FIRI Committee decides funding for Finnish research infrastructure roadmap, selects ‘lighthouse’ infrastructures

The Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee (FIRI Committee) has now taken the funding decisions concerning the research infrastructures selected to Finland’s national roadmap for research infrastructures 2025–2028. In December 2024, the FIRI Committee selected 21 research infrastructures to be included in the roadmap.

The FIRI Committee has outlined that research infrastructures selected to the roadmap will be granted funding. The Committee decided on 2 December 2024 to fund the selected roadmap infrastructures with around 15 million euros, and on 27 January 2025 with just over 35 million euros. In total, around 127 million euros has been earmarked for roadmap infrastructures during the period 2025–2029.

The Roadmap for Finnish Research Infrastructures is a tool for the research community, policymakers and funders to guide investment and support research, development and innovation. The aim of the roadmap is to ensure that research infrastructures remain internationally competitive, are able to respond to both current and future scientific challenges, generate new knowledge and expertise and interact with RDI actors.

From among the roadmap research infrastructures, the FIRI Committee also selected six research infrastructures as ‘lighthouse’ infrastructures. Lighthouse status is granted to research infrastructures that have been the most successful infrastructures in the roadmap call, meet the lighthouse criteria and lead the way in all key infrastructure areas, such as service provision, impact, functionality and shared use. The lighthouses are showcases of and spearheads for the service offer and impact of roadmap research infrastructures.

The national roadmap supports the multiannual plan for the use of central government research and development funding. The previous roadmap of Finnish research infrastructures was published in 2021.

The roadmap call opened in 2024 was based on the long-term plan for research infrastructures 2030 (PDF). The plan presents a strategic vision that excellent research infrastructures are the foundation of high-impact research, development and innovation. The research infrastructures selected to the roadmap contribute to the objectives of the long-term plan.