Research Council of Finland to open call for Centres of Excellence 2026–2033

The call text for the two-stage call will be available on the Research Council of Finland’s website on 6 June 2024. Letters of intent are invited as of 4 September 2024, with a deadline of 25 September 2024. The CoE candidates going through to the second call stage will be selected in April 2025. The Research Council will organise a call info session on 18 June.

During last autumn and this spring, the Research Council of Finland has reviewed and evaluated its funding schemes. Feedback from a stakeholder survey and workshop as well as discussions held in the Research Council’s decision-making bodies indicate that the funding for Centres of Excellence is working well in its current format.

At its meeting on 11 April 2024, the Research Council’s Board decided to continue the CoE Programme following the same principles as in the two previous calls. In the document outlining the criteria for funding decisions, a Centre of Excellence is defined as follows:

“A Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a research community that is striving for or already at the international cutting edge of research in its field. CoEs may consist of one or more research teams working closely together under a joint research plan.”

However, in future, CoEs will be encouraged to apply more actively for EU funding during their funding period. Learn more: No changes to Centre of Excellence call – decisions on Academy Professor scheme to be made in May–June

Call info webinar on 18 June – sign up now

The research groups granted Centre of Excellence (CoE) funding by the Research Council of Finland are scientifically first-rate research communities that have capacity for renewal and high societal impact. The CoE programmes contribute to the renewal of science by supplying new research topics, new methods and approaches, and new research teams. Thanks to the long-term funding provided in collaboration with CoE host organisations, the funding instrument effectively works as an incentive for risk-taking and new initiatives in research.

Important CoE call dates:

• Call announced 6 June 2024
• Online services open for letters of intent 4 September 2024
• Deadline for letters of intent 25 September 2024
• CoE candidates for second call stage selected in April 2025
• Online services open for full applications 21 May 2025 (at the earliest)
• Deadline for full applications 11 June 2025
• New CoEs selected in October 2025
• Funding periods start 1 January 2026

A call info session will be organised via Teams on Tuesday 18 June at 14.30–16.00. Sign up by 16 June: Call info for Centre of Excellence Programme 2026–2033.