Global partnerships
The Research Council of Finland has several bilateral partnership agreements with research funding bodies both within and outside the EU. Depending on the terms of the agreement, this cooperation can involve either project or mobility funding and, in some cases, also assistance for co-hosting research seminars.
We also contribute to the work of international research funding organisations (IIASA, OECD) as well as bodies that coordinate Finland’s global research and higher education partnerships on a national level (UNESCO, Team Finland Knowledge).
Bilateral international partnerships
The Research Council of Finland’s research funding cooperation with African countries is mainly carried out through multilateral, EU-based networks between funding agencies. The Research Council participates in LEAP-Agri, a network funded under the EU Horizon 2020 programme that aims to promote and support research and innovation cooperation between the EU and Africa in food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture. The Research Council also participates in the LEAP-RE network, which aims to support Africa and Europe in the transition to reliable, affordable and accessible renewable energy.
In addition, the Research Council participates in the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), a partnership programme between countries in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa and the European Union. EDCTP primarily aims to support collaborative research that accelerates the clinical development of new or improved drugs, vaccines and diagnostics to prevent or treat infectious diseases.
Inquiries and more information
- LEAP-Agri network
- LEAP-RE network
- EDCTP
- Päivi Kolu, Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 028
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
The Research Council of Finland has an agreement with two Brazilian research funding organisations: the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, agreement since 2008) and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, agreement since 2012). The objective of both agreements is to foster high-quality and mutually beneficial research funding cooperation. By granting funding to joint research projects, the aim is to support long-term research cooperation between Finnish and Brazilian research teams and to promote researcher mobility. The Research Council has opened five joint calls with its Brazilian partners.
Nowadays, the Research Council collaborates with Brazil mainly through multilateral, EU-based networks between funding agencies. In 2013–2017, the Research Council participated in ERANet-LAC (Network of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean Countries on Joint Innovation and Research Activities), a project under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme. As the EU funding has ended, the project continues under the name EU-CELAC Platform. The Research Council also participates in the Trans-Atlantic Platform for the Social Sciences and Humanities (T-AP), which was funded from 2013 to 2016 under the EU Seventh Framework Programme.
More information
- Link to CNPq website
- Link to FAPESP website
- Satu Huuha-Cissokho, Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 075
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
The Research Council of Finland has had a cooperation agreement with the National Agency of Research and Development of Chile (ANID, formerly known as CONICYT) since 2007. The objective of the agreement is to support Finnish-Chilean research cooperation by launching joint calls for research projects and implementing research programmes in jointly agreed fields. The Research Council has organised five joint calls with CONICYT.
Nowadays, the Research Council collaborates with Chile mainly through multilateral, EU-based networks between funding agencies. In 2013–2017, the Research Council participated in ERANet-LAC (Network of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean Countries on Joint Innovation and Research Activities), a project under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme. As the EU funding has ended, the project continues under the name EU-CELAC Platform. The Research Council also participates in the Trans-Atlantic Platform for the Social Sciences and Humanities (T-AP), which was funded from 2013 to 2016 under the EU Seventh Framework Programme.
More information
- Link to ANID website
- Link to CONICYT website
- Satu Huuha-Cissokho, Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 075
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
The Research Council of Finland has agreements on cooperation with three Chinese research funding organisations. The cooperation with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) covers all scientific disciplines, except those that fall within the remit of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The cooperation with the CASS covers socio-economic sciences and the humanities.
The cooperation between the Research Council and the Chinese funders supports mobility related to project cooperation between Finnish and Chinese researchers. The mobility cooperation funding is intended for travel and living expenses of Finnish research teams in China. The funding does not cover research or equipment costs.
CAS cooperation projects can also apply for mobility cooperation funding for seminars in Finland and China. NSFC cooperation projects can apply for either mobility cooperation funding or mobility seminar funding. Please note that the project must have both a Finnish and a Chinese responsible person, both of whom must submit an application to their own funding agency. The Research Council usually opens applications in September, but the Chinese funders may have other deadlines.
More information
- Risto Vilkko, Programme Manager, tel. +358 295 335 136
- Siru Oksa, Science Adviser (mobility cooperation), tel. +358 295 335 125
- Ulla Ellmén, Science Adviser (NSFC seminars), tel. +358 295 335 011
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
The Research Council of Finland has an agreement on cooperation with two research funding organisations in India: the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The agreements do not cover research fields within the social sciences and humanities.
Within the framework of EU cooperation, the Research Council has participated in joint calls launched by New Indigo ERA-NET (2009–2013) and Inno INDIGO (2013–2016) as well as in the Equip project (2014–2017), which promoted, among other things, the networking of European and Indian researchers and funders in the social sciences and humanities.
More information
- DBT website
- DST website
- Jaana Roos, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 151
- Ulla Ellmén, Science Adviser (mobility), tel. +358 295 335 011
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
The Research Council of Finland has an agreement on funding cooperation with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Through the cooperation, the Research Council and the JSPS provide support for the mobility of Finnish and Japanese researchers. Researchers can also apply for a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship grant through the Research Council.
In addition, the Research Council participates in a NordForsk-coordinated Nordic collaboration with the Japan Agency for Medical Development (AMED).
More information
- Ulla Ellmén, Science Adviser (cooperation with JSPS), tel. +358 295 335 011
- Sara Illman, Programme Manager (cooperation with AMED), tel. +358 295 335 119
- Siru Oksa, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 125
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
The Research Council of Finland's cooperation with Russian organisations has been suspended. Bilateral Finland-Russia mobility funding will not be opened for application for the time being. The call for applications in September 2022 may contain guidelines for cooperation with Russia and Belarus.
The Research Council of Finland has an agreement on funding cooperation with two Russian research funding agencies: the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR). The cooperation with the RAS supports researcher mobility in all fields of research. The mobility funding is open for application in September. With the RFBR, the Research Council mainly organises joint project calls with varying disciplines and topics. Information on open and future calls are provided in the call texts.
Since 2010, the Research Council of Finland has been involved in the ERA.Net RUS project, which aims at strengthening R&D cooperation and creating a well-functioning research funding cooperation model between Russia and the European Research Area (ERA). So far, four wide-ranging multidisciplinary research funding calls have been organised within the framework of the project.
More information
- ERA.Net RUS on Research Council of Finland's website
- ERA.Net RUS website
- Mikko Ylikangas, Programme Manager, tel. +358 295 335 143
- Siru Oksa, Science Adviser (mobility), tel. +358 295 335 125
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
The Research Council of Finland has an agreement on funding cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). The Research Council supports research mobility between Finland and Taiwan. The mobility funding is intended for travel and living expenses, not for research or equipment costs. Applications are invited in autumn.
More information
- Risto Vilkko, Programme Manager, tel. +358 295 335 136
- Ulla Ellmén, Science Adviser (mobility), tel. +358 295 335 011
- Siru Oksa, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 125
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
The Research Council of Finland has two partners in the United States: the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Research Council and the American funders have agreed to promote Finnish-American research collaboration in 2020–2024. Cooperation will be strengthened by funding research projects between American and Finnish parties in areas represented by the research flagships included in the Research Council’s Finnish Flagship Programme.
The funding will be granted via a mechanism called Lead Agency. Under the mechanism, proposers from both countries collaborate to write a single proposal, which will be submitted to a funding call organised by the US funder. Proposers from Finland will be requested to submit a version of the proposal to the Research Council as well. The instructions for Finnish applicants will be posted on the Research Council’s website.
On the condition of sufficient funding being available, the Research Council plans to organize two funding calls per year per US funder. The most recent joint calls were published in November 2022. The next calls are planned to be announced by the end of 2023.
If the Research Council does not have an active funding call for the AKA-NIH program at the time a research team is interested in submitting an application or if AKA has fully committed funding for the program for the year, U.S. and Finnish collaborators could consider submitting a standard grant application to an NIH parent R01 funding opportunity announcement (PA20-183, PA20-184, or PA20-185) with a Finnish subcontract (see NIH website for more details). This would include the full Finnish budget as part of the U.S. application.
Inquiries and more information
- See the Research Council’s open and upcoming calls.
- Read more about the Finnish Flagship Programme.
- NIH Notice of Special Interest
- NSF Dear Colleague Letter about the collaboration
- Jukka Tanskanen, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 071
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
Contributing to the work of international organisations
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international, interdisciplinary research institute located in Laxenburg in Austria, which also facilitates intergovernmental dialogue through science and scientists. It produces information to support international and national decision-making and to promote trade.
The institute studies global problems that are either too widespread or too complex for a single country or scientific discipline to solve – problems that have a global dimension (such as global warming) and problems that are shared by a large number of countries in the world (such as energy security). The IIASA compiles and maintains a large number of databases and develops modelling tools for using them effectively.
The Research Council of Finland sponsors the participation of Finnish students and students enrolled in Finnish universities and research centres in the IIASA’s Young Scientists Summer Programme (YSSP) and certain other events hosted by the IIASA. The Research Council represents Finland’s interests in the IIASA.
More information
- IIASA’s website
- Finnish IIASA Committee
- IIASA’s postdoc opportunities
- IIASA’s vacancies
- Jaana Roos, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 151
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote sustainable economic development, employment and the wellbeing of people around the world. The OECD provides a global reference point for economic and social policy makers.
The Research Council of Finland acts as Finland’s representative on the OECD’s Global Science Forum (GSF). The GSF is tasked with expanding the potential for international cooperation in the field of scientific research. The GSF also issues recommendations to the OECD’s members based on surveys and reports. The GSF identifies and studies, among other things, emerging fields of research cooperation and investigates the necessity, viability and implementation of projects that require major investments.
More information
- OECD: Global Science Forum
- Juha Latikka, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 058
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. It acts as a global laboratory of ideas and a catalyst for international cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture and communications. It develops normative instruments and helps its members to strengthen their capacity through technical assistance, political advice and a wide range of international and regional programmes. UNESCO is also an active publicist and statistician.
UNESCO’s intragovernmental science programmes promote the organisation’s objectives and strategies. The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture has a team dedicated to coordinating UNESCO’s science programmes (IBSP, IGCP, IHP, IOC, MAB and MOST) of which the Research Council of Finland is a member. The team’s secretariat is based at the Council of Finnish Academies.
More information about UNESCO’s science programmes
- Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP)
- International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP)
- International Geoscience Programme (IGCP)
- Man and the Biosphere (MAB)
- Management of Social Transformations (MOST)
- Science for a Sustainable Future
- Social and Human Sciences
- Jaana Roos, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 151
- Päivi Tikka, Director, Division of Strategic Research, tel. +358 295 335 007
Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.
Global cooperation networks
Team Finland Knowledge is a network set up to implement the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture’s international affairs policy (2017–2025). Its mission is to support and increase Finnish universities’ and research centres’ international partnerships.
The network is made up of nine higher education and science advisers based in London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New Delhi, Beijing, Pretoria, São Paulo, Singapore and Washington. The advisers in São Paulo, Pretoria and Singapore are experts in their respective regions.
The Research Council of Finland works in close cooperation with the network. The Research Council is represented in the steering group of the network by Vice President for Research Riitta Maijala.
More information
