FIRI 2024: ICOS-ERIC and ACTRIS-ERIC head office activities, call for invited applicants
- RCF research infrastructure funding upgrades the quality and improves the renewal, competitiveness and interdisciplinary nature of Finnish research. It also increases the appeal of Finnish research environments.
- This call for invited applicants provides funding for ICOS-ERIC and ACTRIS-ERIC head office activities in Finland.
On a proposal from the Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee, the Board of the Research Council of Finland has decided on a long-term plan for research infrastructures until 2030 (PDF). The FIRI Committee opens roadmap and funding calls based on this plan.
Before you fill in your application in the online services (SARA), carefully read the call text and the funding terms and conditions.
If the call text is in conflict with the funding terms and conditions, the terms and conditions should always be considered primary. If the translated English or Swedish version of the call text is in conflict with the Finnish call text, the Finnish version should always be considered primary.
Read the full call text on this page.
The funding of the head office activities of the international ICOS-ERIC and ACTRIS-ERIC research infrastructures (RI) is in line with the objectives of the long-term plan for research infrastructures and is part of the implementation of the Finnish act on RDI funding. The aim of this call for applications is to examine the benefits of RI head offices for Finnish RDI and, on that basis, to make decisions on the funding of head office activities.
On a proposal from the Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee, the Board of the Research Council of Finland has decided on a long-term plan for research infrastructures until 2030 (PDF). The main objectives of the plan are linked to the Research Council of Finland’s strategy, which aims to open up new avenues for excellent, responsible and high-impact research. The plan presents a vision that excellent research infrastructures are the foundation of high-impact research, development and innovation.
Based on the plan, the FIRI Committee opens roadmap and funding calls and, together with other actors, develops national and international research infrastructure activities.
Establishing head offices of international research infrastructures in Finland brings special advantages for Finland. Locating the head offices in Finland gives Finnish researchers an international edge in the scientific disciplines covered by the RI, and increases Finland’s appeal in the eyes of the international scientific community. There is also extensive cooperation between Finnish and international companies and RI head offices, which further supports the development of innovations and creates new business opportunities.
Finland also benefits significantly from the funding allocated to RIs under the EU’s Horizon Europe framework programme, of which the Finnish head offices secure a significant proportion. This funding provides direct support to Finnish RDI.
This call is for invited applicants only. Applications are invited from the ICOS-ERIC and ACTRIS-ERIC research infrastructures. ICOS-ERIC and ACTRIS-ERIC will select the officials who will submit the application on behalf of the research infrastructure.
Special terms and restrictions
You must immediately notify us if you receive funding from other sources for the same purpose after you have submitted your application to us.
We will not consider (process) an application by a person who has participated in the planning of the call to an extent likely to give them a comparative advantage over other applicants.
We will not consider (process) a funding application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.
If the application includes cooperation with Russia or Belarus, you must take into account our policies on the matter.
If you have not submitted a final report on a completed or ongoing RCF-funded project by the set deadline, we may decide not to consider (process) your application.
An application will not be considered (processed) if the applicant or the application does not meet the competence requirements or other key requirements set for the call, or if there are otherwise no conditions for processing the case.
A scientific council or another decision-making body may decide not to fund an application based on science policy objectives, or if it is apparent for some other reason that the applicant cannot receive funding with the submitted application. Read more about the circumstances that may cause us not to consider or process an application.
We will not consider (process) an application if the applicant is a member of the RCF Board or scientific councils or the Strategic Research Council.
The RCF Board decides the criteria for the RCF's funding decisions.
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 that you to submit it in English to facilitate the international review.
Before the call opens
Check your eligibility
- Read the section Who can apply? to see whether you meet the eligibility criteria.
Plan the contents of your application
- Start drafting the action plan.
- Use our template (see section Parts of the application). Read the instructions on using the templates.
Plan the funding of your project
- Draft the budget in line with the guidelines of your organisation. Read more about the amount of funding and the terms and conditions in the call text under Funding to be applied for and funding period.
- Contact your organisation’s support services now if you have any budget-related questions.
- Also read our funding terms and conditions. If you are granted funding, you are also bound by the terms and conditions.
When the call opens
- Sign up or log in to our online services. Check and update your personal details. Your up-to-date email address is important when we are in contact with you.
- Instructions on how to fill in the application form are available in the online services.
- If you are applying as part of a consortium, read the consortium application guidelines before you start drafting the application.
Application parts in the online services
The different parts of the application are listed below. A comprehensive A–Z index of application guidelines is available on our website. Instructions for filling in the application form are also on the tabs of the form.
- Personal details
- General information: topic, keywords and scientific disciplines of the project, details on the site of research
- Consortium parties: In the consortium application, the consortium PI names the subproject PIs.
- Abstract
- Public project description
- Project’s funding and commitment by site of research. See section ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’ in the call text.
- Collaborators: list of collaborators. The collaboration should be described in the research plan.
- Affiliation to research infrastructures, Centres of Excellence and Finnish Flagships
Appendices to be appended on dedicated tabs:
You must use our templates for the following appendices:
Other appendices
Submitting the application in the online services
You can submit the application when you have filled in or attached all the necessary information. A red warning triangle tells you that there is an error or information missing.
The joint consortium application is submitted by the consortium PI. They can submit the consortium application only after all subprojects have tagged their applications as complete.
You can authorise a person to edit or view the application on the tab ‘Authorisation’.
Submit your application in good time. You can supplement and edit the application and change appendices until the call deadline.
The funding period starts no sooner than 1 January 2025 and ends by 31 December 2029.
The RCF funding contribution comes to 100% of the total costs of the acquisition, establishment or upgrading of the research infrastructure.
The funding to be distributed through this call depends on the Finnish Parliament’s decision to allocate the necessary funds in the 2025 state budget.
The funding is granted to a Finnish site of research (usually a university or research institute) through which the funding is paid.
How to submit and supplement the application
The person responsible for the application shall submit it in the Research Council of Finland’s online services (SARA). The non-negotiable deadline for applications is 15 October 2024 at 16.15. The deadline also applies to consortia. We will not consider (process) an application that has not been submitted by deadline.
The consortium PI can submit the application only after all subproject PIs have tagged their applications as complete.
Make sure to submit the application in good time before the deadline. The system will only accept applications that contain all obligatory information. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the content of the application appendices is correct.
You can edit and supplement the application until the deadline. 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 us via our helpdesk, so that the application can be reopened for supplementation. We will consider the supplemented information if it is possible in view of the review and decision-making process.
We may ask you to supplement the application. The request for supplementation will be sent to you by email. If you do not supplement the application by the given deadline, or if the application is substantially incomplete even after a request for supplementary information, we may decide to dismiss it (i.e. it will not be processed). You must make sure that your contact details (email address) are up to date.
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 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.
If you fail to submit a final report on a completed or ongoing project according to our guidelines, we may decide not to process your new 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.
A scientific council or another decision-making body may decide not to fund an application based on science policy objectives, or if it is apparent for some other reason that the applicant cannot receive funding with the submitted application. Read more about the circumstances that may cause us not to consider (process) an application.
Publicity and data protection
Except for the research plan, plan of intent, abstract and progress report, which are primarily confidential, the application and its appendices are public documents. For example, the CV is a public document and as such must not include any secret information. This publicity is based on the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities.
We are committed to following regulations on data protection. The applicant is responsible for the disclosure of the personal data contained in the application and, where appropriate, for requesting the consent of the parties concerned.
The GDPR-compliant privacy notice concerning the research funding process is available on our website under Data protection.
The FIRI Committee will make the funding decisions by 21 January 2025.
The person who submitted the application will receive an automatic email message after the decision has been made. After receiving the message, they can log in to the online services with their user ID to view the decision, the decision justifications and, if the decision was favourable, the related terms and conditions.
How to receive the funding
A positive funding decision is accompanied by the funding terms and conditions. They include instructions on how to receive the funding (section 1.2).
- Contact us primarily via the helpdesk (select ‘Application guidance, thematic calls’).
- Technical issues with the online services? Contact us via the helpdesk (select ‘Online services and other technical questions’).
- Our telephone number (switchboard) is +358 295 335 000.
