Academy of Finland grants €18m in project funding for biosciences and environmental research

The Academy of Finland’s Research Council for Biosciences and Environment today granted funding for 35 research projects under its Academy Project funding scheme. One of the projects is a consortium between two applicants. The funding amounts to a total of 18 million euros.

Following the September 2017 call, the Research Council had 215 applications for Academy Project funding reviewed by 13 panels. The application success rate was 16.3 per cent. Women account for approximately one-third of the funded researchers.

Professor Kai Lindström, Chair of the Research Council for Biosciences and Environment, said: “The majority of the applications were very strong scientifically, and the Research Council could not fund all of them. The Research Council’s funding policy is a particularly important tool when it comes to making decisions concerning applications of equal merit.”

The most important funding criterion is the scientific quality of the research plan, but there are also other policies that may affect the funding decisions. The Research Council’s goal is to support initiatives that support science renewal and projects that display strong potential for impact. In addition, the Research Council focuses on supporting talented researchers with rising career trajectories and on promoting gender equality in research. Consortium parties are required to be of the same scientific quality as the principal investigator of the consortium.