Mid-term evaluation of Finnish Centres of Excellence 2018–2025: the CoEs are making good research progress

An international panel has carried out a mid-term evaluation of the units of the Finnish Programme for Centres of Excellence 2018–2025. In the funding decisions made based on the evaluation results, the funding of the CoEs remained at the same level, increased or stayed in line with the application.

The aim of the Academy of Finland’s Finnish Centre of Excellence Programmes is to strengthen Finnish research by raising its level, contributing to its regeneration and promoting its societal impact. Centres of Excellence (CoE) are extensive research packages that develop creative research environments, paving the way for innovations and training new talented researchers for the Finnish research and business sectors.

The Academy of Finland evaluates the progress of research by the CoEs in the middle of the funding period. The evaluation is focused on the centres’ activity in the first four years. The outcome of the evaluation will determine the level of funding for the remaining period – the funding may decrease, increase or remain the same. The funding may also cease entirely.

The mid-term evaluation was carried out by an international panel of experts who also interviewed the management of the CoEs. The evaluated material consisted of the CoEs’ applications for continued funding. The application presents the plans for the next three-year period as well as annual reporting and the scientific advisory boards’ reports on CoE activities.

According to the evaluation panel, the research in all CoEs has progressed in line with the objectives set. The Academy’s funding has helped the CoEs in carrying out the research, and all CoEs have demonstrated their ability to meet the programme’s objectives in terms of scientific renewal and the quality and impact of research.

The General Subcommittee discussed the evaluation results during its meeting in October 2022. The first set of funding decisions was made on 13 December 2022 and the rest on 12 January 2023.

CoEs are jointly funded by the Academy of Finland, universities and research institutes. Funding is also made available through other sources. The Academy of Finland has funded Centres of Excellence since 1995. Thanks to the long-term funding provided by the Academy in collaboration with CoE host organisations, the funding instrument effectively facilitates risk-taking and new initiatives in research.

The funding granted for the remaining three-year period of the Centre of Excellence Programme 2018–2025 comes to a total of 43.1 million euros. The programme’s total funding budget is 110.6 million euros.