Targeted Academy Project 2020: International Co-Investigator Scheme for Finnish-Norwegian research cooperation in engineering

The Academy of Finland announces targeted funding to support engineering research cooperation between Finnish and Norwegian research teams under the International Co-Investigator Scheme. Within the Scheme, national funding organisations commit themselves to funding the work of foreign partners of researchers in their own country. The Academy of Finland is testing the Scheme in cooperation with the Research Council of Norway (RCN). The aim of the Academy’s funding granted under the present call is to produce high-quality research in fields of engineering, to which cooperation between Finnish and Norwegian research teams brings significant added value.

The call is part of the Academy’s September 2020 call, and the applications shall be addressed to the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering. The applications will be processed and reviewed together with other applications addressed to the Research Council in connection with the September 2020 call. The applications will be reviewed in line with the Academy’s general review criteria. In addition, the review will focus on the added value of research cooperation between Finnish and Norwegian parties in the research project. The research plan is a joint plan between the Finnish and Norwegian parties, and the application is used to apply for funding for the research costs of both parties.

The funding can be applied for by individual research teams or consortia composed of two research teams. The consortium parties may represent one or several research organisations. Applicants can submit only one application to this call.

A consortium application is an application built around a joint research plan, where each party to the consortium applies for funding. The Academy treats the consortium application as a single application, although the funding is granted to each subproject separately. Consortium compositions cannot be changed after the call deadline. Read the guidelines for consortium applications.

In this targeted call implemented under the International Co-Investigator Scheme, the applicant is a Finnish party that also applied for funding for a Norwegian research team. The application must include at least one and at most two parties from both countries. One Finnish party is not enough to form a consortium application. The application is regarded as a consortium application if it includes two Finnish parties. In this case, the funding of the Norwegian party or parties shall be applied for in the application of the consortium PI.

In addition to a doctoral degree, the principal investigator (PI) of the proposed project must also have other significant scientific merits. Usually the PI is a researcher at the professor or docent (adjunct professor) level. In addition, the applicant must have a close connection with Finland to support the implementation of a multi-year project. This connection must be described in the application.

Special terms and restrictions

The call is targeted at engineering fields. The topic of the application shall cover one or several of the following fields of engineering:

• energy engineering
• mechanical engineering and manufacturing technology
• medical engineering
• process and chemical engineering
• construction and municipal engineering
• electrical engineering and electronics (incl. communications and automation engineering)
• environmental engineering related to the above fields.

The funding is conditional on research cooperation between Finnish and Norwegian parties and significant added value of cooperation between Finnish and Norwegian researchers. The research plan is a joint plan between the Finnish and Norwegian parties describing the research and research team of both parties. The funding is applied for to cover the research costs of both parties. The project to be funded must form a balanced whole between the parties. However, the funding of the Norwegian parties may not exceed half of the total funding granted by the Academy.

The funding is allocated to a Finnish site of research, which undertakes to conclude an agreement in accordance with section 7(2) of the Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Transfers on the use, control and conditions of the use of the government grant with the Norwegian site of research. The agreement must be submitted to the Academy no later than 30 September 2021.

The applicant undertakes to communicate the Academy’s funding decision and review report to the Norwegian party.

Academy Project Funding is primarily intended towards the salaries of researchers who work full-time on the project and for other project costs. The PI’s salary costs may, under certain limitations, be incorporated into the total project costs. Read more in the call text under ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’.

If the applicant has ongoing Academy funding, they must draw up an interim report in the online services. Read the guidelines on drafting the interim report.

Members of the Board, research councils and the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland will not be granted Academy funding during their terms.

Funding cannot be granted to a person who has participated in the planning of the call to an extent likely to give them a comparative advantage over other applicants.

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

Under this call, the Academy’s Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering is prepared to fund research projects with up to 2 million euros in total.

The three-year funding period starts on 1 September 2021. The maximum total funding per individual or consortium-based Academy Project is 750,000 euros (equivalent to €250,000 per year).

Academy research funding is granted to Finnish sites of research (usually universities or research institutes), unless there are special reasons for not doing so. The PI of the funded project must have a close connection with Finland to support the implementation of a multi-year project. The funded researchers may, however, spend time working abroad during their funding period.

The applicant shall present a cost estimate drafted according to the full cost model. The funding applied for from the Academy amounts to 100% of the total project costs. The indirect employee costs can amount to a maximum of 50% and the maximum overheads percentage is 25%. The Academy’s funding contribution, the indirect employee costs and the overheads percentage are the same for the Finnish and the Norwegian party. Read more about the full cost model.

The detailed cost estimate is filled in on the tab ‘Research costs’ in the online services. All research costs must be justified. When justifying the costs, pay particular attention to that the funding sought for the costs of the Finnish and Norwegian parties has been clearly itemised.

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

• research team salaries
• PI’s salary costs (under certain      limitations)
• salaries of researchers returning to      Finland
• essential implementation costs
• travel expenses
• collaboration and mobility in Finland
• international collaboration and mobility
• preparation of international projects
• publishing costs (e.g. costs of open-access      publishing).

The Academy of Finland will not grant funding for the Norwegian party’s expenditure related to equipment.

Academy funding cannot be used for economic activity.

See guidelines on the cost estimate in the call text under ‘How to draft the cost estimate’.

Research team salaries

As a rule, staff hired with Academy research funding must have an employment relationship. We recommend that they be hired for a period of employment no shorter than the funding period, unless a shorter contract is necessary for special reasons dictated by the implementation of the research project. Short-term research, study or other assignments may also be carried out in the form of outsourced services, if it is determined to be necessary for the project.

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. 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. The site of research also commits to ensuring that the data management plan can be implemented at the site of research, and that the measures to be taken comply with good data management practice. Read more in the guidelines on the commitment by site of research.

The funding applied for from the Academy amounts to 100% of the total project costs. In the application, the overheads percentage will be up to 25% and the indirect employee costs up to 50% for each site of research.

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).

The Finnish party applies for funding for the research costs of the Finnish and Norwegian parties. The funding is allocated to a Finnish site of research, which undertakes to conclude an agreement in accordance with section 7(2) of the Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Transfers on the use, control and conditions of the use of the government grant with the Norwegian site of research. The agreement must be submitted to the Academy no later than 30 September 2021.

Funding plan

In the application, provide a cost estimate including an estimate of the annual amount of funding needed, itemised by type of expenditure. Only costs that pass through the books of the site of the research must be included in the total costs. The cost estimate must be realistic.

The detailed cost estimate is filled in on the tab ‘Research costs’ in the online services. All research costs must be justified. When justifying the costs, pay particular attention to that the funding sought for the costs of the Finnish and Norwegian parties has been clearly itemised. We strongly recommend that you consult the financial administration at your site of research when you draft the cost estimate. Please contact the Academy of Finland before you submit the application.

See guidelines on the cost estimate in the call text under ‘How to draft the cost estimate’.

Salary costs of principal investigator

Academy funding for research projects (Academy Projects, Targeted Projects and Academy Programme Projects) is primarily intended for the salaries of full-time researchers working on the projects and for other research costs.

As a rule, funding is not granted for the salary of the project PI. However, the PI’s salary costs may, under certain limitations, be incorporated into the total project costs. The PI’s salary is entered under ‘Salary of principal investigator’ in the online services. The guidelines on the PI’s salary apply to the Finnish party.

Including PI’s salary for project management in total project costs

The PI’s salary costs may be incorporated into the total project costs in accordance with what is stated under the tab ‘Salary of principal investigator’ in the online services. In order for the salary costs to be eligible, the PI’s tasks must be clearly specified.

The salary costs must not be significant in relation to the project’s total costs. For example, a four-year research project must not include more than six months of the PI’s effective working hours. This is equivalent to approximately 1.5 months a year.

Applying for funding for PI’s salary for research

The Academy may grant funding for the PI’s salary for no more than a year for well-justified reasons, such as working abroad, returning to Finland or transferring to another research organisation or a company in Finland. Possible business collaboration must fulfil the terms set out in the Academy’s funding terms and conditions.

A condition is that the research-related reasons and the PI’s tasks must be clearly presented on the tab ‘Salary of principal investigator’ in the online services. The funding cannot be used for this purpose unless it is mentioned in the conditions accompanying the funding decision.

Granting salary funding to PI with no employment relationship

If the PI does not have an employment relationship with, for example, a university or research institute, they must explain how their salary will be covered during the funding period on the tab ‘Salary of principal investigator’ in the online services.

Retired researchers can be granted funding on the same grounds as other researchers.

Mobility aid in research projects

The mobility aid is applied for as research costs related to the implementation of the research plan. The aid is applied for in accordance with the practices of the site of research.

In the online services, the aid is applied for on the tab ‘Funding for the project’ under ‘Travel costs’. The mobility aid must be justified. Read more about the mobility aid in the funding terms and conditions.

1. Fill in a detailed cost estimate, itemised by type of expenditure, on the tab ‘Research costs’ in the online services.

The cost estimate specifies the salaries to be applied for per year (the research career stage and salary costs of the person to be hired). Indirect employee costs (up to 50%) and overheads (up to 25%) are added to the salary costs.The indirect employee costs and the overheads percentage are the same for the Finnish and the Norwegian party.

The cost estimate also specifies the other costs on an annual basis:

• materials, supplies and goods
• equipment, etc.
• purchases of services
• travel costs
• other expenses.

The funding applied for from the Academy amounts to 100% of the total project costs.

All research costs for which funding is applied must be justified on the tab ‘Research costs’.When justifying the costs, pay particular attention to that the funding sought for the costs of the Finnish and Norwegian parties has been clearly itemised. We strongly recommend that you consult the financial administration at your site of research when you draft the cost estimate.

2. Transfer the total funding applied for from the tab ‘Research costs’ to the tab ‘Funding for the project’ under ‘Other costs’.

We strongly recommend that you consult the financial administration at your site of research when you draft the cost estimate.

Contact the Academy of Finland before you start drafting the cost estimate.

How to submit and supplement the application

The non-negotiable call deadline also applies to consortia. The deadline for applications is 30 September 2020 at 16.15 Finnish time. Contact the Academy of Finland before you submit the application.

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 edit and supplement the application until the deadline. 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 process. 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.

Publicity and data protection

Except for the research plan, plan of intent, abstract and interim report, which are primarily confidential, 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 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.

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

The online application contains the following parts

Personal data

• Personal details
• Degrees (most recent one first); parental leaves etc. may be filled in under ‘Additional information’
• Titles of docent and professorships

Consortium parties (if applicable)

• Details on each party (name, email address, organisation and country)
• The application is regarded as a consortium application if it includes two Finnish parties.
• The applicant is a Finnish party that also applies for funding for a Norwegian research team. The application must include at least one and at most two parties from both countries. One Finnish party is not enough to form a consortium application.
• Read the guidelines for consortium applications.

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). See the research field classification.
• Keywords in English and Finnish/Swedish

Abstract

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

Most relevant publications

• Up to 20 of the most important project-relevant publications by the Finnish and Norwegian party
• You can retrieve publication details from the VIRTA publication information service. Also see our how-to guide 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)

Mobility

• Enter information on planned national and international mobility within the project, itemised by person.
• See more information on mobility.

Collaborators

• Itemise (name, organisation, country) the project’s collaborators (other than the parties of the application).
• Describe the collaborators’ project-relevant merits and the justifications for choosing them in section 3.2 of the research plan.
• If necessary, append a letter of commitment. See the guidelines on the letter of commitment.

Affiliations

• Research infrastructures: Indicate what kinds of equipment, resources or data reserves provided by national or international research infrastructures the project plans to use. The menu includes infrastructures included in Finland’s national roadmap and/or ESFRI’s roadmap. Other possible infrastructures are entered in a free-text field. 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

• Ethical permit 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.
• See the ethical guidelines.

Research costs

• Maximum length four pages
• The detailed cost estimate is filled in on the tab ‘Research costs’.
• The project’s funding follows the full cost model. The Academy’s funding contribution to the research costs comes to 100%.
• The indirect employee costs can amount to a maximum of 50% and the maximum overheads percentage is 25%. The Academy’s funding contribution, the indirect employee costs and the overheads percentage are the same for the Finnish and the Norwegian party.
• Specify salaries and other costs.
• Justify the funding to be applied for.The cost estimate must be realistic. When justifying the costs, pay particular attention to that the funding sought for the costs of the Finnish and Norwegian parties has been clearly itemised. Clearly indicate which costs are whose.
• 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.
• The PI’s salary costs may, under certain limitations, be incorporated into the total project costs: for project management and/or research. The justifications are entered on the tab ‘Salary of principal investigator’ in the online services.
• Read more about the funding in the call text under ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’.
• The detailed instructions are available in the call text under ‘How to draft the cost estimate’.
• We strongly recommend that you consult the financial administration at your site of research when you draft the cost estimate.
• Contact the Academy of Finland before you start drafting the cost estimate.

Funding for the project

• The project’s funding follows the full cost model. The Academy’s funding contribution to the research costs comes to 100%.
• Enter the funding period.
• Only the total amount of funding applied for is filled in the cost estimate under ‘Other costs’. You can copy the total funding applied for from the tab ‘Research costs’.
• 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. Read more in the guidelines on the commitment by site of research.

Salary of principal investigator

• Justifications, if salary costs for the PI are included in the funding plan
• The PI’s salary costs may, under certain limitations, be incorporated into the total project costs: for project management and/or research.
• If the PI does not have a permanent employment relationship, include a salary plan for the PI covering the entire funding period
• Read more about the PI’s salary in the call text under ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’.

Public project description

• Maximum length 1,000 characters including spaces
• Popular and reader-friendly description of the research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• We will use the project description in our communications on the research project. The project description is also stored at research.fi, a service that makes available information on research conducted in Finland.
• Read the guidelines on the public project description.

Authorisation

• You can authorise another person to supplement or view your application.
• Start by entering the person’s name in the field.
• The person must have 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.
• See technical instructions on the authorisation process in the how-to guides for the online services.

Research plan

• Maximum length 15 pages.
• The research plan is a joint plan between the Finnish and the Norwegian parties.
• Describe the added value of the cooperation between the Finnish and Norwegian researchers under item 1.4 (Special call objective) of the research plan.
• Under item 2.2 of the research plan (Research data, materials and methods), describe the research environment of the Norwegian party and clearly indicate the Norwegian site of research.
• Under item 3.1 of the research plan (Project personnel and their relevant merits) describe the Finnish and Norwegian parties and their project-relevant key merits, as well as the persons working in the research project of both the Finnish and Norwegian parties and their project-relevant key merits.
• Describe other key collaborators under item 3.2 of the research plan (Collaborators and their project-relevant key merits).
• See the guidelines on the structure of the research plan.
• See the how-to guides for the online services.
• Please note that the research plan cannot be submitted as a separate appendix.

CV

• CV following the template, no more than two pages

Appendices

A. Individual application (not consortium application)

• One Finnish party and 1–2 Norwegian parties
• Appendices must be PDF files.

Obligatory appendices

• CV(s) for the Norwegian party/parties, no more than two pages. Draft the CV following the template.
• Complete list of publications by the Finnish PI. Read the guidelines on the structure of the list of publications.
• Complete list of publications by the Norwegian party/parties. Read the guidelines on the structure of the list of publications.

Case-specific appendices

• Invitation letter for research visit. Invitation by host organisation (e.g. university or research institute), if the work or part of it will be conducted at a place other than the site of research mentioned in the application; please do not append any letters of recommendation. Read the guidelines on the invitation letter.
• Letter of commitment: See the guidelines on the letter of commitment.

B. Consortium application

• Two Finnish parties and 1–2 Norwegian parties
• Appendices must be PDF files.

Appendices of consortium PI:

Obligatory appendices:

• CV(s) for the Norwegian party/parties, no more than two pages. Draft the CV following the template.
• Complete list of publications by the consortium PI. Read the guidelines on the structure of the list of publications.
• Complete list of publications by the Norwegian party/parties. Read the guidelines on the structure of the list of publications.

Case-specific appendices:

• Invitation letter for research visit. Invitation by host organisation (e.g. university or research institute), if the work or part of it will be conducted at a place other than the site of research mentioned in the application; please do not append any letters of recommendation. Read the guidelines on the invitation letter.
• Letter of commitment: See the guidelines on the letter of commitment.

Appendices for PI of consortium subproject:

Obligatory appendices:

• Complete list of publications by the subproject PI. Read the guidelines on the structure of the list of publications.

Case-specific appendices

• Invitation letter for research visit. Invitation by host organisation (e.g. university or research institute), if the work or part of it will be conducted at a place other than the site of research mentioned in the application; please do not append any letters of recommendation. Read the guidelines on the invitation letter.
• Letter of commitment: See the guidelines on the letter of commitment.

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.
• 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 contact persons listed in the call text.
• Contact the Academy of Finland before you submit the application.

Interim report

• If you are applying for funding and have ongoing Academy funding, you must draw up an interim report in the online services on each ongoing project (incl. consortium subproject) before the call deadline. Read the guidelines on drafting the interim report.
• Also see the How-to guides for the online services.

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

The applications are primarily 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/research team in terms of project implementation
• feasibility of research plan (incl. research ethics)
• added value for the project generated by the cooperation between the Finnish and Norwegian parties
• quality of research environment and collaborative networks
• researcher mobility and researcher training
• added value of collaboration between consortium parties.

Read the review questions that will be used in the review: review form and review guidelines. The Academy’s review guidelines and forms are only available in English.

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

The Academy’s Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering will make the funding decisions in spring 2021.

The decisions will be made taking into account the Research Council’s general policies and the criteria for Academy Projects. The policies and criteria will be updated before the call opens. Read the policies before submitting your application.

The funding is conditional on research cooperation between Finnish and Norwegian parties and significant added value of cooperation between Finnish and Norwegian researchers.

When making the funding decisions, the Research Council will assess whether the application falls within the scope of the call (read more under ‘Special terms and restrictions’).

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. A positive funding decision will be accompanied by the terms and conditions of funding. In the online services, you will also have access to the review report, which may include the panel ranking (panels rank the best applications).

How to receive the funding

A positive funding decision is accompanied by the terms and conditions of funding. Make sure to check the decision and accept the funding and its terms in the online services without delay. 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.

Before you accept the funding, update the popular project description (if necessary), make changes to the annual instalments (if necessary) and attach the data management plan (drafted according to the guidelines). 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 applicant 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.

The funding is allocated to a Finnish site of research, which undertakes to conclude an agreement in accordance with section 7(2) of the Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Transfers on the use, control and conditions of the use of the government grant with the Norwegian site of research. The agreement shall be submitted to the Academy of Finland as soon as possible after signing, but no later than 30 September 2021.