Review and selection of CoE applications
The Board of the Academy selects the CoEs to be included in the Centre of Excellence programme. The Board members represent Finnish science and research on a broad basis. There are a number of evaluation and selection criteria. The most important criterion is a high international standard. According to international reviews, the CoEs included in the last-stage application round of the most recent CoE programmes have been excellent. There are a great number of cutting-edge research teams, which naturally makes the selection of Centres of Excellence a difficult task.
The call for a CoE programme is a two-stage process and the selection process takes about 18 months. Selection is based on thorough international peer review. The phases of the selection process and the span of the programme term are described here.
Evaluation criteria
In the review of CoE applications, the evaluation criteria used by the Academy are applied. The evaluation criteria are:
- scientific quality and innovativeness of the research plan
- feasibility of the research plan
- competence of the applicant/research team
- cooperation contacts for the research
- significance of the research project for the promotion of professional research careers and for researcher training.
Other criteria applied in the review of applications include the status of the CoE applicant in relation to the international cutting-edge of the field in question, the added value generated by the operation of the CoE, and the social and economic significance and impact of research. As a rule, a project to be funded shall benefit Finnish research, society and international collaboration.
The principal evaluation criterion is the scientific quality and innovativeness of the research and action plan.
Research projects that are ambitious and aim for scientific breakthroughs always carry a risk of failure. This is taken into consideration in the review of applications. The aim of the Academy is to provide an opportunity for scientific breakthroughs and to enhance the renewal and regeneration of science and research, even in view of the potential risk.
Selection criteria
Academy of Finland research funding is allocated on the basis of competition to the best researchers and research teams and the most promising researchers for carrying out scientifically ambitious projects. The Academy Board selects the Centres of Excellence in research on proposal by the programme group. The funding decisions are made on the basis of international peer review (see evaluation criteria above) and research-policy aspects. Funding is granted for six years.
One of the criteria for the selection is the status of the CoE applicant in relation to the international elite in his or her discipline. Units representing different fields are not directly compared with each other.
Research projects that are ambitious and aim for scientific breakthroughs always carry a risk of failure. In the review of applications and in the drafting of funding decisions, this is not considered an obstacle to granting funding.
When making funding decisions, attention is also paid to other research-policy objectives adopted by the Academy. These include:
• development of creative research environments
• reinforcing impact of the project on its research environment
• promotion of multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity of research
• promotion of and support to the research career
• internationalisation of research
• implementation of extensive research entities
• competence and experience of the principal investigator in leading a research project
• compatibility of the Centre of Excellence and its host organisation
• social impact (including business and industry, impacts on the environment, impacts on human health, promotion of research serving Strategic Centres of Science, Technology and Innovation).
In the event that an applicant applying for a continuation term and a new applicant are estimated equal in terms of scientific merit, the new applicant is given priority in being appointed a Centre of Excellence if it is not possible to appoint both applicants.
When making decisions on applications, matters related to good scientific practice and intellectual property rights will be considered. If relevant, the principal investigator shall describe in the research plan of his or her application how ethical issues are taken into account in the research project.