eligible applicants. The projects to be invited to the second phase of the call will be selected in March 2020. The decision on who will be invited to the second phase will be made by the Strategic Research Council based on an international peer review of the first-stage applications.

The new programmes will be launched in autumn 2020, and their funding period is six years. The progress of the selected projects will be reviewed in the middle of the funding period and, based on this review, the Council will decide whether to continue the funding. The Strategic Research Council is prepared to fund a total of 8 to 12 projects based on the two programme calls about to open. During the first three-year period, their combined funding will amount to approximately 34 million euros.

The applications will be submittedas consortia. The descriptions and the terms and conditions concerning the structure, composition and activities of the consortia can be found in the calls for applications.

From the applicants Kimmo Nuotio, Chair of the Strategic Research Council, expects versatile applications to which partners have been sought widely from new directions. “The applicants must really focus on drawing up the interaction plan, as we expect the implementation of the societal impacts of the project to begin as from the very early stages of the project.”

The purpose of research projects funded by the Strategic Research Council is to find solutions to major societal challenges. “As far as mitigation of climate change is concerned, this time we are looking for individual-focused rather than system-centred approaches: what can each and every one of us do about the matter? It is extremely important to get information about what kind of action people can take at individual level to prevent climate change.” The individual level is also emphasised in the information literacy theme. “To ensure that societal decision-making could be based on information, all of us should be able to examine the information available to us in a critical manner and form informed opinions of different matters based on it,” Nuotio points out. “The communal approach, on the other hand, will bring forth the aspect that we are always operating in interaction with others.”     

The calls for application have been published in Finnish and in English. The Swedish call for application will also be published before the application period begins.