Checklist for Academy Project applicants

• Each call has its own call text on our website; see Calls for applications. Read the call text carefully.
• The call text includes links to the review form and the review guidelines. Please familiarise yourself with them when you write your application.
• All guidelines are available in the A–Z index.

Objective of funding scheme

• The aim is to attain internationally as high a scientific standard of work as possible and to support scientific breakthroughs and top-tier international research collaboration.
• Scientifically high-impact and socially relevant research
• The funding is intended for hiring a research team and for direct research costs.
• We encourage that Academy Projects hire both PhDs and researchers who are working on their PhD theses. Funding is granted for the PI’s own salary: for project management (up to 6 months), supervision of theses (up to 2 months) and/or for justified, research-related reasons (up to 12 months).

Eligibility

• Academy Project funding may be applied for by individual research teams or consortia composed of two or more research teams. If you’re planning a consortium application, read our consortium guidelines.
• In addition to a doctorate, the applicant must have other significant scientific merits.
• Applicants must have qualifications at the professor or docent level.
• Applicants must have a close connection with Finland (the funding is granted to a Finnish research organisation). This connection must be evident in the application.

If you have ongoing funding from the Research Council of Finland

• If you are the PI of an ongoing Academy Project, we will not consider (process) a new application for Academy Project Funding that you submit. This also applies to applications by consortium subprojects.
  • Exception: if the funding period has been extended on statutory grounds
  • Exception: the funding period of the Academy Project ends by 31 December 2024.
  • The PI of a consortium subproject of an ongoing Academy Project may have a new Academy Project application considered (processed) and may be awarded new Academy Project Funding for justified reasons. This exception does not apply to the consortium PI of an Academy Project.
• If you are an Academy Professor and have ongoing funding for research costs, you may apply for Academy Project Funding during the last year of the professorship provided that there are no overlaps in the funding periods.
• If you are an Academy Research Fellow (five-year term) and have funding for research costs, you may apply for Academy Project Funding only for the last two years of the fellowship.
  • Exception: if the funding period has been extended on statutory grounds
• If you have four-year Academy Research Fellowship funding, you may apply for Academy Project Funding only for the last two years of the fellowship.
  • Exception: if the funding period has been extended on statutory grounds
• If you are a director, vice director or research team leader of a Centre of Excellence, you may apply for Academy Project Funding only for the CoE’s fourth year of operation.

More examples on when an application will not be processed or reviewed.

What has changed in the past three years?

• Submit the research plan as a PDF appendix on a separate tab in the online services, using our Word or LaTeX template. The plan is no longer filled in on the online form. Instructions on the structure of the research plan. Follow our structure and page configurations. Please use the headings provided.
• The list of references is included in the length of the research plan.
• The maximum length of the CV is three pages. Submit the CV as a PDF appendix on a separate tab in the online services, using our CV template. The plan is no longer filled in on the online form. See the CV guidelines on our website.
• The costs of ensuring immediate open access to peer-reviewed articles are included in the overheads of the site of research and are thus part of the basic facilities provided by the site. The costs associated with storing and sharing research data are regarded as overheads for the project’s site of research. Only exceptionally and for justified reasons can they be accepted as research costs to be covered by Research Council research funding.
• If the application includes cooperation with Russia or Belarus, you must take into account our policies on the matter.
• There is a separate tab for the progress report. The tab shows all project that have not yet submitted final reports. The report is no longer submitted as a separate appendix.
• The applications are reviewed by pre-defined international review panels, and applicants select the panel for their applications. The review of applications follows a two-stage process. In the first stage, experts are asked to give at least two individual reviews on the application. Applications with an overall rating of 5 or 6 from at least one expert will proceed to the panel review stage.
• More attention is paid to responsible researcher evaluation in the review of applications and in decision-making. Read more about responsible researcher evaluation.
• The funding decisions no longer follow a two-stage process. See the processing status and decision date on our website.

Final points

Participate in our Ask & Apply call info sessions or watch the replays. This year’s webinars will be held in October–December.