Strategic research programme: Pandemics as a Challenge for Society (PANDEMICS), invited applicants

This strategic research programme focuses on the crises caused by pandemics and their wide-ranging social impacts. Anticipation and prevention of pandemic crises, safeguarding the functioning of society, decision-making on measures to be taken and post-crisis reconstruction require comprehensive research-based solutions. As the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shows, the prevention of pandemic threats and securing the carrying capacity of healthcare may require not only medical and public health measures but also extensive societal measures and restrictions. Such measures may require decision-making with insufficient information and making tough choices between potentially incommensurable factors. The consequences are far-reaching, for example in social, health and economic terms, both for individuals and for the wider society. How do we safeguard the Finnish welfare society from pandemics and support the post-crisis recovery?

Research in this programme will create research-based solutions and multidisciplinary expertise to solve the societal challenges posed by pandemics, promoting the core tasks, operational security and citizen security of the welfare state. The objective of the theme is to strengthen the ability and capacity of Finnish society to anticipate and act in crises caused by pandemics. Individual research and interaction projects can focus on a more limited phenomenon. The research may address the individual and societal risks caused by pandemics, anticipation and prevention of risks, preparedness for pandemics or different ways of resolving them. The research may focus on, for example, maintaining the basic functions of the state, maintaining operational security and security of supply, safeguarding the carrying capacity of the healthcare system, maintaining the welfare state, issues related to individual rights, changes in values and attitudes, impacts on equality and non-discrimination, people’s coping mechanisms at different lifecycle stages, or promoting a sense of security and social trust. Resolving the challenges in line with the Sustainable Development Goals requires flexibility, and an ability to recover and renew. The question of the role of the nation state as part of the global system will also rise to new light. Although the theme focuses on the Finnish society, the problems are global – their resolution also requires a cross-border perspective from the nation state. It is also essential to analyse and anticipate changes in Finland’s internal and external security environment in order to support the handling of acute crises. Co-creation with stakeholders both enables new ways to approach the challenge and promotes the implementation of necessary measures.

Priority

Welfare is the cross-cutting priority for the 2021 strategic research programmes. Welfare is a key part of a good life. Welfare can be interpreted broadly from the viewpoint of individuals, communities or society, for example, but also as the wellbeing of animals or, for instance, habitats. In an individual research and interaction plan, welfare can be emphasised from the perspective appropriate to the project in question. How should welfare be understood in the context of the project concerned? How can welfare be maintained and promoted? The aim is to include a welfare perspective in research and interaction activities across the board, starting from the target setting.

Programme questions

a. What challenges will the project focus on, and what kind of combination will they form?

b. How will the proposed research and interaction increase knowledge and understanding of the crises caused by pandemics and of their anticipation and eradication, and/or of the social recovery or renewal following such crises?

c. How will the proposed research and interaction provide solutions and create response capacity to support the development of the anticipatory and functional capacity of Finnish society and/or to support recovery and renewal after social crises caused by pandemics?

d. How does the proposed combination of research fields and network of interaction partners support the achievement of the programme’s goals?

e. How will welfare be integrated as a cross-cutting priority into the project so that it penetrates the research and interaction work of the entire consortium, starting all the way from planning and target setting?

Strategic research funding may only be applied for by consortia. The consortia funded by the Strategic Research Council – SRC consortia – are structurally different from consortia funded by the Academy of Finland, for example, under the Academy Project and Academy Programme funding schemes.

Each consortium must have a PI, a deputy PI, an interaction coordinator and work package leaders. In the full application, each subproject must have a named subproject PI, who is responsible for the subproject’s funding and for submitting the application at the site of research.

Principal investigators (PIs), deputy PIs and WP leaders of SRC consortia must have a doctoral degree, a title of docent or research experience at the docent level. The interaction coordinator must be qualified in their own field, but they are not required to have a doctoral degree.

Read the guidelines for SRC consortium applications.

An example of a possible structure for an SRC consortium:

SRC consortia must be based on true collaboration. The research work must not rely too heavily on a single site of research, research team or scientific discipline. This will require sufficient resources for managing and coordinating the consortium operations and for carrying out the consortium's interaction activities. The consortia should work towards a balanced gender composition.

A subproject PI must be competent to lead the subproject. As a rule, they also should hold a doctoral degree. The application must describe how the salary of the subproject PI will be arranged during the funding period.

The SRC’s funding for strategic research benefits the scientific community in Finland as well as Finnish society at large. SRC consortia may also include foreign sites of research, but their proportions of the total funding must not be significant.

The funding is not granted to support economic activity (i.e. all activity where goods or services are offered on an open market). If the funding is applied for by an organisation other than a university, a university of applied sciences or a research institute, the applicant must confirm their eligibility and the funding conditions from the programme’s contact person in good time before submitting the application. Failure to do so will jeopardise the processing of the entire consortium application.

Strategic research funding is not granted to sole-proprietor businesses.

The consortium PI is responsible for ensuring that the consortium parties are eligible to apply for and receive funding.

Special terms and restrictions

PIs and/or deputy PIs of SRC consortia can have this role only in one consortium funded by the SRC. An exception to this rule is these programmes that will be completed in 2021 and 2022: A Climate-Neutral and Resource-Scarce Finland (PIHI), Equality in Society (EQUA), Disruptive Technologies and Changing Institutions (TECH) and Changing Society and Active Citizenship (CITIZEN). The exception applies to the consortium PIs and deputy PIs of these programmes, because the programmes’ funding periods overlap only slightly.

The same person may be a subproject PI and/or WP leader in only one application per each SRC programme. Consortium PIs must check the eligibility of each subproject PI and WP leader and that they are participating in only one application per programme.

If a person acts as a consortium PI or WP leader in more than one application, that person will be removed from all applications before the start of the review. In such cases, the applications concerned will proceed to the review without the person’s details, CV and list of publications.

As the SRC consortia are expansive, leading one requires a considerable amount of work. The SRC requires that consortium PIs commit themselves with a sufficient level of input to heading the consortium. Directors of the Academy of Finland’s Centres of Excellence cannot therefore act as PIs for SRC consortia.

Members of the Academy Board, research councils and the Strategic Research Council will not be granted Academy funding during their terms.

Funding cannot be granted to 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 process an application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.

SRC consortium PIs or WP leaders named in the letter of intent may be changed only for very compelling reasons. The composition of a consortium may be supplemented after the first call stage only if the supplementation has been suggested in the first-stage review report. The contents of the research and interaction plan must remain essentially unchanged. Consortium parties cannot be removed.

Any changes to consortium compositions made for the above reasons must be justified in the research and interaction plan of the full application. In addition, in such cases, applicants must get in touch with the programme’s contact person before they submit their full application.

In this call, the project duration is 40 months. The research and interaction plan included in the application must be drafted to cover the entire funding period. The funding will be granted to cover the entire funding period, from 1 September 2021 to 31 December 2024. The SRC is preliminarily prepared to fund three consortia in the programme, each with a budget of 3–4 million euros. The cost estimates of the projects must be realistic.

The application must contain a funding plan drafted in line with the full cost model (learn more in the funding terms and conditions). In SRC projects, the Academy of Finland’s funding contribution to the research costs is 100%. Read more about the full cost model.

Salaries

The SRC requires that consortium PIs commit themselves with a sufficient level of input to heading the consortium. Funding awarded for strategic research can also be used to cover the salaries of consortium PIs and possible coordinators for the entire duration of the funding period. However, the salary funding must not overlap with salary paid from other funding by the Academy of Finland.

Staff to be hired with SRC funding must have an employment relationship with their site of research. With regard to research personnel, the funding is primarily intended for the salaries of researchers with doctoral degrees.

As a rule, staff hired with Academy research funding must have an employment relationship. We recommend that they be hired for a period of employment no shorter than the funding period, unless a shorter contract is necessary for special reasons dictated by the implementation of the research project. Short-term research, study or other assignments may also be carried out in the form of outsourced services, if it is determined to be necessary for the project.

Other eligible costs

SRC funding is granted for research and related interaction activities. The funding is not granted to support economic activity.

In SRC calls, funding can be applied for to cover the salary and other costs arising from the implementation of the research and interaction plans.

Other eligible costs include the following:

• costs of implementing the interaction plan
• research costs
• travel expenses
• costs of collaboration and mobility in Finland and abroad (of key significance to the goals of the project)
• costs of preparing international projects
• publishing costs (e.g. costs of open-access publishing)
• auditing costs.

The funding cannot be used to pay for acquisition of significant infrastructures.

All acquisitions must be made in accordance with the Finnish Act on Public Contracts. Where necessary, the acquisitions must be put out to tender in compliance with the practices stipulated in the Act.

What is required from the site of research?

We require that the site of research (e.g. university) provides the research project with all necessary basic facilities. These are determined based on the nature of the research and are the same as those available to other research staff at the site: office and laboratory premises, equipment (incl. computer equipment), and telecommunications, telephone, mailing, copying and library services. When accepting the funding, the site of research is responsible for ensuring that necessary statements and permits from ethics committees have been obtained before the start of the project. The site of research also commits to ensuring that the data management plan can be implemented at the site of research, and that the measures to be taken comply with good data management practice. Read more in the guidelines on the commitment by site of research.

The application must also include the overheads percentage, indirect employee costs and coefficient for effective working hours of the site of research. The site of research maintains these percentages in the online services under the site’s details.

When the site of research is a university or a research institute, as a rule, the funding must be applied for VAT included. Consult the financial administration at the site of research for more information. The Academy’s funding may also cover VAT costs, but only on certain conditions (see Value added tax and read more in the funding terms and conditions).

Funding plan

The full application must include (under the tab ‘Funding for the project’) a cost estimate for the entire funding period, showing an estimate of the annual amount of funding needed by the SRC consortium. The cost estimate must be realistic. Changes in the funding plan between the letter of intent stage and the full application stage will only be approved in exceptional cases.

The cost estimate must be justified in the research and interaction plan of the full application. When drafting the cost estimate, it should be noted that there is only one funding period in the present call.

In the letter of intent, the consortium PI shall present the cost estimate as estimated total costs (all subprojects combined) per year. The estimate is entered in the online services on the tab ‘Funding for the project’ under ‘Other costs’. Thus, the types of expenditure should not be itemised (salaries, indirect costs, overheads, travel, etc.).

In the full application, each subproject will draft its own cost estimate, itemised by type of expenditure.

All research costs must be justified in the free-text field in the online services on the tab ‘Funding for the project’.

Mobility aid in research projects

The researcher mobility carried out in SRC-funded projects must support the goals of the programme concerned. It should also support project implementation, reinforce the international networks of the researchers involved, and create new knowledge and know-how. Mobility plans are not necessary in the letters of intent. In the full application, the applicant must enter the mobility plan on the application form in the online services.

Mobility aid is applied for as research costs related to the implementation of the research plan. The aid is applied for in accordance with the practices of the site of research.

In the online services, the aid is applied for on the tab ‘Funding for the project’ under ‘Travel costs’. The mobility aid must be justified. Read more about the mobility aid in the funding terms and conditions.

How to submit and supplement the application

The deadline is non-negotiable. The call for letters of intent (first stage) closes on 13 January 2021 at 16.15 Finnish time. The call for full applications (second stage) closes on 5 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 letter of intent for the SRC consortium is submitted only by the PI.

The joint full application for the SRC consortium 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 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 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 process. 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.

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 research plan, plan of intent, abstract and interim 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 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 letter of intent submitted at the first call stage consists of forms completed in the Academy’s online services as well as 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.

The consortium PI is responsible for drafting and submitting the letter of intent in the Academy’s online services. To minimise the administrative burden on the process, the letter of intent is drafted as an individual application. Consortium PIs must check the eligibility of each WP leader and that they are participating in only one application per programme. The deputy PIs, WP leaders and interaction coordinators must be named in the application.

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

The letter of intent contains the following parts

Personal data

• Personal details
• Degrees (most recent one first); parental leaves etc. may be filled in under ‘Additional information’
• Titles of docent and professorships
• The CV filled in under the personal details will not form part of the application. The CV is filled in on the CV tab.

CV

• CV following the template, no more than two pages

General information

• Details on the site of research
• Title of research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• 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 overview of scientific and societal objectives, research methods and data as well as expected research results and impact
• Read more about the abstract.

SRC consortium composition

• Information on the deputy PI, WP leaders and interaction coordinator (name, email, organisation and country)
• Choose the person’s role from the drop-down menu. In the case of WP leaders, add the WP number in the accompanying text field.
• Read the guidelines for SRC consortium applications.

Letter of intent

• Maximum length 6 pages
• Learn more in the SRC’s guidelines for the research and interaction plan in the letter of intent.
• See the how-to guides for the online services.

Most relevant publications

• Up to 10 jointly agreed publications by the consortium members that are most relevant for the project.
• 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 (will not show in the PDF version of the application)

Research ethics

• Ethical statement on project (yes/no)
• Found guilty of research misconduct (yes/no). We will not process a funding application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.
• The research-ethical issues are described in the research plan as part of the implementation.
• See the ethical guidelines.

Funding for the project

• The project’s funding follows the full cost model. The Academy’s funding contribution to the research costs comes to 100%.
• Enter the funding period as it is given in the call text.
• In the first call stage, the estimated total costs of the project are entered of only as an annual total (incl. all costs of all subprojects, incl. salaries) under ‘Other costs’.
• The estimate must be realistic and based on the implementation of the research and interaction plan. Changes in the funding plan between the letter of intent stage and the full application stage will only be approved in exceptional cases.
• Commitment by site of research. Make sure you have a commitment from your site of research (usually a university or research institute) to supporting the project. Read more in the guidelines on the commitment by site of research.
• The consortium PI is responsible for ensuring that all consortium parties are eligible to apply for and receive funding.

Public project description

• Maximum length 1,000 characters including spaces
• Popular and reader-friendly description of the research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• We will use the project description in our communications on the research project. 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.

Authorisation

• You can authorise another person to supplement or view your application.
• Start by entering the person’s name in the field.
• The person must have set up an account in the Academy’s online services (SARA).
• 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.

Appendices

Append only the requested appendices to the application and make sure to draft them in line with our guidelines. Also make sure not to exceed the maximum lengths indicated in the call text. Please name each document or part of a document clearly (e.g. CV [name], Publications [N.N.]), as this will make the reviewers’ work easier. Draft the appendices in English and append them to the application in PDF format.

Obligatory appendices

• List the ten most important publications for the (consortium PI’s) project, no more than one page (may include a link to a longer list of publications). Follow the instructions on the list of publications. Name the appendix following the format [consortium abbreviation]_PI_[surname]. Please give the document a clear title.
• CV for the consortium deputy PI (two pages) and a list of the ten most important publications (one page, may include a link to a longer list). Follow the instructions on the list of publications. Name this three-page appendix following the format [consortium abbreviation]_COPI_[surname]. Please give a clear title to each page of the document.
• CVs for the WP leaders and the interaction coordinator (max. two pages each) and a list of the ten most important publications in the same document. Name the three-page appendices following the format [consortium abbreviation]_WP[no]_[surname]. Please give a clear title to each page of the document. The lists may be combined into a single file. Please make sure that each page of the document is clearly titled so that it may be easily read.
• Only one CV and one list of publications should be submitted for each person, even if they hold several positions in the consortium.

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 information is missing.
• You can supplement the application until the deadline. Resaving will replace the earlier version.
• If you want to supplement the application after the deadline has expired, please get in touch with the call’s contact person.

The full application submitted at the second call stage consists of forms completed in the Academy’s online services as well as 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.

The second stage of the SRC call, for full applications, opens in the Academy of Finland’s online services on 10 March 2021 at the earliest. The second stage closes on 5 May 2021 at 16.15 Finnish time. The deadline is non-negotiable.

Full applications for SRC funding are drafted as consortium applications. The applications and appendices of consortium subprojects will be joined together with the consortium PI’s application. The consortium application can be submitted only after all subprojects have tagged their applications as complete. Consortium PIs must follow the completion of the consortium application in the online services to make sure that the application is submitted on time.

The application submitted by the consortium PI must include the details, abstract and public description for the PI’s own project as well as the whole consortium’s joint research and interaction plan and the CVs and lists of publications for the deputy PI and WP leaders (if they are not subproject PIs).

The subproject PIs will complete their own applications, filling in their own subproject’s cost estimate and funding plan as well as all other required fields.

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

The full application contains the following parts:

Personal data

• Personal details
• Degrees (most recent one first); parental leaves etc. may be filled in under ‘Additional information’
• Titles of docent and professorships

• The CV filled in under the personal details will not form part of the application. The CV is filled in on the CV tab.

CV

• CV following the template, no more than two pages

Consortium parties

• Subproject PIs (site of research that will receive the funds)
• Details on each party (name, email address, organisation and country)
• The subprojects PIs must have an account in the Academy’s online services so that they can be entered as parties to the consortium.
• Read the guidelines for SRC consortium applications.

SRC consortium composition

• Information on the deputy PI, WP leaders and interaction coordinator (name, email, organisation and country)
• Choose the person’s role from the drop-down menu. In the case of WP leaders, add the WP number in the accompanying text field.
• Read the guidelines for SRC consortium applications.

General information

• Details on the site of research
• Title of research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• 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 overview of scientific and societal objectives, research methods and data as well as expected research results and impact
• Read more about the abstract.

Research teams

• Team members and their tasks (persons who receive salary from the project)
• Effective working hours for the team members

Research and interaction plan

• Maximum length 19 pages.
• See the guidelines on the structures of the research and interaction plan.
• When filling in section 7 of the plan, please note that there is only one funding period in this call.
• See the how-to guides for the online services.

Most relevant publications

• Up to 10 jointly agreed publications by the consortium members that are most relevant for the project.
• 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 (will not show in the PDF version of the application)

Collaborators

• Specify the collaborators of the project (name, organisation, country, brief description goals/benefits of the collaboration)
• If necessary, append a letter of commitment. See the guidelines on the letter of commitment.

Mobility

• Enter information on planned national and international mobility within the project, itemised by person.
• See more information on mobility.

Affiliations

• Research infrastructures: Indicate what kinds of equipment, resources or data reserves provided by national or international research infrastructures the project plans to use. The menu includes infrastructures included in Finland’s national roadmap and/or ESFRI’s roadmap. Other possible infrastructures are entered in a free-text field. Read more about research infrastructures.
• Centres of Excellence in Research: Read more about Centres of Excellence.
• Finnish Flagships: Read more about the Finnish Flagship Programme.

Research ethics

• Ethical statement on project (yes/no)
• Found guilty of research misconduct (yes/no). We will not process a funding application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.
• The research ethics description is entered under section 3 of the research plan.
• See the ethical guidelines.

Funding for the project

• The project’s funding follows the full cost model. The Academy’s funding contribution to the research costs comes to 100%.
• 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 (as it is given in the call text).
• Enter salaries and other costs.
• Justify the funding to be applied for. The cost estimate must be realistic. Changes in the funding plan between the letter of intent stage and the full application stage will only be approved in exceptional cases.
• 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 (usually a university or research institute) to supporting the project. Read more in the guidelines on the commitment by site of research.
• The consortium PI is responsible for ensuring that all consortium parties are eligible to apply for and receive funding.

Public project description

• Maximum length 1,000 characters including spaces
• Popular and reader-friendly description of the research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• We will use the project description in our communications on the research project. 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.

Authorisation

• You can authorise another person to supplement or view your application.
• Start by entering the person’s name in the field.
• The person must have set up an account in the Academy’s online services (SARA).
• 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.

Appendices

Append only the requested appendices to the application and make sure to draft them in line with our guidelines. Also make sure not to exceed the maximum lengths indicated in the call text. Please name each document or part of a document clearly (e.g. CV [name], Publications [N.N.]), as this will make the reviewers’ work easier. Draft the appendices in English and append them to the application in PDF format under ‘Appendices’. Only one CV and one list of publications should be submitted for each person, even if they hold several positions in the consortium.

Obligatory appendices:

Consortium PI:

• Give a clear title to each page of the document/s (e.g. if the document includes both the CV and the list of publications or information for different people)
• List the ten most important publications for the (consortium PI’s) project, no more than one page (may include a link to a longer list of publications). Follow the instructions on the list of publications. Name the appendix following the format [consortium abbreviation]_PI_[surname]. Please give the document a clear title.

• CVs for the WP leaders who are not subproject PIs and the interaction coordinator (max. two pages each), and a list of the ten most important publications (max. one page, may contain link to longer list) in the same document. Follow the instructions on the list of publications. Name the three-page appendices following the format [surname]_cv_and_pub.
• CV for the consortium deputy PI (max. two pages) and a list of the ten most important publications (max. one page). Name the appendix following the format [surname]_cv_and_pub.

The lists may be combined into a single file. Please make sure that each page of the document is clearly titled so that it may be easily read.

Subproject PIs:

• List the ten most important publications for the project, no more than one page (may include link to a longer list). Follow the instructions on the list of publications.

Case-specific appendices:

Consortium and/or subproject PI

• Letter of commitment: See the guidelines on the letter of commitment.
• Invitation letter for research visit, if the work or part of it will be carried out hosted by the inviting party; do not append any letters of recommendation to the application
• Account of state aid received (organisations engaged in economic activity); the applicant is responsible for submitting the account in the Academy’s online services

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 information is missing.
• You can supplement the application until the deadline. Resaving will replace the earlier version.
• If you want to supplement the application after the deadline has expired, please get in touch with the call’s contact person.

Steps required of consortium parties in the online services:

SRC funding decisions are based on a review of the research and interaction plans and the merits of the applicants. The review puts particular emphasis on the added value generated by the consortium for the attainment of the objectives set for the programme concerned.

The letters of intent will be peer-reviewed by a panel composed of Finnish and foreign experts in science and societal relevance. The review of letters of intent will focus on the following aspects:

• compatibility with the programme call
• scientific quality
• societal relevance and impact.

The applications must have high societal impact and be of a high scientific standard.

The panel will review the letters of intent focusing on the following guiding questions:

• Why and how does the proposed research match the programme?
• How significant is the contribution to policy or practice?
• How does the research plan promote responsible science (including open access and transparency, equality and non-discrimination, public engagement and ethics)?
• To what extent do the research idea and the applied methodologies aim at scientific excellence?
• How does the research plan support multidisciplinary approach and what added value does the chosen approach bring?
• Is the consortium competent to execute the plan?
• Are the plans for interaction sufficient?

The panel will review all letters of intent assigned to it and issue a written review report on each application, based on draft reviews and the panel discussion. The panel will use the review scales for both societal relevance and scientific quality, but it will not give overall ratings. Instead, the panel will divide the letters of intent into three groups (A–C) according to how strongly it recommends that the application be invited to the second call stage.

The SRC will decide which consortia are invited to the second call stage based on the panel’s review reports and at its own discretion. Successful consortia will be asked to submit full applications.

The full applications will be peer-reviewed by two panels. The societal relevance and impact and scientific quality of the applications will be reviewed separately. Both panels will use their own review scales in rating (1–6) the applications.

A relevance panel composed of Finnish and foreign experts will review the project for its societal relevance and impact. They will also consider how well the application addresses the programme questions.

An international scientific panel will review the scientific quality of the proposed research plans and the grounds for the research choices.

The SRC will select the projects to be funded based the reviews of the relevance panel and the scientific panel.

Review questions and scales, with descriptions, used in the second call stage: societal relevance panel and scientific panel.

For justified reasons, we may decide not to review or process an application. The reasons that are considered in these cases are presented under Review and decision-making.

We recommend that applicants familiarise themselves with the review questions (1st and 2nd stages). The review guidelines and forms are only available in English.

The decisions on the letters of intent will be made in March 2021 (tentative schedule). Those selected to the second stage will be asked to submit full applications in the Academy’s online services by 5 May 2021. The SRC will select the projects for the programmes in September 2021 (tentative schedule).

The names and project titles of the funding recipients will be posted on the Academy of Finland’s website.

A consortium application is treated as one single application. When a consortium is granted funding, each subproject of that consortium receives a separate funding decision and the funding is allocated to each subproject’s site of research.

Once the SRC has selected the consortia for the programmes, it will enter into negotiations with the consortia on their objectives. The final funding decisions will be made based on these negotiations. The aim of the negotiations is to reach an agreement on joint objectives for the research and interaction activities and to nail down the final funding budget. At the end of the negotiations, the representatives of the consortia undertake to fulfil the agreed objectives by signing a letter of undertaking.

You will receive an email notification after the funding decision has been made. After receiving this message, you can log in to the online services with your user ID to view the decision and its justifications. You can also read the funding conditions, if the decision has been favourable. In addition, you will have access to read the expert reviews on your application.

How to receive the funding

A positive funding decision is accompanied by the terms and conditions of funding. Make sure to check the decision and accept the funding and its terms in the online services without delay. 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 popular project description (if necessary), make changes to the annual instalments (if necessary) and attach the full data management plan (only the consortium PI). 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.