Research Council of Finland gearing spring 2026 Proof of Concept call towards national strategic choices
The Research Council of Finland (RCF) is currently preparing the next call for Proof of Concept (PoC) funding applications, which will open in March and April 2026. The call is geared towards national strategic choices made by the Research and Innovation Council:
- data and data-based value creation
- disruptive technologies
- health and wellbeing
- climate, environment and the Arctic dimension
- security, resilience and defence.
The RCF’s PoC funding is intended for the multifaceted utilisation of results and outputs of research previously funded by the RCF and the Strategic Research Council (SRC). In the 2026 call, funding can be sought by principal investigators (PIs) of research projects funded by the RCF or the SRC whose funding periods end between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2026.
Eligible applicants have received their funding from the following funding schemes: Academy Research Fellowship, Clinical Researcher, Academy Project, Targeted Academy Project, Academy Programme, strategic research programme or international project funding granted through the RCF. In addition, PIs (CoE directors and CoE subproject PIs) who have received funding from the RCF Centre of Excellence Programme for 2018–2025 are eligible to apply.
The RCF reserves a two-year authorisation, that is, a total of 20 million euros, for the 2026 PoC call. This will fund approximately 50–60 two-year projects.
Paula Eerola, President of the RCF, said: “We’re continuously developing the RCF’s operations and funding in accordance with Finland’s main policies of R&D funding, relying on competition and peer review. 20 million euros is a significant investment, which we aim to use in increasing the extensive utilisation of research that has already been conducted in national strategic areas. With PoC funding, researchers can test their ideas and expand their cooperation networks to include, for example, the business sector. This enables us to put top expertise and cutting-edge knowledge at the disposal of society.”
More detailed information on the call for applications will be published on our website in February-March 2026.
