FIRI 2021 call: Research infrastructures on 2021–2024 roadmap and Finland’s international RI memberships

The vision stated in the Strategy for National Research Infrastructures in Finland 2020–2030 (PDF) is that high-class research infrastructure services increase the impact and international attraction of the Finnish research, education and innovation system. The objective the FIRI call is to promote the quality, renewal and competitiveness of research, to strengthen the versatile impact of research environments and to increase national and international cooperation.

The Academy of Finland provides funding for the acquisition, establishment, strengthening and upgrading of nationally significant research infrastructures that promote scientific research. By funding research infrastructures, the Academy and other relevant actors also support researcher training and help generate and utilise scientific knowledge and know-how. The call is aimed at advancing the strategic objectives outlined in the Strategy for National Research Infrastructures in Finland 2020–2030.

Key concepts

Research infrastructure

Research infrastructures refer to a reserve of research instruments, data and related services that strengthens the impact and increases the international attraction of the Finnish research, education and innovation system. Research infrastructure services enable R&D activity, support researcher training, and maintain and develop research and innovation capacity, thus promoting the quality, renewal and competitiveness of research, strengthening the versatile impact of research environments and enhancing national and international cooperation.

Research infrastructures are research-relevant equipment, information networks, databases, multidisciplinary research centres, research stations, collections, libraries and other memory organisations, as well as services related to their use. Large scientific research infrastructures are often shared and international, offering opportunities for cooperation for both domestic and foreign researchers and other actors.

Research infrastructures may be based at a single location (single-sited), scattered across several sites (distributed), or provided via a virtual platform (virtual). They can also form mutually complementary wholes and networks.

National research infrastructure

A national research infrastructure is a nationally and/or internationally significant research infrastructure that reinforces the quality of research and education. A national research infrastructure also has impact on business and industry and the wider society. The ownership and organisational structure of a national research infrastructure is clear, and the key skills needs of management and personnel are known. A national research infrastructure must have a long-term plan for maintaining and developing its services. The services and data produced by the research infrastructure must be openly available.  A national research infrastructure must take into account the needs for change created by digitalisation and data-intensive activities. A national research infrastructure must also consider sustainable development in all its operations. The funding base for a national research infrastructure must be sustainable and cannot rely too heavily on competitive funding from the Academy of Finland.

International research infrastructure

In the present call, an international research infrastructure refers to international research infrastructures where Finland is a member through a state treaty or research infrastructures whose membership fee is paid by the Academy of Finland.

Research organisation

A research organisation refers to an organisation whose primary goal is to conduct independent basic research, industrial research or experimental development or to disseminate its results widely by means of education, publication or knowledge transfer. Research organisations are, for example, higher education institutes, research institutes, technology transfer organisations, innovation intermediaries, and research-oriented physical or virtual collaborative entities, regardless of their legal status (organised under public or private law) or financing source. When such an entity is also engaged in economic activities, separate accounts must be kept of the funding and costs of and the revenue generated by such activities. The enterprises exercising a controlling interest in such an entity (as shareholders, members, etc.) may not enjoy any preferential access to the results generated by the entity.

Characteristics of national research infrastructure project

Scientific and educational significance

The project must contribute to the scientific and educational significance of the research infrastructure.

Wide and versatile impact

The project must generate added value to the wide and versatile impact of the research infrastructure for the scientific community and society at large.

Ownership, organisational structure, and competence and know-how

The staff of the research infrastructure must have sufficient expertise for the successful execution of the project.

Services and users

The project must add value to the research infrastructure’s access policy, service range and/or user base.

Digital platforms and data

The research infrastructure must offer feasible guidelines, practices or incentives/demands for researchers in order to support open access to research data. Also, the research infrastructure must take into account the necessary changes brought about by the growth in digitalisation and data intensity.

Responsible science

In its activities, the research infrastructure must take into account research ethics, equality and nondiscrimination, the principles of open science and sustainable development. The project must follow these same principles.

Budget and funding

The research infrastructure must have a long-term funding plan for maintenance and development of services. The funding base of the research infrastructure must be stable.

Risk management

The project must have identified potential risks and have a feasible risk management plan.

The applicant is a research organisation. The research organisation selects the person who will be responsible for submitting the application.

This person may be the director of the research infrastructure or some other person approved by the research organisation. Typically, the person is the principal investigator of the consortium. The responsible person shall be responsible for the application in its entirety. The application is filled in and submitted in the Academy of Finland’s online services. Persons authorised by the person responsible for submitting the application, such as the deputy director of the research infrastructure, may also participate in drafting the application. The authorisation is given on the tab ‘Authorisation’ in the online services. The duration of the authorisation may be determined case-by-case. However, the authorisation will expire with the call’s deadline. Responsible persons must not authorise themselves.

The commitment by the site of research is issued by the senior management of the research organisation. The commitment is issued via the online services. NB! Only the senior management (rectors, etc.) can issue the commitment of the site of research.

Consortium applications

If the research infrastructure is hosted by more than one research organisation, the organisations may form a consortium. Read more in the guidelines for consortium applications. The consortium application is drafted by the consortium PI (the person responsible for the application). The PI may be the director of the research infrastructure or some other person approved by the research organisation. All research organisations acting as consortium parties must demonstrate their commitment to the application in the Academy’s online services. NB! Only the senior management (rectors, etc.) can issue the commitment of the site of research.

The director of the consortium (the person responsible for the application) must fill in the basic information of the consortium in the online services for the other parties. NB! The consortium parties will not be able to examine the entire consortium application without authorisation (described above). However, the application can be viewed in the online services by clicking on ‘Application in PDF format’.

If the research infrastructure has ongoing infrastructure funding granted by the Academy, it may be awarded additional funding for justified reasons. The need for the funding applied for must be justified in the action plan. The action plan must also describe the connection to previously granted funding. Discretionary government grants cannot, however, be awarded twice for the same purpose.

We will not process an application if the responsible person has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.

The Academy of Finland’s total funding budget for research infrastructures funded under the two FIRI 2021 calls is approximately 30 million euros. The first call is targeted at roadmap research infrastructures 2021–2024 and projects affiliated with international research infrastructures where Finland is a member (FIRI 2021 research infrastructures on 2021–2024 roadmap and Finland’s international RI memberships). See the definition of an international research infrastructure above. The second call is targeted at research infrastructures not included in the roadmap (FIRI 2021 non-roadmap research infrastructures). The recommended minimum amount for the Academy’s contribution in an individual application is 200,000 euros. Correspondingly, the recommended minimum amount for the Academy’s contribution in a consortium subproject is 100,000 euros and 600,000 euros for the whole consortium.

The Academy is preparing to possibly allocate additional funding (€20m) through the two FIRI calls, if Finland’s preliminary Recovery and Resilience Plan is implemented.

The funding is intended for the construction or significant upgrading of the research infrastructure, such as the acquisition of equipment and systems and the formation of services. The acquisitions must be incorporated into an existing or upcoming national or international research infrastructure that is open to use by the scientific community.

The funding may also, under certain limitations, be granted to cover salary costs, if the tasks of the person to be hired are linked to the functions described above.

The funding is not intended for operating costs or permanent operating expenses. The research infrastructures to be funded must have a sound and sustainable funding base and a long-term funding plan. The funding of the research infrastructure cannot rely too heavily on competitive funding granted by the Academy of Finland.

In the action plan and the application, applicants shall provide a detailed description of what the funding is applied for and how the funding would support the main objectives set out in the national research infrastructure strategy. Also read the policies of the Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee regarding the characteristics of FIRI funding and administrative ownership. The funding information in the action plan will also be used to assess the sustainability of the research infrastructure’s funding base.

What is required from the site of research?

The costs associated with storing and sharing research data are regarded as overheads for the infrastructure project’s site of research, but they may also be legitimately accepted as costs to be covered with Academy funding. If the construction or significant upgrading of the research infrastructure and the formation of services are focused on the processing of large amounts of data, or if the processing of the project’s data requires exceptionally much work or time, the project may apply for funding for salary costs related to the data processing. In this case, a person whose working hours are spent on data management and processing may be hired to the project. However, the funding is not intended for operating costs or permanent operating expenses.

Any supplies, equipment and literature acquired with Academy funding will remain in the ownership and possession of the site of research. The parties can agree in writing on other procedures in the case of research infrastructures. In multi-site joint projects, the parties must conclude a written agreement on the use, ownership and location of the research infrastructure, even for the time after the funding period. The agreement is kept as part of the procurement documents. The agreement need not be delivered to the Academy.

How to submit and supplement the application

The person responsible for the application shall submit it in the Academy of Finland’s online services. The deadline is non-negotiable. The call opens on 1 April 2021 and closes on 19 May 2021 at 16.15 Finnish time.

Make sure to submit the application in good time before the deadline. The system will only accept applications that contain all obligatory information. The joint consortium application is submitted by the consortium PI. The PI can submit the consortium application only after all subprojects have tagged their applications as complete.

You can make changes to a submitted application (e.g. change appendices), but you must make them before the deadline. If you notice that your application lacks important information after the deadline, immediately get in touch with the call’s contact person, so that they can reopen the application for you. Make sure to re-submit the application after you have supplemented it. We will consider the supplemented information insofar as it is possible in view of the review and decision-making schedule. We may ask you to supplement the application. If you do not supplement the application by the given deadline, we may decide not to process it. You must make sure that your contact details (email address) are up to date. If you have not submitted a final report on a completed, Academy-funded project, we may decide not to process your application.

An application will not be processed if the applicant or the application does not meet the competence requirements or other key requirements, or if the application otherwise does not qualify for processing. (Learn more on the Academy’s website under Review and decision-making).

How the application becomes pending

According to section 17 of the Finnish Administrative Procedure Act and section 8 of the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector, the sender is responsible for the application arriving by the set deadline. An application becomes pending at the Academy when the online application and the obligatory appendices have been submitted in the online services. The system will confirm a successful submission by sending an email to the address you have provided.

Publicity and data protection

Except for the action plan, abstract and progress report, which are primarily subject to professional secrecy, the application and its appendices are public documents. For example, the CV is a public document and as such must not include any confidential information. This publicity is based on the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities. The Academy is committed to following regulations on data protection. The GDPR-compliant privacy statement concerning the research funding process is available on our website under Data protection.

The application consists of a form completed in the online services and its PDF appendices. As an applicant, you have the right to submit your application in Finnish or Swedish, but we ask you to submit it in English.

The online application contains the following parts

Most of the links below take you to the A–Z index of application guidelines.

Personal data

• Personal details of the person responsible for the application (the consortium PI)
• Degrees (most recent one first)
• Titles of docent and professorships
• The CV filled in under the personal details will not form part of the application. All CVs shall be submitted as appendices. See instructions on how to name the appendix under Appendices below. The CV structure should follow the structure provided.

Consortium parties (if applicable)

• Name and abbreviation of consortium
• Details on each party (name, email address, organisation and country of the person responsible for the application)
• See the consortium application guidelines and the FIRI consortium guidelines.

General information

• Details on the site of research
• Information on the research infrastructure (select from the list or enter under ‘Other’)
• Research fields (at least one, no more than five). See the research field classification.
• Keywords in English and Finnish/Swedish

Abstract

• Maximum length 2,500 characters including spaces
• Brief description of the funding applied for and how it supports the overall functioning of the research infrastructure and the call’s objectives

Most relevant publications and other key outputs

• Up to ten key publications produced with the research infrastructure and up to ten other key outputs, with justifications
• You can retrieve publication details from the VIRTA publication information service. Also see the How-to guides for the online services.
• Details on publications may also be entered manually. Obligatory information: author(s), title, year of publication, name of series/journal, type of publication (the type will not be shown in the PDF version of the application).

Collaborators

• List the collaborators of the research infrastructure (name, organisation, country).

Affiliations

• Centres of Excellence in Research: Read more about Centres of Excellence.
• Finnish Flagships: Read more about the Finnish Flagship Programme.

Research ethics

• Found guilty of research misconduct (yes/no). We will not process a funding application if the person responsible for the application (the consortium PI) or a consortium party has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.
• See the ethical guidelines.

Funding for the project

• The project’s funding follows the full cost model. The Academy’s funding contribution comes to no more than 70%.
• Before you can fill in the cost estimate, you must first select the site of research on the tab ‘General information’.
• The site of research maintains the following percentages: effective working hours, indirect employee costs, overheads percentage and VAT.
• Enter the funding period. The funding period starts on 1 January 2022 and ends on 31 December 2026 at the latest.
• Enter salaries and other costs.
• Enter other funding sources and their funding contributions. You must immediately notify us if you receive funding from other sources for the same purpose after your application to the Academy has been submitted.
• Justify the funding to be applied for. The cost estimate must be realistic.
• Consult the administration at your site of research when filling in budget details. Read more about the funding in the call text under ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’.
• Commitment by site of research. Make sure you have a commitment from your site of research to supporting the project. NB! Only the senior management (rectors, etc.) can issue the commitment of the site of research. Read more in the guidelines on the commitment by site of research.

Brief description of research infrastructure

• Maximum length 4,000 characters including spaces
• Name of research infrastructure director (coordinator)
• Name of deputy director (if relevant)
• Name of person responsible for the application (if other than the director)
• Funding period applied for
• Membership fee contribution (if applicable)
• Why has the research infrastructure been established?
• What services does the research infrastructure offer and to whom?
• What stage has the research infrastructure reached in its lifecycle?

Public project description

• Maximum length 1,000 characters including spaces
• Popular and reader-friendly description of the project in English and Finnish/Swedish, including how it supports the overall functioning of the research infrastructure and the call’s objectives
• You may add a link to the research infrastructure’s website.
• We use the public description to disseminate information on the research infrastructure. The project description is also stored at fi, a service that makes available information on research conducted in Finland.
• Read the guidelines on the public project description.

Action plan

• Maximum length 20 pages
• In order to streamline the review, the action plan and the review form have the same structure. That is why it is important that the action plan follows the guidelines and structure provided. Be as concise as you can. See the guidelines on the structure of the action plan. Please note that the action plan cannot be submitted as a separate PDF appendix.

Appendices

• Appendices must be PDF files.

Obligatory appendices:

• CV following the CV guidelines. Append the CVs of all responsible persons of the consortium parties in PDF format. Name the appendices as follows: surname_CV.
• Data management policy: write the plan by using the DMPTuuli tool or following the Academy’s DMP guidelines.
• Applicant organisation’s prioritisation list: Prioritisation list from a research organisation or university that is for its part host to the research infrastructure. Submit the appendix to the Academy’s Registrar’s Office after the call has closed (but no later than 3 September 2021 at 16.15 Finnish time). See the guidelines and template for the prioritisation list.

Case-specific appendices:

• Progress report: Applicant organisations with ongoing FIRI funding for the research infrastructure in question must submit an account to the Academy of the progress of the ongoing project. This is done in the form of a progress report appended to the application. See the guidelines on the progress report.

Submit application

• You can submit the application when you have filled in or attached all the necessary information.
• A red warning triangle on the tab tells you that some information is missing. (NB! The consortium PI’s application will not show a red warning triangle if consortium parties have not tagged their applications as complete. The PI can submit the consortium application only after all subprojects have tagged their applications as complete.
• You can supplement the application until the deadline. Resaving will replace the earlier version.
• If you want to supplement the application after the deadline, please get in touch with the Academy’s contact persons listed in the call text.

Authorisation

• You can authorise another person to supplement or view your application.
• The person must have an account in the Academy’s online services (SARA).
• Start by entering the person’s name in the field. Then select the correct person in the drop-down menu.
• You cannot authorise more than one person at a time to edit a field in your application, and you cannot edit that same field while the authorisation is active.
• Do not authorise yourself.
• See technical instructions on the authorisation process in the how-to guides for the online services.

Read the review questions that will be used in the review: review form for FIRI 2021 call ‘Research infrastructures on 2021–2024 roadmap and Finland’s international RI memberships’. The review guidelines and forms are only available in English.

The review panel will also rank the applications.

Opportunity to reply: Once the panel review reports have been completed, the Academy will provide each applicant a chance to reply to the report. Applicants must submit the reply (no more than two pages) within one week. The purpose is to give applicants a chance to correct any misunderstandings in the review report. Both the review reports and the applicants’ replies are used in deciding on the funding.

The Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee will make the funding decisions in late 2021 and early 2022. In addition to the results of the international peer review and the applicants’ replies, the FIRI Committee will consider the following aspects:

• expected effects on national and international research infrastructure activity
• national perspectives concerning, for instance, the strategic development areas mentioned in the Strategy for National Research Infrastructures in Finland 2020–2030
• strategic commitment of research organisations to the research infrastructure (prioritisation)
• sustainability of the research infrastructure’s funding base (based on the action plan)
• opinions of the Academy of Finland’s research councils.
• According to the guidelines of the European Commission, funding granted under Recovery and Resilience Facility must respect the “do no significant harm” principle (DNSH). A separate report on this will be requested from the most successful applications in the international review to support decision-making in autumn 2021.

How to receive the funding

After being granted funding, the responsible person must check and accept it in the online services without delay. The system will then send a notification to the commitment issuer at the site of research. That person must also accept the granted funding. This must be done via the Academy’s online services within eight weeks of the decision date, unless otherwise stated in the special conditions of the decision notification.

Before you accept the funding, update the public project description (if necessary) and make changes to the annual instalments (if necessary). Once you have accepted the funding, the system will send a notification to the commitment issuer at the site of research. That person must also accept the granted funding.

The funds can be paid only after the applicant and the representative of the site of research have accepted them. The system will then notify the funding to the finance administration of the site of research, whereupon the funds will be ready to use.

Primary email address: firi@aka.fi

• Merja Särkioja, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 111
• Paula Leskinen, Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 145
• Tiina Ilo, Coordinator, tel. +358 295 335 150

Follow Twitter updates on the call: #FIRI2021 and @aka_firi