RCF funds new Academy Research Fellows and Academy Projects in biosciences, health and environmental research

11 Jun 2026

The Research Council of Finland (RCF) has decided to fund 42 new Academy Research Fellowships in biosciences, health and environmental research. The RCF’s Scientific Council for Biosciences, Health and the Environment also granted funding for 75 new Academy Projects, which involve a total of 100 subprojects.

The total funding comes to around 29 million euros for Academy Research Fellowships and around 50 million euros for Academy Projects for four-years. The funding is granted to a research organisation that will manage the use of funding and be responsible for compliance with the RCF’s funding terms. The RCF monitors the impact of funded research. More than half of the RCF’s research funding in 2026 is allocated within the Spark funding category, which provides long-term support for bold new research ideas.

The number of applications submitted to the Scientific Council for Biosciences, Health and the Environment remained the same as last year. The applications covered a broad range of fields and were highly multidisciplinary. They were evaluated in 25 different review panels.

The Scientific Council based its decision on the scientific review and the rankings prepared by the panels. In addition, it considered the applications as a whole in relation to the objectives of the call. The application success rate was 16 per cent for Academy Research Fellowships and 17 per cent of Academy Projects.

Academy Research Fellowships

Academy Research Fellowship funding is intended for early-career researchers on a fast career track who have formed international networks and who are conducting scientifically high-quality and high-impact research that contributes to scientific renewal. The funding can be used flexibly according to the research needs, for example for the researcher’s own salary, to hire a research team and to cover other research costs.

The Scientific Council considered that there were many applications of a high scientific quality in this round. The Council was particularly pleased by the strong cooperation networks of early-career researchers at different career stages and by the Finnish and international mobility supporting the research. Research Professor Jarkko Niemi said: “Supporting early-career researchers will ensure the regeneration of Finnish science and a high level of research in the future.”

The general weaknesses in the rejected applications were related to an insufficient description of project implementation and methodology.

Academy Project Funding

The aim of the RCF’s Academy Project Funding is to promote the regeneration and broad range of Finnish science and to improve the quality and scientific and other impact of research. The aim is to attain internationally as high a scientific standard of work as possible and to support scientific breakthroughs and top-tier international research collaboration. Academy Projects support scientific renewal and strengthen future research expertise.

The Scientific Council for Biosciences, Health and the Environment received excellent Academy Project applications. In the review, 45 per cent of all applications received an excellent rating of 5 or 6, and only about one-third of these could be funded.

The funded projects have a strong scientific basis and include novel and bold perspectives that drive science forward. Several applications saw significant future opportunities for health and environmental wellbeing.

The RCF Board decided on 3 June 2026 to introduce a resubmission restriction in Academy Project calls. The results of the 2026 call do not affect the restriction.