International impact creates a foundation for national impact

The impact stories of the CoEs participating in the Centre of Excellence Programme 2014–2019 highlighted the importance of international impact.

“The aim is to raise research carried out by the Centres of Excellence to the forefront of global awareness, increasing the economic prerequisites and societal impact of Finnish research. The goal is to highlight internationally credible examples of how Finnish, well-focused top-level basic research produces significant societal added value when it has long-term funding.”

The CoEs particularly emphasised the importance of global impact in the international scientific community and in their networks and conferences. Impact objectives included the visible publication of research results in distinguished international peer-reviewed scientific journals.

In the context of Finland and the Finnish-speaking area, the CoEs especially highlighted the significance of publishing scientific findings in Finnish and in a more popularised manner, for example in non-fiction publishing.

“International research articles lay a foundation for publishing articles in Finnish, with a readership outside academia.”

When describing effective indicators of impact, the CoEs included national and international recognition awarded to individual researchers as well as the visibility of projects in the academic world. The impact assessments also underlined the importance of consistently receiving research funding. In their impact stories, the CoEs also emphasised the importance of employing and training young researchers and them becoming qualified as experts:

“The Centre of Excellence Programmes have made it possible to create new research jobs in Finland and add to researchers’ career development opportunities – while taking the perspectives of equality and equity into account.”