Funding for research post as Postdoctoral Researcher, all research fields

When applying for funding for a research post as Postdoctoral Researcher, you apply for funding for your own salary for three years. You use the same application to apply for funding for your own research costs. The aim of the funding is to support the most talented researchers who have recently completed their doctoral degree in gaining competence for demanding researcher or expert positions.

Postdoctoral Researchers have established effective national or international collaborative networks. In the review of applications, particular attention will be paid to the international dimension of the research plan. The applicants are encouraged to take part in international mobility and cooperation.

The Academy of Finland recommends that Postdoctoral Researchers provide (without separate compensation) supervision of thesis and dissertation writers in their own field and teaching associated with their field of expertise, covering 5% of annual working hours. However, no more than 10% of the annual working hours should be spent on teaching and other work not immediately associated with the researcher’s own research.

Experiment to promote interaction between researchers and societal actors

The Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering continues the experiment to promote the interaction between researchers and various societal actors. The aim of the experiment is to, for instance, facilitate exchange of information and promote the wider application of research results. The Research Council will therefore earmark part of its Postdoctoral Researcher funding budget for four Postdoctoral Researchers who during their terms will work short-term in companies, university hospitals, ministries, associations, educational institutions or other research-relevant organisations.

This interaction may be carried out in several periods, but the total time spent must not exceed six months over the three-year Postdoctoral Researcher term. During their visits, the Postdoctoral Researchers work according to their own research plan.

In the application, describe the work periods and collaboration as follows:

1. On the tab Mobility plan on the online form, describe how the work periods support the implementation of the research.
2. On the tab Research plan on the online form, under section 3.2 Collaborators and their key merits, describe with whom you will collaborate and how the collaboration will promote interaction.
3. Append to your application an invitation from the organisation concerned; the invitation shold describe how the proposed research is linked to the organisation’s activities.

To be elibgible to apply, you must be a researcher with up to four years of experience since PhD completion (degree certificate issued 25 Sep 2015–25 Sep 2019), or up to eight years if you have obtained the degree simultaneously with medical specialist training.

Applicants who have completed their doctoral degree more than four years ago can be considered only for special reasons (maternity, paternity, parental or childcare leave, military service or nonmilitary service, or long-term illness). If you plead these special reasons, justify them in the application under Personal data/CV > Degrees > Additional information. If these reasons are confidential, the applicant must get in touch with the programme’s contact person named in the call text (see Contacts).

Mobility since completing their doctoral degree is required of applicants for funding for a research post as Postdoctoral Researcher (Mobility requirement). The mobility requirement is met if you apply for funding for a research post to a research environment other than the one in which you worked while completing your doctoral thesis. If an application for funding for a research post as Postdoctoral Researcher concerns the same research environment where the applicant worked while completing their doctoral degree, the applicant must have at least six months of research experience from another research environment or research-supporting experience from another sector since completing their doctoral degree. You can find detailed guidelines for fulfilling the mobility requirement in the index of application guidelines (Mobility: academy and research fellows and postdoctoral researchers).

Special conditions and restrictions

In the September call, the Academy will consider only one application per researcher if the application concerns Academy Project funding (including a consortium subproject), Academy Research Fellow funding, Postdoctoral Researcher funding or clinical researcher funding. If you do submit more than one application for any of these funding opportunities or apply for funding from more than one of them, we will only review the first application to arrive. Applications that are not reviewed will not be eligible for funding. An applicant for Postdoctoral Researcher funding may be named as a researcher in a concurrent application of another applicant.

The research councils which started in the beginning of 2019 will update their science policies in May‒June. Funding decisions are based on the policies of each research council. The policies are updated on the research council’s website before the call opens. Read the policies of the research council before submitting your application.

In the interaction experiment of the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering, the researcher’s employer during the entire Postdoctoral Researcher term is the research organisation through which the Academy’s funding is channelled. Business collaboration must fulfil the terms set out in the Academy’s funding conditions and guidelines.

A person applying for post as a Postdoctoral Researcher may be granted funding for one three-year term only.

We will not process a funding application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.

A research post as Postdoctoral Researcher is intended for full-time research. The three-year funding period begins 1 September 2020. The funding period may be changed only due to special reasons (see Who can apply in the call text).

The funding is paid via a site of research (usually a university or research institute) based in Finland. The Postdoctoral Researcher may, however, work abroad for periods of different length during the funding period.

In their application, the applicant presents a funding plan drafted in line with full cost model (see guidelines in the funding terms and conditions), including the funding to be applied for from the Academy (no more than 70% of the total project costs). 

You can apply for Academy funding to cover, for example, the following direct research costs: 

• essential implementation costs
• travels
• collaboration and mobility in Finland
• international collaboration and mobility
• mobility allowance for periods abroad
• publishing (e.g. costs of open-access publishing).

Research team salaries

Funding will not be granted for hiring other people.

What is required from the site of research?

We require that the site of research (e.g. university) provides the research project with all necessary basic facilities. These are determined based on the nature of the research and are the same as those available to other research staff at the site: office and laboratory premises, equipment (incl. computer equipment), and telecommunications, telephone, mailing, copying and library services.

The overhead for the site of research, indirect employee costs and coefficient for effective working hours are also included in the application.

When the site of research is a university or a research institute, as a rule, the funding must be applied for VAT included. Consult the financial administration at the site of research for more information. The Academy’s funding may also cover VAT costs, but only on certain conditions (see Value added tax and read more in the funding terms and conditions).

Funding plan

In the application, provide a cost estimate including an estimate of the annual amount of funding needed, itemised by type of expenditure. Also include a funding plan, that is, all funding granted for the project as well as funding that will be provided by the site of research if the project is launched. The Academy funding must not exceed 70% of the total project costs. The cost estimate must be realistic. While drafting the cost estimate, the applicant must consider the research council policies on the granted funding (the research councils will update their science policies in May–June 2019).

The applicant and the site of research must agree on the Postdoctoral Researcher’s salary in advance. The monthly salary applied for from the Academy is primarily determined according to job grade 5 of the pay scale of teaching and research staff, which means some 3,000–4,300 euros/month. depending on the researcher’s experience and the pay level at the site of research.

All the research costs must be justified in the free text field in the online services under Project funding.

Mobility allowance in research projects

The mobility allowance in research projects depends neither on the target country nor on the duration of the stay. It is a taxable benefit and indirect employee costs will be deducted from it: 

• for a researcher with no dependants: 1,050 euros/month
• for a researcher with dependants: 1,500 euros/month

The mobility allowance is applied for as research costs for implementing the research plan and as part of the original application of the research project. The recommended amount should be enough to cover the costs of higher living expenses from living abroad.

Mobility allowance is applied for on the tab Funding for the project under Other expences. Ticket costs for travel abroad are entered separately under Travel costs. If researchers and their families stay abroad for at least six months, funding can also be applied for to cover family travel costs. You must justify the need for mobility allowance.

Postdoctoral Researcher’s research period at EUI or IIASA 

Those applying for Postdoctoral Researcher funding can also apply to do research at the European University Institute (EUI) in Italy as part of the Postdoctoral Researcher term. The EUI can receive up to two Academy-funded Postdoctoral Researchers at a time to carry out research at the EUI for 1–2 years. You need not append a separate invitation from the EUI to your application or contact the EUI. However, please read about EUI research before applying and contact the Academy’s EUI contact person (see Contacts) when drafting your application. 

During the Academy funding period, Postdoctoral Researcher can also visit the multidisciplinary International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria. The Institute’s research focuses on global issues that require broad-based, multidisciplinary research cooperation. IIASA develops and utilises methods of systems analysis, but the applicant is not required to have knowledge of these methods. If your research is linked to one of IIASA’s research projects, you can agree on the visit with IIASA and append IIASA’s invitation to your application for Postdoctoral Researcher funding. You should also contact the Academy’s IIASA contact person for more details (see Contacts). 

How to submit and supplement the application

The deadline is non-negotiable.

Make sure to submit the application in good time before the deadline. The system will only accept applications that contain all obligatory information.

You can edit and supplement the application until the deadline expires. You can make changes (e.g. change appendices) in an application you have submitted to the Academy, but you must make them before the deadline expires. If you notice that your application lacks important information after the deadline has expired, immediately get in touch with the call’s contact person, so that the application can be reopened for your supplementary additions. Make sure to re-submit the application after you have supplemented it. We will consider the additions insofar as it is possible in view of the review and decision-making process. An important addition is, for instance, an invitation by a foreign university.

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 provided by the applicant.

Publicity and data protection

Under the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities, an application and its appendices are public information; confidential documents such as research plans, plans of intent, abstracts and progress reports, however, are not. For example, the CV is a public document and as such must not include any confidential information. The Academy is committed to following regulations on data protection. The GDPR-compliant privacy statement concerning the research funding process is available on our website under Data protection.

The application consists of forms completed in the online services and PDF appendices. As an applicant, you have the right to submit your application in Finnish or Swedish, but we ask that you to submit it in English to facilitate the international review.

The online application consists of the following parts:

Personal data/CV

• Personal details
• Degrees (most recent one first); parental leaves etc. may be filled in under Additional information
• Titles of docent and professorships
• CV appendix following the template structure, no more than two pages

General information

• Details on the site of research
• Title of research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• Research fields (at least one, no more than five)
• Keywords in English and Finnish/Swedish

Abstract

• Maximum length 2,500 characters
• Brief overview of scientific and societal objectives, research methods and data as well as expected results and impact of the research
• Read more about the Abstract

Research plan

• Maximum length 12 pages
• See our guidelines on the structure of the research plan
• If you apply in the interaction experiment of the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering: under the research plan’s section 3.2 Collaborators and their key merits, describe with whom you will collaborate and how the collaboration will promote interaction.
• See the how-to guides for the online services

Most relevant publications

• No more than ten of your most important publications for the project
• Search for publications in the VIRTA publication information service. 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 (will not show in the PDF version of the application)
• Append a complete list of publications to the application under Appendices

Collaborators

• Specify the collaborators of the project (name, organisation, country, brief description of the collaboration)
• Describe the collaborators’ merits relevant to the project and the justifications for choosing them in research plan in section 3.2 of the research plan

Mobility

• Mobility requirement: after their doctorate, the applicant must have at least a six-month period of national or international mobility, which must be specified in the application
• Another period of mobility after doctorate
• Period of mobility planned for the project and how it supports the implementation of the research
• If you apply in the interaction experiment of the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering: describe how the work periods support the implementation of the research
• Guidelines on the mobility allowance are available in the call text under Funding to be applied for and funding period.
• See more information on mobility (Academy Research Fellows and Postdoctoral Researcher)

Affiliations

• ESFRI roadmap research infrastructures
  Other research infrastructures
• Centres of Excellence
• Projects funded under the Flagship Programme

Ethical aspects

• Ethical permission for project (yes/no)
• Found guilty of research misconduct (yes/no)
• We will not process a funding application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.
• The research ethics description is entered under section 4.1 of the research plan.

Funding for the project – Following the Full cost model

• Funding period, effective working hours, indirect employee costs, overheads percentage and VAT
• Salaries and other costs
• 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.
• Justifications for the funding to be applied for. The cost estimate must be realistic.
• 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 (usually a university or research institute) to supporting the project.

Public project description

• Maximum length 1,000 characters
• Reader-friendly and popular description of the research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• The topic of the research and the rationale
• The data and research methods to be used (interviews, statistical data, archive materials, etc.)
• The site of research
• The significance and objectives of the research from the perspective of society and science
• Any other interesting aspects
• If relevant, a link to the researcher’s website, if it contains more information on the topic
• If relevant, references to previous publications that are readily available at public libraries or on the internet
• The public description helps the Academy to disseminate information on the research project
• Read more about the Public description

Authorisation

• You can authorise another person to to supplement or view your application.
• Start by entering the person’s name in the field.
• The person must have set up an account in the Academy’s online services (SARA).
• You cannot authorise more than one person at a time to edit a field in your application, and you cannot edit that same field while the authorisation is active.
• Do not authorise yourself.
• Technical instructions on the authorisation process are available in the how-to guides for the online services.

Appendices

• Appendices must be pdf files

       Obligatory appendices

• CV is appended under Personal data/CV, no more than two pages
• Complete list of publications. The most relevant publications are entered under Most relevant publications
• Data management plan: write the plan with help from DMPTuuli or according to the guidelines found on the Academy’s website
• Finnish doctoral degree certificate or English-language doctoral degree certificate of a degree obtained abroad; please do not append any transcripts

       Case-specific appendices

• Statement by ethics committee or animal care committee
• Invitation by foreign university or research institute, if the research or part of it will be conducted abroad; do not append any letters of recommendation
• If you apply in the interaction experiment of the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering: free-form invitation describing how the research is linked to the activities of the participating organisation
• Progress report on all Academy-funded projects headed by the applicant that have not submitted final reports.
• Research plan following the template structure, no more than 12 pages; only if the research plan has not been written on the tab Research plan

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 information is missing.
• You can supplement the application until the deadline expires. Resaving will replace the earlier version.
• If you want to supplement the application after the deadline has expired, please get in touch with the Academy’s contact persons listed in the call text.

Academy of Finland funding is granted based on peer review. We mainly use foreign experts as reviewers. 

The applications are mainly reviewed in international panels. The panel drafts one review report on each application. At least two individual reviews are requested for applications with a subject that does not fit into any of the panels. 

Review criteria 

• scientific quality, innovativeness and novelty value of the research as well as its impact within the scientific community
• competence of applicant in terms of project implementation
• feasibility of research plan (incl. research ethics)
• quality of research environment and collaborative networks
• researcher mobility and researcher training. 

Read the review questions that will be used in the review of applications: review form for Postdoctoral Researchers.

Each panel will rank the applications that have received a rating of 5 or 6.

The research councils which started in the beginning of 2019 will update their science policies in May‒June. Funding decisions are based on the policies of each research council. The policies are updated on the research council’s website before the call opens. Read the policies of the research council before submitting your application.

The research council will make the funding decisions in two stages in spring 2020. In the first stage, applications that have received rating 1–4 in the review will receive a negative decision at the discretion of the research council concerned. Rest of the applications will be processed in the second stage (mainly applications that received a rating of  5–6). The second-stage funding decisions may be either positive or negative.

You will receive an email 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. You can also read the funding conditions, if the decision has been favourable. In addition, you will have access to read the expert reviews on your application. 

How to receive the funding 

After being granted funding, you must check and accept it in the online services without delay. Make sure to check and, if necessary, update the public project description before you accept the funding. The system will then 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 both the applicant and the representative of the site of research have accepted them as received. The system will then notify the funding to the finance administration of the site of research, whereupon the funds will be ready to use.