FIRI: call for local research infrastructures

The Next Generation EU recovery instrument supports a speedy recovery for people, the EU economy and society from the Covid-19 crisis. The instrument includes a 750 billion recovery fund for EU member states. The Next Generation EU recovery package is divided into seven parts, of which the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is the largest. Each member state must present a national Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) in order to receive RRF funding. The Council of the European Union formally approved Finland’s plan in autumn 2021. Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan forms part of the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland. The programme supports growth that is ecologically, socially and economically sustainable.

Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan contains a research infrastructure package that will be used to finance the upgrading and development of research infrastructures, emphasising the objectives of the green and digital transition. The Academy of Finland supports the implementation of the plan with an additional funding of 25 million euros, targeted at local research infrastructures.

The vision stated in the Strategy for National Research Infrastructures in Finland 2020–2030 (PDF) is that high-class research infrastructure services increase the impact and international attraction of the Finnish research, education and innovation system. The strategy identifies the lack of funding for local research infrastructures as a challenge.

Research organisations, such as universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutes, have local research infrastructures at their disposal, which play an important role in the research activities and cooperation of these organisations with RDI actors in the region. They also lay the foundation for national and international research infrastructure cooperation. Local research infrastructures should be up-to-date and respond to the needs of research, education, business and other sectors.

The aim of the present call for local research infrastructures is to support the construction or upgrading of locally or regionally significant research infrastructures that take account of the growth in digitalisation and the green transition.

In addition to the requirement of projects complying with the relevant EU and national environmental legislation, the projects to be funded must comply with the ‘Do No Significant Harm’ (DNSH) principle, which states that projects must not cause significant harm to the six environmental objectives defined in the EU Taxonomy Regulation:

• climate change mitigation
• climate change adaption
• the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources
• the transition to a circular economy
• pollution prevention and control
• the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.

The actions must not cause significant harm during or after the project. Funding will not be granted for projects promoting the use of fossil fuels (including downstream use) [except projects under this measure in power and/or heat generation, as well as related transmission and distribution infrastructure, using natural gas, that are compliant with the conditions set out in Annex III of the ‘Do no significant harm’ Technical Guidance (2021/C58/01)] and projects related to waste landfills, incinerators [this exclusion does not apply to actions under this measure in plants exclusively dedicated to treating non-recyclable hazardous waste, and to existing plants, where the actions under this measure are for the purpose of increasing energy efficiency, capturing exhaust gases for storage or use or recovering materials from incineration ashes, provided such actions under this measure do not result in an increase of the plants’ waste processing capacity or in an extension of the lifetime of the plants; for which evidence is provided at plant level] and mechanical biological treatment plants [this exclusion does not apply to actions under this measure in existing mechanical biological treatment plants, where the actions under this measure are for the purpose of increasing energy efficiency or retrofitting to recycling operations of separated waste to compost bio-waste and anaerobic digestion of bio-waste, provided such actions under this measure do not result in an increase of the plants’ waste processing capacity or in an extension of the lifetime of the plants; for which evidence is provided at plant level]. Nor will funding be granted to activities where the long-term disposal of waste may cause harm to the environment.

Learn more about the DNSH principle in this Commission Notice (PDF) and on the website of the Finnish Ministry of Finance (in Finnish).

Compliance with and commitment to the DNSH principle is described on a form to be appended to the application. After the call has closed, the Academy may also require a separate account on compliance with the DNSH principle to support decision-making. The compliance with the principle can be assessed and monitored during the funding period of the projects in accordance with guidelines to be specified later. After the completion of the funded projects, the achievement and results of the funding objectives will be assessed, taking into account the requirements of the EU.

Key concepts

Research infrastructure

Research infrastructures refer to a reserve of research instruments, data and related services that strengthens the impact and increases the international attraction of the Finnish research, education and innovation system. Research infrastructure services enable R&D activity, support researcher training, and maintain and develop research and innovation capacity, thus promoting the quality, renewal and competitiveness of research, strengthening the versatile impact of research environments and enhancing national and international cooperation.

Research infrastructures are research-relevant equipment, information networks, databases, multidisciplinary research centres, research stations, collections, libraries and other memory organisations, as well as services related to their use. Large scientific research infrastructures are often shared and international, offering opportunities for cooperation for both domestic and foreign researchers and other actors.

Research infrastructures may be based at a single location (single-sited), scattered across several sites (distributed), or provided via a virtual platform (virtual). They can also form mutually complementary wholes and networks.

Local research infrastructure

A local research infrastructure is significant locally or regionally and takes into account the growth of digitalisation and the green transition. It is a reserve of research equipment, materials and services that contributes to excellent research, development and innovation. It may be an existing infrastructure or one that is under construction. A local infrastructure supports the strategy of its host organisation. It boosts local/regional specialisation and growth and serves as a (local/regional) hub of expertise, a platform for cooperation or a partner. A local research infrastructure must have a plan for the maintenance, development and availability of services. All data produced with the local research infrastructure must be as open as possible and as closed as necessary.

Research organisation

A research organisation refers to an organisation whose primary goal is to conduct independent basic research, industrial research or experimental development or to disseminate its results widely by means of education, publication or knowledge transfer. Research organisations are, for example, higher education institutes, research institutes, technology transfer organisations, innovation intermediaries, and research-oriented physical or virtual collaborative entities, regardless of their legal status (organised under public or private law) or financing source. When such an entity is also engaged in economic activities, separate accounts must be kept of the funding and costs of and the revenue generated by such activities. The enterprises exercising a controlling interest in such an entity (as shareholders, members, etc.) may not enjoy any preferential access to the results generated by the entity.

Characteristics of a local research infrastructure (project)

Significance of research

The research infrastructure has local, often also regional, significance for high-quality research.

Cooperation and impact

The research infrastructure brings added value to the region by increasing the vitality, skills and innovation potential in the region and by supporting partnerships between RDI actors. The research infrastructure supports regional specialisation and business regeneration and growth. It also promotes collaboration opportunities in the public and private sectors and the provision of solution-oriented information to meet society’s needs.

Ownership and know-how

The ownership of the research infrastructure is clear, and the rights, obligations and roles of the owner(s) are known. The staff of the research infrastructure have sufficient expertise to deliver the services.

Services and users

The research infrastructure has a clear access policy that allows for a diverse user base and enables access to the services provided by the research infrastructure.

Digital platforms and data

The research infrastructure provides support and guidance to users in order to bring the research data and materials produced with it into line with the FAIR principles. The research infrastructure’s activities take into account the changes created by the growth of digitalisation and data intensity.

Responsibility and the green transition

The activities of the research infrastructure follow the principles of equality and nondiscrimination. Sustainable development objectives, such as the carbon neutrality target, are taken into account in the operation of the research infrastructure. The research infrastructure takes concrete action to promote the green transition towards carbon neutrality.

Budget and funding

The research infrastructure has a long-term funding plan of at least five years for the maintenance and development of services.

Risk management

The research infrastructure must have a risk management plan. The project, too, must have identified potential risks and have a feasible risk management plan.

The applicant is a research organisation. The research organisation selects the person who will be responsible for submitting the application. The infrastructures on the national RI roadmap (the whole RI project described in the roadmap application) and the infrastructures that received funding in the FIRI 2021 call are not eligible to apply in the present call. The beneficiaries of the funding cannot include companies subject to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

This person may be the director of the research infrastructure or some other person approved by the research organisation. Typically, the person is the principal investigator of the consortium. The responsible person shall be responsible for the application in its entirety. The application is filled in and submitted in the Academy of Finland’s online services. Persons authorised by the person responsible for submitting the application, such as the deputy director of the research infrastructure, may also participate in drafting the application. The authorisation is given on the tab ‘Authorisation’ in the online services. The duration of the authorisation may be determined case-by-case. However, the authorisation will expire with the call’s deadline. Responsible persons must not authorise themselves.

The commitment by the site of research is issued by the senior management of the research organisation. The commitment is issued via the online services. NB! Only the senior management (rectors, etc.) can issue the commitment of the site of research.

Consortium applications

If the research infrastructure is hosted by more than one research organisation, the organisations may form a consortium. Read more in the guidelines for consortium applications. The consortium application is drafted by the person responsible for the application(typically the consortium PI). This person may be the director of the research infrastructure or some other person approved by the research organisation. All research organisations acting as consortium parties must demonstrate their commitment to the application in the Academy’s online services. NB! Only the senior management (rectors, etc.) can issue the commitment of the site of research.

The director of the consortium (the person responsible for the application) must fill in the basic information of the consortium in the online services for the other parties. NB! The consortium parties will not be able to examine the entire consortium application without authorisation (described above). However, the application can be viewed in the online services by clicking on ‘Application in PDF format’.

We will not process an application if the responsible person has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.

Within the present call for local research infrastructures, the Academy of Finland is prepared to fund research infrastructures with a total of approximately 25 million euros. The recommended minimum amount for the Academy’s contribution to an individual application is 200,000 euros. Correspondingly, the recommended minimum amount for the Academy’s contribution to a consortium subproject is 100,000 euros and 600,000 euros for the whole consortium.

The funding is intended to cover planning and investment costs in the construction phase of the research infrastructure, such as the acquisition of equipment and systems and the formation of services. Funding may also be granted for the construction or significant upgrading of an existing research infrastructure. Acquisitions must be incorporated into an existing or a forthcoming local research infrastructure.

The funding may also be granted to cover salary costs, if the tasks of the person to be hired are linked to the functions described above. Only for compelling reasons can government grants be awarded to cover salary costs in cases where the applicant has obstacles related to illegal employment, as referred to in section 7(2) of the Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Transfers.

The funding is not intended for operating costs or permanent operating expenses of the research infrastructure.

RRF-related special conditions

1. The funding must be received without delay and within three working days of receipt of the funding decision.
2. Extension of the funding period is possible only for special reasons and only up to 31 December 2025.
3. The cost estimate in the funding plan should be drafted according to the annual instalments in the state budget (33.3% in 2023, 33.3% in 2024 and 33.3% in 2025). Deviations from funding uses may only be made for justified reasons.
4. The payment schedule for the funding may differ from the schedule set out in the Academy’s funding terms. The Academy will provide guidance to sites of research in issues related to the payment of RRF funding.
5. The project’s final report shall be submitted via the Academy of Finland’s online services by 31 March 2026. Projects are also required to submit interim reports by 31 December 2025.
   The projects must also prepare for further detailed RRF implementation and reporting requirements (incl. those related to the monitoring and follow-up of the implementation of the DNSH principle). Failure to report may lead to the recovery of funding.
6. The Academy of Finland requires audits of the projects. The auditor’s report must be submitted to the Academy within three months of the end of the funding period. The deadline is non-negotiable. Failure to submit the auditor’s report by the deadline may lead to the recovery of funding.
7. In all communications on the project, the funding recipient must mention the funding source and ensure the visibility of European Union funding by presenting both the EU logo and the mention “Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU”.
8. If overlapping funding is granted for the funded project from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) or other EU programmes, the PI shall inform the Academy without delay.
9. Beneficiaries shall keep all financial records and other records until the end of 2032, unless other European Union or national legislation requires a longer period.

Funding will not be granted for a research project that already has overlapping funding from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) or other EU programmes.

The funding will be implemented in accordance with the instructions below, provided that the European Commission approves the application guidelines. The approval is expected in March 2022.

What is required from the site of research?

The costs associated with storing and sharing research data are regarded as overheads for the infrastructure project’s site of research, but they may also be legitimately accepted as costs to be covered with Academy funding. If the construction or significant upgrading of the research infrastructure and the formation of services are focused on the processing of large amounts of data, or if the processing of the project’s data requires exceptionally much work or time, the project may apply for funding for salary costs related to the data processing. In this case, a person whose working hours are spent on data management and processing may be hired to the project.

The site of research also commits to ensuring that the data management policy can be implemented at the site of research, and that the measures to be taken comply with good data management practice.

Any supplies, equipment and literature acquired with Academy funding will remain in the ownership and possession of the site of research. The parties can agree in writing on other procedures in the case of research infrastructures. In multi-site joint projects, the parties must conclude a written agreement on the use, ownership and location of the research infrastructure, even for the time after the funding period. The agreement is kept as part of the procurement documents. The agreement need not be delivered to the Academy.

When accepting the funding, the site of research is responsible for ensuring that necessary statements and permits from ethics committees have been obtained before the start of the project.

Read more in the guidelines on the commitment by the site of research.

How to submit and supplement the application

The person responsible for the application shall submit it in the Academy of Finland’s online services. The deadline is non-negotiable. The call opens on 6 April 2022 and closes on 12 May 2022 at 16.15 Finnish time.

Make sure to submit the application in good time before the deadline. The system will only accept applications that contain all obligatory information. The joint consortium application is submitted by the consortium PI. The PI can submit the consortium application only after all subprojects have tagged their applications as complete.

You can make changes to a submitted application (e.g. change appendices), but you must make them before the deadline. If you notice that your application lacks important information after the deadline, immediately get in touch with the call’s contact person, so that they can reopen the application for you. Make sure to re-submit the application after you have supplemented it. We will consider the supplemented information insofar as it is possible in view of the review and decision-making schedule. We may ask you to supplement the application. If you do not supplement the application by the given deadline, we may decide not to process it. You must make sure that your contact details (email address) are up to date.

How the application becomes pending

According to section 17 of the Finnish Administrative Procedure Act and section 8 of the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector, the sender is responsible for the application arriving by the set deadline. An application becomes pending at the Academy when the online application and the obligatory appendices have been submitted in the online services. The system will confirm a successful submission by sending an email to the address you have provided.

If you have not submitted a final report on a completed, Academy-funded project, we may decide not to process your application.

An application will not be processed if the applicant or the application does not meet the competence requirements or other key requirements, or if the application otherwise does not qualify for processing. A research council or another decision-making body may decide not to process and not to fund an application based on science policy objectives or if it is apparent for some other reason that the applicant cannot receive funding with the submitted application. Read more about the circumstances that may cause the Academy not to process or review an application.

Publicity and data protection

Except for the action plan, abstract and progress report, which are primarily subject to professional secrecy, the application and its appendices are public documents. For example, the CV is a public document and as such must not include any confidential information. This publicity is based on the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities. The Academy is committed to following regulations on data protection. The applicant is responsible for the disclosure of the personal data contained in the application and, where appropriate, for requesting the consent of the parties concerned. The GDPR-compliant privacy statement concerning the research funding process is available on our website under Data protection.

The application consists of a form completed in the online services and its PDF appendices. As an applicant, you have the right to submit your application in Finnish or Swedish, but we ask you to submit it in English.

The online application contains the following parts

Most of the links below take you to the A–Z index of application guidelines.

Personal data

• Personal details of the person responsible for the application
• Degrees (most recent one first)
• Titles of docent and professorships

Consortium parties

• Details on each party (name, email address, organisation and country of the person responsible for the application)
• See the consortium application guidelines and the FIRI consortium model.

General information

• Details on the site of research
• Information on the research infrastructure (select from the list or enter under ‘Other’)
• Name and possible abbreviation of research infrastructure (the same spelling for all consortium parties)
• Research fields (at least one, no more than five). See the research field classification.
• Keywords in English and Finnish/Swedish

Abstract

• Maximum length 2,500 characters including spaces
• Brief description of the project and how it supports the overall operations of the research infrastructure and the call’s objectives

Most relevant publications and other key outputs

• The responsible person (the consortium PI) reports up to ten key publications produced with the research infrastructure and up to ten other key research outputs with justifications.
• There are separate fields for selected publications and other research outputs. If the desired output type is not listed, select ‘Other, what?’ and enter the name of the output.

• You can retrieve publication details from the VIRTA publication information service. Also see the How-to guides for the online services.
• Details on publications may also be entered manually. Obligatory information: author(s), title, year of publication, name of series/journal, type of publication (the type will not show in the PDF version of the application)

Collaborators

• List the collaborators of the research infrastructure (name, organisation, country).

Affiliations

• Research infrastructures. Read more about research infrastructures.
• Centres of Excellence in Research: Read more about Centres of Excellence.
• Finnish Flagships: Read more about the Finnish Flagship Programme.

Research ethics

• Preliminary ethical review for project and/or animal testing permit (yes/no)
• Found guilty of research misconduct (yes/no). We will not process a funding application if the person responsible for the application or a consortium party has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.
• Guilty of illegal employment within the meaning referred to in section 7(2) of the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (yes/no)
• See the ethical guidelines.

Funding for the project

• The project’s funding follows the full cost model. The Academy’s funding contribution comes to no more than 70%.
• Before you can fill in the cost estimate, you must first select the site of research on the tab ‘General information’.
• The site of research maintains the following percentages: effective working hours, indirect employee costs, overheads percentage and VAT.
• Enter the funding period. The funding period starts on 1 January 2023 and ends on 31 December 2025 at the latest.
• Enter salaries and other costs.
• Enter other funding sources and their funding contributions. You must immediately notify us if you receive funding from other sources for the same purpose after your application to the Academy has been submitted.
• Justify the funding to be applied for. The cost estimate must be realistic. If the cost estimate in the funding plan deviates from the annual instalments given in the special conditions, please justify the reason for the deviation.
• Consult the administration at your site of research when filling in budget details. Read more about the funding in the call text under ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’.
• Commitment by site of research. Make sure you have a commitment from your site of research to supporting the project. NB! Only the senior management (rectors, etc.) can issue the commitment of the site of research. Read more in the guidelines on the commitment by the site of research.

Public project description

• Maximum length 1,000 characters including spaces
• Popular and reader-friendly description of the project in English and Finnish/Swedish, including how it supports the overall functioning of the research infrastructure and the call’s objectives.
• It is important that the public description is written for a general audience.
• You may add a link to the research infrastructure’s website.
• We use the public description to disseminate information on the funded research infrastructure. The project description is also stored at fi, a service that makes available information on research conducted in Finland.
• Read the guidelines on the public project description.

Action plan

• The plan may be no longer than 20 pages.
• In order to streamline the review, the action plan and the review form have the same structure. That is why it is important that the action plan follows the guidelines and structure provided. Be as concise as you can. See the guidelines on the structure of the action plan. Please note that the action plan cannot be submitted as a separate PDF appendix.

Appendices

• Appendices must be PDF files.

Obligatory appendices:

• Data management policy: write the plan by using the DMPTuuli tool or following the Academy’s DMPol guidelines.
• Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) report: Fill in a DNSH report.
• Applicant organisation’s prioritisation list: Prioritisation list from the research organisation that hosts the research infrastructure. Submit the appendix to the Academy’s Registrar’s Office after the call has closed (but no later than Thursday 15 September 2022 at 16.15 Finnish time). See the guidelines and template for the prioritisation list.

Submit application

• You can submit the application when you have filled in or attached all the necessary information.
• A red warning triangle on the tab tells you that some information is missing. NB! The consortium PI’s application will not show a red warning triangle if consortium parties have not tagged their applications as complete. The PI can submit the consortium application only after all subprojects have tagged their applications as complete.
• You can supplement the application until the deadline. Resaving will replace the earlier version.
• If you want to supplement the application after the deadline, please get in touch with the Academy’s contact persons listed in the call text.

Authorisation

• You can authorise another person to supplement or view your application.
• The person must have an account in the Academy’s online services (SARA).
• Start by entering the person’s name in the field. Then select the correct person in the drop-down menu.
• You cannot authorise more than one person at a time to edit a field. You cannot edit that same field while the authorisation is active.
• Do not authorise yourself.
• See technical instructions on the authorisation process in the how-to guides for the online services.

See the review questions that will be used in the review: review form for call for local research infrastructures. The review guidelines and forms are only available in English.

The Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee will make the funding decisions in late 2022. In its decision-making, the Committee will into account the objectives of the call, the review reports and the strategic commitment of the research organisations to the research infrastructures (prioritisation). You will receive an email notification after the funding decision has been made. After receiving the email, you can log in to the online services with your user ID to view the decision and its justifications. In the online services, you will also have access to the review report, which may include the panel ranking.

How to receive the funding

After being granted funding, the responsible person must check and accept it in the online services without delay. The system will then send a notification to the commitment issuer at the site of research. That person must also accept the granted funding. This must be done via the Academy’s online services within eight weeks of the decision date, unless otherwise stated in the special conditions of the decision notification.

Any changes to the annual instalments must be made before the funding is accepted. If necessary, also update the public description. It is important that the public description is written for a general audience. Once you have accepted the funding, the system will send a notification to the commitment issuer at the site of research. That person must also accept the granted funding.

The funds can be paid only after the person responsible for the application and the representative of the site of research have accepted them. The system will then notify the funding to the finance administration of the site of research, whereupon the funds will be ready to use.

Primary email address: firi@aka.fi

• Paula Leskinen, Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 145
• Merja Särkioja, Senior Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 111
• Marjut Kaukolehto, Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 169
• Tiina Ilo, Coordinator, tel. +358 295 335 150

Follow Twitter updates on the call: @aka_firi

How should the impact of the local infrastructure be described: local impact, national or international impact? Which one has the most significance?

The emphasis of this call is on local and regional impact. The scope of the call is described under ‘Background and objectives’ in the call text.

Why target ‘local’ in the research infrastructure call?

The scope of the call is defined by the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland, which outlines a research infrastructure funding package that is composed of three parts: funding for national research infrastructures, funding for local research infrastructures and funding for innovation infrastructures. The first two of these are implicated via funding calls organised by the Academy of Finland.

What is the definition of local?

Local and regional refer to areas like a city, municipality (kunta), province (maakunta/lääni), or similar entity. The definition of local and the criteria for a local research infrastructure are given in the call text.

The Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland aims to support recovery from the coronavirus crisis and social and regional cohesion. The research infrastructure that the funding is applied for should have a clear local or regional impact on research, development and innovation. The funding decision process involves considering how well the project meets the aim of the call, that is, results in construction or significant upgrading of a research infrastructure with local or regional impact.

Can a local infrastructure be distributed and owned by a consortium? Can there be more than one host in the same local area?

Yes, it can be distributed, owned by a consortium, and there can be more than one host in the same local area.

Is there a geographical limit between consortium partners beyond which a research infrastructure is no longer considered local? For example, would a consortium between Oulu and Helsinki be considered local?

No limit has been set to the maximum geographical distance between consortium partners. It is good to bear in mind, however, that the funding is intended for enhancing the local and regional impact of research infrastructures on research and on the profiling and livelihood of a region. In a situation where a consortium is composed of geographically distant partners, it must be apparent how the aims of the call are met.

How about national research infrastructures? How are their funding needs addressed?

There will be a call for national research infrastructures in 2023.

National roadmap research infrastructures are not eligible to apply, but how about the local nodes that the national research infrastructure is composed of? Are they eligible to apply?

No, national research infrastructures or sub-parts of these are not eligible in this call. As a rule of thumb, if it is possible for a research infrastructure, node or facility to receive funding in a ‘standard’ FIRI call for national research infrastructures, then the research infrastructure, node or facility is not eligible in this call. A node or facility cannot be defined as being national in one call and local in the next.

If your name has been mentioned in a successful FIRI application last year, are you eligible to apply in this call?

The applicant in a research infrastructure call is the research organisation. Funding is granted to the organisation for the research infrastructure. Eligibility criteria refer to national research infrastructures, their nodes and facilities, not to individual people. If you have been the responsible applicant (person) in an application for national research infrastructure funding, this does not make you ineligible to be the responsible applicant (person) in an application for local research infrastructure funding.

In the previous FIRI call there were categories for both roadmap RIs and non-roadmap RIs. Why not in this case?

The FIRI 2021 calls were for national research infrastructures, both for those on the roadmap and those not on the roadmap. This call is for local infrastructures. All research infrastructures on the roadmap are national as this is a criterion for being accepted on to the roadmap.

Can we form a consortium where one partner is already funded through FIRI?

No, you cannot have a partner that is eligible for FIRI funding. FIRI funding is for national research infrastructures (and their nodes), whereas this funding is meant for local research infrastructures.

Can hospitals apply for funding from this call?

Yes.

Will there be guidance on filling the DNSH report?

The DNSH report follows a standard format (see ‘Application parts and guidelines’ in the call text). You may contact us at firi@aka.fi if you have more specific questions.

Is it possible to build up a new research infrastructure?

Yes.

What does it mean that “The cost estimate in the funding plan should be drafted according to the annual instalments in the state budget (33.3% in 2023, 33.3% in 2024 and 33.3% in 2025)”?

It means that the funding is at the Academy’s disposal in three equal sums and thus applicants must draft their budgets accordingly (for instance, if you apply for €900,000, the cost estimate for the budget should be as follows: €300,000 in 2023, €300,000 in 2024 and €300,000 in 2025). This requirement comes from the RRF framework.

Digital solutions might require a significant number of person-months instead of purchasing instruments. Is an application eligible with a major portion on personnel costs?

Funding can be applied for to cover personnel costs, if they are justified and related to construction or significant upgrading of the research infrastructure.

Applicants are asked to make a five-year budget although the funding is only for three years (2023–2025). Why is this?

The five-year budget (expenditure and revenue) required in the action plan is used for evaluating the funding base and financial sustainability of the research infrastructure. The five-year budget explains all sources of income, also those not coming from the Academy of Finland.

Do we draw together the budget of our own research organisation or also budgets of the other consortium members?

Each consortium member fills in the amount that they are applying for under the tab ‘Funding for the project’ in the online system. The five-year budget (expenditure and revenue) required in the action plan is a single budget that covers all research infrastructure host organisations.

What does it mean that one cannot get funding for the same thing twice?

According to Finnish state aid legislation, funding cannot be granted for the same purpose twice. This means that if funding has been granted for purchasing an instrument or developing a service, funding that contributes to the purchase of the same instrument or to the development of the same service cannot be granted a second time. Funding can be granted for upgrading an instrument, purchasing an identical instrument (if justified) or for developing the service further, as this is not the same thing as what the original funding was granted for.

Can the organisation’s own contribution (30%) come from several sources?

Yes.

Can funding be applied for to pay for software development?

Yes.