Checklist for Academy Project applicants

• Each call has its own call text on our website (see Calls for applications).
• Read the call text carefully.
• The call text includes links to the review form and the review guidelines. Please familiarise yourself with them when you write your application.
• All guidelines are available in an A–Z index.

Objective of funding scheme

• Internationally as high a scientific standard of research as possible, possible scientific breakthroughs and research collaboration with top-tier international teams
• Scientifically high-impact and socially relevant research
• The funding is intended for hiring a research team and for direct research costs. Funding is granted for the PI’s own salary: for project management (up to 6 months) and/or for justified, research-related reasons (up to 12 months).

Eligibility

• Academy Project funding may be applied for by individual research teams or consortia composed of two or more research teams. If you’re planning a consortium application, read our consortium guidelines.
• In addition to a doctorate, the applicant must have other significant scientific merits.
• Applicants must have qualifications at the professor or docent level.
• Applicants must have a close connection with Finland (the funding is granted to a Finnish research organisation).

When is funding not granted?

• If the applicant is a PI for an ongoing Academy Project, they will not be granted Academy Project Funding. Academy Project Funding also refers to the funding of a consortium subproject.
• If you have ongoing Academy Project Funding (and you are the project PI, incl. consortium PI)
• Exception: if the funding period has been extended on statutory grounds
• Exception: the funding period of the Academy Project ends by 31 December 2023.
• Subproject PIs of ongoing consortia can only be granted Academy Project Funding for justified reasons. Please note that a consortium PI will not be granted Academy Project Funding.
• If you are an Academy Professor and have ongoing funding for research costs, you may apply for Academy Project Funding during the last year of the professorship provided that there are no overlaps in the funding periods.
• If you are an Academy Research Fellow and have funding for research costs, you may apply for Academy Project Funding only for the last two years of the fellowship.
• Exception: if the funding period has been extended on statutory grounds
• Directors, vice directors and team leaders of Academy-funded Centres of Excellence (CoE) cannot receive Academy Project Funding during the first three years of the CoE term.

When is an application not processed or reviewed?

• If the application does not fall within the scope of the call.
• If you submit more than one application in the same call, or apply for more than one Academy Project (incl. consortia), post as Academy Research Fellow or post as Clinical Researcher. We will only review the first application submitted.
• If you have been found guilty of research misconduct in the past three years.
• If you fail to supplement your application by the deadline indicated in a request for supplementation.
• If you fail to report on a completed, Academy-funded project by the deadline.
• More examples on when an application will not be processed or reviewed.

What has changed in the past three years?

• As a result of the Academy Research Fellow reform, the Academy Project Funding specifically targeted at early-career researchers has been discontinued.
• The research plan is submitted as a PDF appendix on a separate tab in the online services, using our Word or LaTeX template. Instructions on the structure of the research plan. Follow our structure and page configurations. Please use the headings provided.
• The list of references does count towards the length of the plan.
• The maximum length of the CV is three pages. The CV is filled in in the online services (SARA). See the CV guidelines on our website. Do not insert your CV as an image.
• The costs of ensuring immediate open access to peer-reviewed articles are included in the overheads of the site of research and are thus part of the basic facilities provided by the site. The costs associated with storing and sharing research data are regarded as overheads for the project’s site of research. Only exceptionally and for justified reasons can they be accepted as research costs to be covered by Academy research funding.
• If the application includes cooperation with Russia or Belarus, you must take into account the Academy’s policies on the matter.
• There is a tab in the online services where the applicant (individual researcher or consortium) is asked to provide their own or the consortium’s own most relevant publications and other research outputs in terms of the project. The consortium PI fills in the publication details on behalf of the consortium.
• There is a separate tab for the progress report. The tab shows all project that have not yet submitted final reports. The report is no longer submitted as a separate appendix.
• The full data management plan is submitted only after a positive funding decision. However, the research plan shall briefly describe matters relating to the storing, sharing and open access of data.
• The funding decisions are made in two stages: At the first decision stage, the research councils, at their discretion, will mete out rejections to applications that have received a rating below 5 in the review. Applications with rating 5–6 continue to the next stage and will be decided later. These applications will not be notified separately in connection with the first-stage decisions. See the processing status and decision date on our website.
• Applications that receive a rating below 5 receive a brief panel summary on the application.
• More attention is paid to responsible researcher evaluation in the review of applications and in decision-making. Read more about responsible researcher evaluation.

Final points

Participate in our Ask & Apply call info sessions or watch the replays. This year, webinars will be held in June, August and September.