Academy of Finland general conditions for funding decisions

(Decision of the Administration Office of the Academy of Finland, 18 December 2008)

• General research grants 
• Research grants to Academy research post holders 
• Research programmes 
• Development research grants 
• FiDiPro 
• Centre of Excellence programmes

The Academy of Finland will apply the full cost model (not applicable to personal grants) when preparing, making and executing decisions regarding applications submitted to calls opened after 1 January 2009. The full cost model will have effects on the way funding applications are made, on budgeting, on allocation of funding to users, on accounting and on the way funding use is reported. Academy of Finland research funding is co-funded activity where at least two parties answer for the costs of the project to be funded.  When funding is applied for from the Academy, universities and other research organisations commit themselves to co-funded activity with their own funding contribution.

The full cost model is not applied to decisions regarding calls that were implemented in 2008 or earlier. Likewise, the full cost model is not applied to calls that were open in 2008 on which decisions will be made in 2009.

In connection with the funding decisions regarding calls to be opened in 2009, the Academy of Finland will issue detailed guidelines on the effects of the full cost model on the general conditions of the use of funding. More information on the full cost model is available on the Academy website (www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/For-researcher/How-to-apply/Full-cost-model).

Research funding awarded by the Academy of Finland may only be used for the purpose specified in the funding decision. Funding is awarded as a total amount that must not be exceeded. Funding may only be used for costs arising during the funding period. The responsible leader and the site of research are responsible for ensuring that the funds are used in accordance with the decision as well as with the provisions and regulations.

The use, payment and control of research grants shall comply with the State Budget Act and Decree, the Act on Public Contracts and the Decree on State Contracts, the State Budget, regulations regarding its application and other general provisions and regulations regarding the use of state funds. The general conditions specified in these general conditions and the regulations in force at the site of research shall also be adhered to.

If the research grant has been allocated to a private law legal person or a municipality, the provisions of the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001) as well as the general conditions specified in these general conditions and the regulations in force at the site of research shall be complied with, provided that they do not contradict the conditions set by the Academy.

If the Academy has set a condition, specified in the decision notification, for the awarding of funding, it must be adhered to. Any calculation grounds appended to the decision notification are not binding.

The Academy funds research projects only if the site of research guarantees basic facilities for the implementation of the research. These depend on the nature of the research, but the usual basic facilities are the same that apply to other researchers of the institute, i.e. working and laboratory facilities, equipment (including computer equipment), access to telecommunications, telephone, mailing, copying, and library services.

An overheads percentage of 12.5 per cent is incorporated into Academy research funding, intended to be used for funding of basic facilities of research.

Except the overheads percentage, Academy funding shall not be used to cover indirect research costs, such as patenting costs or additional salaries.

Salaries and fees related to the research plan as well as indirect employee costs (however, not salary costs of an Academy Professor or Academy Research Fellow), grants, travel costs, equipment costs, expenses of arranging seminars, expenses associated with inviting a foreign researcher, and other direct costs arising from the implementation of the research plan can be covered with a research grant awarded by the Academy.

Out of Academy research grants, a personal grant can be paid to a researcher working on the project for purposes of work or studies abroad and to a foreign researcher for a research visit to Finland not exceeding one year. The Academy’s decision may include a grant awarded on these grounds. If the decision includes no mention of a grant, the site of the researcher’s research project (accounting office or some other organisation) can decide to pay a grant for the said purposes. In this case the responsible leader who has received an Academy research grant shall submit to a competent party (personnel, finance, general administration etc.) a well-grounded proposal for a personal grant to be paid to a researcher of his/her project. If the personal grant is approved, the site of research can pay a personal grant out of the research grant in accordance with the Academy’s principles. The recipient of a grant is required to take out an insurance policy for him/herself as prescribed by law. Regarding the amount of such grants, the Academy recommends that the Academy’s grant amounts be followed (www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/For-researcher/How-to-apply/Application-guidelines/Grant-for-researcher-training-and-research-abroad).

Starting to use funding/payment of discretionary government transfers

For central government administration organisations (universities and research institutes), the Academy confirms, without separate request, the research grant and budget account to be used; the organisation, i.e. the accounting office, enters the budget account in its own bookkeeping.

The change in the legal status of universities will affect the administering of Academy funding. As of 1 January 2010, the Academy will transfer to a new payment procedure for all organisations receiving funding. All organisations receiving funding will be requested to invoice the Academy as of 1 January 2010. More detailed guidelines will be given during 2009.

Organisations other than central government administration organisations invoice the funding from the Academy at least on a quarterly basis. An itemisation for the basis for invoicing shall be appended to the invoice. The last instalment of the calendar year shall be invoiced by 10 January the following year.

Annual instalments

The Academy requires that the responsible leader comply with the annual instalments mentioned in the decision so that the maximum annual deviation from the funding plan can be +/-15 per cent. If the responsible leader cannot commit him/herself to the presented division into annual instalments, taking into account the possible +/-15 per cent deviation, he/she must submit to the Academy a proposal for the annual instalments of the research funding. The proposal must be made in writing and submitted within four weeks of the decision date to the Academy Registrar's Office, and it must not exceed the total amount awarded for the implementation of the research plan.

This item does not apply to funding for development research nor research grants to Academy research post holders (Academy Professors and Academy Research Fellows).

Hiring staff

Staff to be hired with Academy research grants shall be in an employment relationship. The duration of an employment relationship shall be at least the same as the funding period, unless a special reason related to the implementation of the research plan requires a shorter employment relationship.

See also Academy of Finland Equality Plan at www.aka.fi/eng > About us > Science expertise > Equality.

The collective agreements in force at the site of research as well as other regulations regarding the employment relationship conditions shall be observed in the hiring and other employment relationships of any staff to be hired with Academy funding.

Academy research grants can be used to cover a responsible leader's own full-time salary only if the funding has been specifically granted for this purpose and there is a mention of it in the decision.

The Academy recommends that the duties of researchers with a doctorate who have been hired with Academy funding at universities include teaching related to research. A maximum of five per cent of the researcher's annual working hours can be used for teaching and no separate compensation is paid for it.

Acquisitions

Any supplies, equipment and literature acquired with Academy funding will remain in the ownership and possession of the site of research.

Reporting

The responsible leader shall draft and submit a research report to the Academy no later than 15 June of the year following the ending of the funding period. Further, regarding development research, the responsible leader shall submit a copy of any publications produced with Academy funding to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs upon the ending of the funding period. For separate guidelines for reporting, see www.aka.fi/eng > For researchers > Reporting.

Accounting offices shall report on the use of funds, indicating the income and expenses of the activity funded by the Academy in the budget year, accrued from the beginning of the year on a quarterly basis. For the first three quarters, the income and expenses shall be reported no later than the 20th of the month following the quarter. For the fourth quarter, the income and expenses shall be reported no later than 31 January of the year following the reporting year.

Organisations other than central government administration organisations shall submit an account report to the Academy within three months of the ending of the funding period.

Accounting offices and other organisations shall annually report the person-years of those who have worked on Academy funding. This report shall be submitted via the Academy's online services no later than 15 January of the year following the reporting year.

Control and discontinuation and recovery of funds

The Academy has the right to monitor and control the use of funds it has granted by it as well as to carry out any inspections of the recipient's finances and activities that may be necessary for the control of the use of the funds. The Academy also has the right to carry out inspections of the implementation, accounting and observance of the conditions set in the funding decision. The site of research and the responsible leader are obliged to submit all necessary accounting and other documents and data for the use of the inspector and to assist in the inspection. Both the site of research and the responsible leader shall also otherwise on request provide Academy with information on the research and on the use of the funds.

The responsible leader and the site of research must without delay notify the Academy of any change affecting the use of the funds such as other funding or income received for the implementation of the set research plan. If other funding or income exceeds the amount presented in the cost estimate included in the application submitted to the Academy, the Academy may oblige the site of research to return the portion of Academy funding that corresponds to the amount exceeding the cost estimate.

The Academy may interrupt or order the payment of the funds to be terminated or recover the funds or part of them, if the responsible leader or the site of research has used the funds for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was granted; or presented erroneous or misleading information regarding a fact which might have affected the granting of the funds, its amount, or its conditions; or otherwise violated the regulations concerning the use of the funds or the conditions incorporated into the funding decision.

A recipient of discretionary government transfers shall without delay repay to the Academy of Finland's bank account 166030-112337 any funding, or any portion of funding, received erroneously, in excess or evidently without grounds. If the amount to be returned does not exceed ten euros, it need not be returned.

Repayment and claw-back of discretionary government transfers has been stipulated in Chapter 5 of the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers.

Research ethics

The Academy requires that the guidelines of the National Advisory Board on Research Ethics, 'Good scientific practice and procedures for handling misconduct and fraud in science' (www.tenk.fi) as well as the complementary research-ethical guidelines of the Academy of Finland be observed in all Academy-funded research, see www.aka.fi/eng > For researchers > Application guidelines  > Research ethics. The site of research undertakes to notify the Academy Registrar's Office if an investigation is started concerning violation of good scientific practice by the responsible leader or a researcher who has received Academy funding.

Scientific publications

The scientific publications produced by Academy-funded research projects shall always indicate if the research has been conducted with funding from the Academy of Finland. The Academy recommends that Academy-funded researchers publish their articles in open-access electronic scientific journals in cases where there are electronic journals available that meet at least the same quality standards as traditional subscription-based journals. Likewise, it is recommended that parallel copies of all published research articles be saved in Finnish open electronic publication archives.

Social science research data collected for the project

The Academy recommends that Academy-funded social science research data be delivered to the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD), based at the University of Tampere, see www.fsd.uta.fi. The delivery shall take place as soon as possible after the ending of the funding from the Academy.

Intellectual property rights

This item will be applied to projects receiving funding from the calls for applications open as of 1 January 2007.

The researcher shall, as soon as possible after the funding decision is made, agree in writing with the site of research on the rights of possession and use of the research results.

At sites of research where the Act on the Right to University Inventions (369/2006) applies, Academy-funded research is defined as commissioned research as referred to in the Act; in these cases the university has the primary right to inventions produced by research (3 § 3). At other sites of research the Act on the Right to Employee Inventions is applied (656/1967).

Inventions made by Academy research post holders to whose site of research the Act on the Right to University Inventions is applied are considered to originate in commissioned research as referred to in the Right to University Inventions Act. The original invention notification shall be submitted to the site of research. A copy of the invention notification shall be submitted to the Academy Registrar's Office.

The Right to Employee Inventions Act is applied to inventions made by Academy research post holders working at other sites of research during their employment relationship. The Academy will transfer all its employer rights and obligations, referred to in the Act on the Right to Employee Inventions, to the site of research. This means that the site of research may assume the rights to an invention to the same extent and in the same order as an employer according to the Right to Employer Inventions Act. Consequently, the employer obligations referred to in this Act, including liability to compensate, are also transferred to the site of research. The site of research will commit itself to employer obligations, referred to in the Right to Employee Inventions Act, at the application phase when signing the commitment of the site of research. The Academy research post holder shall submit the original invention notification to the site of research. If the site of research does not want to assume the right to the invention, the Academy research post holder has the right to the invention. A copy of the invention notification shall be submitted to the Academy Registrar's Office.

See also Academy of Finland IPR Handbook for researchers (http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/For-researcher/Use-of-funding/Application-of-results-and-IPR-issues/Academy-of-Finland-IPR-handbook-for-researchers).

Appealing against a funding decision

An appeal and a decision by the Academy is needed for:

• changing the condition or purpose of the use of funding, for example in cases where substantial changes are made to the research plan;
• extending the funding period;
• changing of the responsible leader; and
• transferring the research grant to another organisation.

The funding period may be extended only on application and for a special reason, such as on the basis of maternity, paternity, parental or childcare leave, military or non-military service, or a chronic disease of an Academy-funded researcher. The funding period may be extended on the basis of childcare leave for a maximum of one year. The funding period cannot be extended on the grounds that the money has not been used. An appeal to any issues regarding funding can only be made during the validity of the funding. If the site of the research is changed, the Academy may adjust the funding contribution paid for the project.

Applying for an additional research grant

Additional research grants are generally awarded only if the need for an additional research grant is due to maternity leave, sick leave or other change in the collective agreement or legislation or a change in the exchange rate.

Application of conditions

These general conditions are to be applied as of 1 January 2009, and they are also applied to funding decisions made earlier, unless otherwise specified in these conditions.

The conditions regarding intellectual property rights are applied to projects and research posts that receive funding from the calls for applications open as of 1 January 2007.

The general conditions for funding are revised annually. The valid, revised general conditions and more information on the application of conditions.

Further information

Questions regarding funding decisions and conditions of funding can be made via the Questions and feedback section on the Academy's website at www.aka.fi/eng.

Notification to Academy research post holders