Second funding period (2025–2028) for SRC programmes SHIELD and YOUNG (invited applicants only)

In this call, the six-year projects funded under the SRC programmes SHIELD and YOUNG in 2002 can apply for funding for their second three-year term.

The funding can be applied for by consortia funded in 2022 under the SRC programmes SHIELD and YOUNG.

Other special terms

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 the Research Council of Finland’s policies.

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 process or review 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 application consists of a form completed in the RCF online services and, case by case, of PDF appendices to the application. You may submit the application in English, Finnish or Swedish, but we request that you submit it in Finnish.

Before the call opens

Check your eligibility

• Read the section Who can apply? to see whether you meet the eligibility criteria.

When the call opens

• Sign up or log in to the 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.

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 data

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

SRC consortium parties

• Subproject PIs (site of research that will receive the funds)
• Details on each party (name, email address, organisation and country)

General information

• Details on the site of research
• Title of research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• Research fields (at least three, 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; if necessary, update the abstract used for the first funding period
• Read more: Abstract

SRC call for invited applicants: research and interaction

In the online application, fill in the following free-text fields: Please fill in sections A–D in Finnish.

A. Description of (a) how the objectives set out in the consortium’s original research plan have been reached or promoted and (b) the research objectives for the second funding period (max. 10,000 characters)

• In item a, make use of the consortium’s follow-up data (interim report). Focus on highlighting key results, outputs and achievements.
• In item b, include any changes in target-setting and implementation, their justifications and effects on the consortium’s activities (personnel, structure of work packages, procurement, etc.).

B. Description of (a) how the objectives set out in the consortium’s original interaction plan have been reached or promoted and (b) the interaction objectives for the continued funding period (max. 10,000 characters)

• In item a, make use of the consortium’s follow-up data (interim report, incl. impact stories). Focus on highlighting key activities, outputs and achievements.
• In item b, include any changes in target-setting and implementation, their justifications and effects on the consortium’s activities (collaborators and stakeholders, means of interaction, procurement, communications, etc.).

C. Description of the consortium’s role in the programme’s joint activities and in promoting joint objectives (a) thus far and (b) for the second period. (max. 10,000 characters)

D. Summary of the above points (summary of the consortium’s achievements during the first funding period; the main objectives for the second funding period and any changes to the original research and interaction plan, with justifications). (max. 2,500 characters)

SRC call for invited applicants: Collaborators

• Specify the new collaborators of the project (name, organisation, country, brief description of goals/benefits of the collaboration)
• Remember to append the new letters of collaboration on the tab ‘Appendices’.
• Read more: Letter of collaboration

Research ethics

• Preliminary ethical review for project and/or animal testing permit (yes/no)
• Found guilty of research misconduct (yes/no). 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.
• Guilty of illegal employment within the meaning referred to in section 7(2) of the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (yes/no)
• Read more: Research ethics

Funding for the project

• The project’s funding follows the full cost model. The SRC’s funding contribution 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 (1 October 2025–30 September 2028).
• Enter salaries and other costs.

Public project description

• Maximum length 1,000 characters including spaces
• Popular and reader-friendly description of the research project in English and Finnish/Swedish Update the original description as needed.
• We use the project descriptions in our communications on funded research projects. It is important that the public description is written for a general audience. The project description is also stored at research.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 an account in our 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

Appendices must be PDF files.

Case-specific appendices (subprojects):

1. If necessary: new letters of collaboration, if the consortium has new collaborators
2. If necessary: account of state aids received (applies to organisations engaging in economic activity).

NB! The interim report (see reporting guidelines) must be submitted by 18 March 2025 in the RCF online services before the application is submitted. The applicant will no later than 31 March 2025 receive information on the approval of the interim report or a request to supplement it.

Changes to original plans

In the application for continued funding, consortia are encouraged to specify and if necessary update their research and interaction plans for the second period. All changes to the original research and interaction plan are described and justified on the application form (see above); the research and interaction plan itself must not be modified. The budgets of subprojects may differ from those set out in the original research and interaction plan, as long as the overall budget of the consortium is not exceeded (max. 70% of the funding for the first period).

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.

Submit your application in good time. You can supplement and edit the application and change appendices until the call deadline.

In accordance with the original call text (SHIELD call text, YOUNG call text), the cost estimate for the consortium’s entire term (six years) must have been drafted so that the funding for the second funding period comes to no more than 70% of the funding for the first period. For the second funding period, a consortium can apply for up to 70% of the first period’s award for work under the original research and interaction plan.

Funding plan

The SRC’s funding contribution comes to 100%. Only costs that pass through the books of the site of the research must be included in the total costs.

Pay particular attention to ensuring that the cost estimate is realistic and justified for the implementation of the research project.

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?

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 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 is also responsible for ensuring that the applicant has not been found guilty of research misconduct in the last three years.

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

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 Value added tax and read more in our funding terms and conditions).

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 9 April 2025 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 the RCF helpdesk, so that the application can be reopened for supplementation.

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.

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 statement concerning the research funding process is available on our website under Data protection.

The applications for continued funding will not be peer-reviewed. Research Council of Finland officials and the Strategic Research Council will conduct a so-called mid-term review of the consortia. The review will focus on the information presented in the application for continued funding and the interim report. The aim is to determine whether the research and interaction work carried out by the consortium has progressed as expected, that is, whether the work has been active and appropriate and whether the plan for the second period is up-to-date and justified.

The Strategic Research Council aims to make the decisions on the continued funding in June 2025. The decision criteria are based on the results of the mid-term review mentioned under ‘How the application is reviewed’.

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. They include instructions on how to receive the funding (section 1.2).