Call for inviting researchers from Ukraine to Finland 2024

At the core of the Research Council of Finland’s activities is to provide funding for excellent scientific research. The research we fund is also expected to have high scientific and societal impact and follow the principles of responsible science.

The aim of the present call is to support researchers at risk whose work in Ukraine has been prevented by Russia’s attack, which started in 2022. The Finnish inviter (or research team) and the invitee should be a good fit from the viewpoint of the research theme or other scientific competence.

The funding covers the researcher’s mobility costs (necessary travel and living expenses) during the research to be carried out in Finland. Funding for the actual research work must be obtained from other sources.

The applicant is a researcher with a doctoral degree who is based in Finland and has close connections to Finland. The applicant acts as the contact person of the invitee and undertakes to assist in practical matters, such as in finding accommodation and a workspace for the duration of the visit.

Special terms and restrictions

If the application complies with the provisions of the call (incl. the compatibility of the Finnish inviter or research team and the invitee in terms of research topic and/or other scientific expertise) and the invitee meets the eligibility criteria, the application is in principle eligible for funding. Read more under ‘Funding decisions’ in the call text.

Eligibility criteria:

• inviter and invitee must have completed a doctoral degree
• invitee’s research in Ukraine must have been hampered by Russia’s invasion, which started in 2022
• invitee must travel to Finland to carry out research.

Only one researcher can be invited with one application. One applicant may submit no more than three applications.

If the invitee received funding (Call for inviting researchers from Ukraine to Finland) from the Research Council of Finland in 2022 or 2023 and their visit to Finland has already ended or is about to end, they can apply for funding for a new visit from the present call. If the invitee has received the Research Council’s Ukraine funding before, but has not been able to start the visit in Finland, they cannot apply for funding in this call.

The funding is granted in the form of an appropriation. The funding may be allocated to the invitee for a maximum period of 24 months. More information on the appropriation is available under ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’ in the call text.

The invitee currently has or has at the beginning of the war had a clear affinity with a Ukrainian university, research institute or similar research site, where their research has been prevented by the Russian attack of 2022.

The Research Council of Finland requires that the site of research make sure that funding is not channelled to a researcher who has supported the Russian war in Ukraine.

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 Research Council of Finland-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 Research Council of Finland’s Board or scientific councils or the Strategic Research Council.

The application consists of a form completed in the online services and its PDF appendices. Applicants may submit the application in English, Finnish or Swedish.

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 your action plan and CV.
• Draft the above appendices on our templates (see Application parts in the online services). Read the instructions on using the templates. You have access to the templates even before the call opens.

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.
• Detailed instructions on filling in the application form are available in the online services.

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
• Abstract
• Most relevant publications and other outputs: the ten most project-relevant publications or other research outputs. Detailed instructions available on the application form.
• Mobility: International mobility for which funding is applied. If the invitee is already in Finland, both the country of origin and the country of destination will be Finland.
• Collaborators: The invitee acts as the project’s foreign collaborator. Enter the name of the invitee and the organisation in Ukraine with which the invitee is (or was on 24 February 2022) affiliated. Enter Ukraine as the country.
• Affiliation to research infrastructures, Centres of Excellence and Finnish Flagships
• Research ethics
• Funding for the project. See section ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’ in the call text. Please note that the planned dates of the visit must be indicated in the action plan.
• Public project description
• Progress report on all Research Council of Finland-funded projects that have not yet submitted final reports

Obligatory appendices

• Action plan. See the guidelines on the structure of the action plan.
• Complete list of publications by the applicant. Read the guidelines on the structure of the list of publications.
• Applicant’s CV (max. 3 pages). See the guidelines on the structure of the CV.
• Invitee’s CV (max. 3 pages), clearly indicating the applicant’s date of birth, highest academic degree, affiliation in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, place of work on 24 February 2022, current place of work and periods spent in Finland with grants or other funding in the last five (5) years.

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.

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 earliest start date for the funding period is 1 January 2025. This refers to the period during which the funding may be used. It is longer than the duration of the visit for which funding is applied. The funding covers a visit of no more than 24 months.

The name of the call in the online services is “Call for inviting researchers from Ukraine to Finland 2024”.

Mobility funding is granted as an appropriation, which is paid via and managed by a Finnish site of research (usually a university or research institute). The Research Council of Finland’s funding cannot include an overheads percentage. The Research Council’s funding does not automatically cover insurances, so researchers must take out appropriate insurance and prepare for tax consequences. These expenses may be included in the funding to be applied for from the Research Council.

The funding is intended to cover the mobility costs of the invitee, that is, the necessary travel and living expenses, including accommodation during the stay in Finland. The travel expenses may include travel to Finland if the invitee is not already in Finland, local transport fares in Finland and return travel to Ukraine or another country after the visit. For living expenses, the site of research may pay a grant to the invitee, for example.

It is recommended that the funding amount be determined in line with standard practice at the site of research. If the researcher comes to Finland with their family, the amount applied for may be sized accordingly.

The researcher should take into account the guidelines of the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution Mela, in particular with regard to visits of more than four (4) months.

Funding for the actual research work must be obtained from other sources, which must be specified in the action plan.

The funding applied for must be specified in the online services on the tab ‘Funding for the project’ and in the action plan template’s table.

Funding plan

In the application (‘Funding for the project’), provide a cost estimate including an estimate of the annual amount of funding needed, itemised by type of expenditure (travel expenses, other costs).

All funding requested must be specified in the table provided in the action plan: travel expenses, living expenses (incl. accommodation), insurances, etc. Any preparation for Mela (MYEL) payments and tax consequences must also be specified.

Indicative size of the total amount applied for:

• 43,500 euros per year for individual researcher
• 57,000 euros per year for researcher with family.

The total budget earmarked for the call is 2 million euros.

Our funding cannot be used for economic activity. Read more about the eligibility of economic operators.

Only for compelling reasons can government grants be awarded to cover salary costs in cases where the applicant has obstacles related to illegal employment, as referred to in section 7(2) of the Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Transfers.

What is required from the site of research?

The Research Council of Finland requires that the site of research, in other words the applicant’s host organisation (e.g. university, research institute or other research organisation), make sure that mobility funding is not channelled to a researcher who has supported the Russian war in Ukraine.

The site of research is a Finnish research organisation such as a university or a research institute.

We require that the site of research 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 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. Our funding may also cover VAT costs, but only on certain conditions (see VAT and read more in our funding terms and conditions).

Read more in the guidelines for sites of research.

How to submit and supplement the application

The deadline is non-negotiable. We will not consider (process) an application that has not been submitted by deadline. The deadline for applications is 25 September 2024 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 applicant is responsible for ensuring that the content of the application appendices is correct.

You can edit and supplement the application until the deadline. For example, you can change the appendices to the application.

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 only if it is possible in view of the review and decision-making process.

We may ask you to supplement the application. In that case, you will receive a supplementation request 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 declare it inadmissible (i.e. it will not be processed). Make sure that your email address is 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 the mobility grant application is submitted to the wrong call or if you have not submitted a report on a completed or ongoing Academy-funded project according to our instructions, we may decide not to process your 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.

Applications will not go through the Research Council of Finland’s normal peer review process and no review reports will be issued.

The Research Council of Finland’s Subcommittee for Mobility Funding will make the funding decisions in December 2024.

The main focus of the call will be on supporting researchers who have fled from Ukraine to Finland or another country.

If the funding we have reserved is not sufficient to fund all eligible applications, decisions will be made in the following order of priority:

1. The invitee has fled from Ukraine to Finland on or after 24 February 2022. If applications have to be prioritised among researchers who already are in Finland, priority will be given to those whose current funding is ending first and who are at risk of returning to war. Secondary priority will be given to applications where the invitee will be working on a project funded by the Research Council of Finland.
   
   
2. The invitee has fled from Ukraine to a country other than Finland on or after 24 February 2022. If applications have to be prioritised among researchers who already are in a country other than Finland, priority will be given to those whose current funding is ending first and who are at risk of returning to war. Secondary priority will be given to applications where the invitee will be working on a project funded by the Research Council of Finland.
   
   
3. The invitee is still in Ukraine. If there is a need to prioritise between applications from researchers who are still in Ukraine, priority will be given to those applications where the invitee will be working on a project funded by the Research Council of Finland.
   
   
4. On 24 February 2022, the invitee was doing most of their research outside Ukraine (e.g. on a research visit), but due to the war they are now unable to return to Ukraine to continue the research. According to the terms of the call, the invitee currently has or has at the start of the war had a clear affiliation with a Ukrainian university, research institute or similar site of research.

If the invitee received funding (Call for inviting researchers from Ukraine to Finland) from the Research Council of Finland in 2022 or 2023 and their visit to Finland has already ended or is about to end, they can apply for funding for a new visit from the present call. If the invitee has received the Research Council’s Ukraine funding before, but has not been able to start the visit in Finland, they cannot apply for funding in this call.

You will receive an email notification after the funding decision has been made. After receiving the email, you can log in to the online services with your user ID to view the decision and its justifications.

How to receive the funding

A positive funding decision is accompanied by the funding terms and conditions. If the funding is subject to conditions that differ from or specify the Research Council’s funding terms and conditions, these are indicated in the specific conditions of the decision notification.

This must be done within eight weeks of the decision date, unless otherwise stated in the special conditions of the decision notice.

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. See the how-to guide: Decision notification, review reports and accepting 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.

• Ulla Ellmén, Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 011
• Siru Oksa, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 125

Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.

Questions and feedback (helpdesk)