Joint call with U.S. Department of Defense 2024: Future Information Architecture for IoT
- In this joint call, the application procedure differs from a typical Research Council of Finland call. Please study the procedure in detail before preparing to apply.
- Applicants from Finland can participate in this joint funding opportunity via proposals submitted to the DOD between 4 December 2023 and 3 May 2024. White Paper intentions to submit will be submitted to both DOD and AKA no later than 12 February 2024.
- The total funding from the AKA is not to exceed €3,000,000.00, and it is expected that a single award will be issued for a consortium of investigators, including 2-5 parties. The AKA funding will be used exclusively for research performed by the Finland research team.
- AKA funding will be granted only for proposals that are selected for funding in the DOD call procedure and are selected for funding by the AKA.
The DOD and the AKA collaborate via a Lead Agency Opportunity, in which the DOD acts as the Lead Agency. In this approach, proposers from both countries will collaborate to write a single proposal. It is the responsibility of the US proposer to submit the proposal to the appropriate DOD programme for review. Researchers from Finland participating in the joint research project will apply for funding separately from the AKA in accordance with the guidelines and procedures provided in this call text.
The program addresses high risk basic research as an international collaboration. This research should attempt to provide the scientific foundation towards the design and development of future and ubiquitous information networks that rely on extreme-scale devices, distributed intelligence, and network complexity, and include cognitive and social concepts to inform the technological choices. The goal of this program is to produce significant scientific breakthroughs and knowledge that will be critical steps in enabling revolutions in communication and information technology on a large scale.
Before you start preparing to apply for the funding, please read carefully the call text, which is published by DOD and only in English:
https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/351289
The overall goal of the partnership between the Research Council of Finland and the DOD is to enable and facilitate research collaboration between U.S. and Finnish researchers. This collaboration expects to generate valuable discoveries and innovations that may lead to enhancements in multiple areas of science and technology. The partnership achieves its goals through research projects in which the funding agencies fund the elements of research undertaken by researchers based in their respective nations.
It is expected that a single award will be issued for a consortium of investigators, including 2-5 parties.
As a result of this BARI competition, a program of international collaboration between the United States and Finland will be created. Consequently, the proposal will include two research teams, one of which will be from the U.S. and the other from Finland. Accordingly, the BARI competition is open only to teams comprised of at least one (1) U.S. institution of Higher Education (IHE) as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1001 with a degree granting program in science or engineering (US University); and at least one (1) Finnish Research Institution via which the funding is paid.
Merits and increased competencies
In addition to a doctoral degree, the Finland PI of the proposed project must also have other significant scientific merits.
The total funding from the AKA is not to exceed €3,000,000.00, and it is expected that a single award will be issued for a consortium of investigators, including 2-5 parties. The grant awarded under this NFO will have a four (4) year period of performance.
AKA Specific Information (Not Applicable to US Awards):
- The successful Finland team will be invited to submit an application through AKA’s Funding Service, in order for a Finland grant to be awarded, and this will be the responsibility of the Finland team Principal Investigator.
- The proposed Finland component of the proposal must comply with all of AKA’s standard conditions, including eligible organizations, participants, and allowable costs, as detailed here: https://www.aka.fi/en/research-funding/apply-for-funding/how-to-use-funding/.
- The maximum cost of the Finland component of this program is €3,000,000.00, and we expect to issue one (1) award for one large consortium including 2-5 consortium parties. The Research Council of Finland will fund up to 70% of the total costs of the Finland activity in line with the AKA’s full economic cost principles.
- The Finland team requesting funding from AKA must prepare a budget detailing costs and the requested amount in AKA’s budget template.
The steps in the application procedure for researchers from Finland are the following:
- White Paper, i.e., an intention to submit is emailed to the AKA at flagship@aka.fi
- AKA assesses the eligibility of the project
- S. proposer submits the proposal to the appropriate DOD programme for review
- The proposal is reviewed in accordance with the standard DOD review criteria
- If the project is selected for funding by the DOD, the AKA decides whether it will support the Finnish subproject and if so, invites the applicant to submit an application to the AKA.
- Risto Vilkko, Senior Science Adviser, Tel: +358 295 33 5136, Email: firstmane.lastname(at)aka.fi
