Academy of Finland grants 13 million euros for building and developing research infrastructures

In its meeting on 9 December 2019, the Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee at the Academy of Finland has granted a total of 12.8 million euros for building and developing national research infrastructures. Funding was granted to ten research infrastructures. More funding decisions will be made by the Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee on 21 January 2020. The Academy is prepared to fund research infrastructures under the FIRI spring 2019 call with a total of some 21 million euros. 

Research infrastructure funding promotes biological imaging, biobanking and the National Virus Vector Laboratory. It supports the framework conditions for bioeconomy, social sciences, quantum research, microtechnology and nanotechnology, as well as atmospheric and environmental research, and the development of high-quality research environments. Furthermore, the funding supports the headquarters of the ICOS-ERIC research infrastructure in Finland. 

Among the ten infrastructures that received funding, there were two new ones: Quantitative chemically-specific imaging infrastructure for material and life sciences (qCSI), which received 1.6 million euros and Finnish Research Infrastructure for Public Opinion (FIRIPO), which received 774,000 euros. 

The qCSI infrastructure includes the University of Helsinki, the University of Jyväskylä and LUT University. The FIRIPO infrastructure includes Åbo Akademi, the University of Tampere and the University of Turku. 

The Academy of Finland provides funding for the acquisition and establishment of nationally significant research infrastructures that promote high-quality scientific research and for strengthening and expanding existing services. 

Research infrastructures refer to a reserve of research instruments, equipment, data, materials and services enabling research, promoting research collaboration and reinforcing research and innovation capacity. Research infrastructures may be single-sited, distributed, or virtual or a combination of these.