2026 RCF Proof of Concept Funding

At the core of the Research Council of Finland’s activities is to provide funding for excellent scientific research. The research we fund is also expected to have high scientific and societal impact and follow the principles of responsible science.

The RCF’s Proof of Concept Funding has been created to reinforce the innovation path with a view to supporting the societal utilisation of research results and building bridges from research to utilisation. At the same time, the funding complements Finnish national funding to support cooperation between research organisations, businesses and other societal actors.

The aim is to promote the versatile utilisation of the results of research funded by the RCF and the SRC and to increase the societal impact of the research. In addition, the aim is to strengthen the utilisation skills of research organisations and researchers and to provide an opportunity to develop the capacity to collaborate with companies and other stakeholders to achieve a seamless transition from research to utilisation.

The RCF treats the Proof of Concept Funding as a form of targeted Academy Project funding. The objective of the funded project is to demonstrate the feasibility of the utilisation ideas generated in research previously funded by the RCF or the SRC, to further develop the ideas and to strengthen the versatile utilisation of the research results.

The funding can be used to, for example:

• accelerate the effective utilisation of research and knowledge for society's needs and increase the economic or other societal impact of research results
• pilot or test research results in experimental or practical settings
• develop new approaches for industry, public administration or the third sector.

The projects to be funded are expected to move from research towards societal use of the research, including commercialisation. Compared to the funding opportunities offered by Business Finland, the Research Council of Finland’s Proof of Concept Funding is closer to scientific research. At the end of the project, the solution sought in the project may still be in a pre-commercial phase or in a phase where it is being prepared for deployment for other uses.

The 2026 PoC call targets the strategic choices decided by the Research and Innovation Council appointed by the Finnish Government and chaired by the Prime Minister:

• data and data-based value creation
• disruptive technologies
• health and wellbeing
• climate, environment and the Arctic dimension
• security, resilience and defence.

By this targeted call, the RCF supports the expansion of the competence base and the extensive utilisation of research in the selected strategic choices. More information on the national strategic choices for RDI policy and activities and their backgrounds is available on the Finnish Government's website.

The funding can be applied for by project and subproject PIs of projects funded by the RCF or the SRC whose funding periods have ended or will end between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2026 and who have been funded under the following schemes: Academy Research Fellowship, Clinical Researcher, Academy Project, Targeted Academy Project, Academy Programme, SRC programme or RCF international project funding. In addition, the funding can be applied for by project PIs in RCF Centres of Excellence 2018–2025 (CoE and subproject PIs). If the applicant has previously been granted Proof of Concept funding based on the results of the project ending in 2025–2026, the applicant will not be eligible for funding in the 2026 call based on the same project.

The eligibility of the applicant is determined based on the closing date of the call, 6 May 2026. If the applicant has submitted a request to extend the funding period and the request is pending on 6 May 2026, and the RCF decides to extend the funding period so that it ends only after 31 January 2026, the applicant is not eligible in the present call. If the application to extend of the funding period is submitted after the call has closed, the extension will not affect the eligibility in this call.

If the project has been selected for a programme (e.g. SRC programme or Centre of Excellence programme) where the funding is granted in two parts (e.g. 3 + 3 years or 5 + 3 years), the funding period shall refer to the second funding period.

The PoC call is not open based on the following funding schemes: Finnish Flagship Programme, research infrastructures, Postdoctoral Researcher, Academy Professorship, SRC programme director, university research profiles, Proof of Concept Funding, funding from EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), and personal mobility grants.

Applications are invited from individual teams and consortia composed of two or more teams. The consortium parties may represent one or several research organisations. All subproject PIs of a consortium project must be eligible.

A consortium application is an application built around a joint research plan, where each party to the consortium applies for funding. The RCF treats a 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 addition to a doctoral degree, the PI of the targeted Academy Project must also have other significant scientific merits. Usually, the PI is a researcher at the professor or docent (adjunct professor) level. These criteria also apply to subproject PIs in consortia. In addition, the applicant must have a close connection with Finland to support the implementation of a multi-year project. This connection must be evident from the application.

The PI of the application cannot be changed while the application is being processed (after the call has closed but before the decision). The only exception to this is if the PI dies.

Restrictions

We will consider (process) only one application for 2026 PoC funding from the same applicant (incl. consortium subproject). If you submit more than one application (incl. consortium subproject), only the first application to be submitted will be considered (processed).

Other conditions for and obstacles to the granting of funding

The conditions for and obstacles to the granting of funding apply to PIs of individual projects and, in the case of a consortium, to each subproject's applicant (consortium PI or subproject PIs). If a prerequisite for granting funding is missing or there is an obstacle to the granting, the RCF will not consider (process) the entire consortium’s application.

We will not consider (process) your application if you have participated in the planning of the call to an extent likely to give you a comparative advantage over other applicants.

We will not consider (process) your application if you have been found guilty of a serious violation of research integrity in the previous three years.

RCF funding will not be granted to a recipient located in Russia or Belarus. In RCF-funded projects, cooperation with individual Russian or Belarusian researchers and research teams can only be carried out if the instructions of the site of research, the sanctions against Russia and Belarus, the export control provisions, the travel recommendations of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs or other guidelines by authorities do not prevent it. Funding shall be granted and used in a way that respects the equal treatment of researchers, regardless of nationality.

If you have failed to submit a final report on a completed or ongoing RCF-funded project by the set deadline, we will not consider (process) your application.

The application will not be considered (processed) if the applicant or the application does not meet the competence requirements or other key requirements set for the call, if the application does not belong to the call, or if there in some other respects are no conditions for processing the case. A scientific council or another decision-making body may decide 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: Eligibility.

We will not consider (process) your application if you are a member of the RCF Board or scientific councils or the Strategic Research Council.

Funding can only be granted if the conditions set by the RCF for the funding are met. In addition to the eligibility criteria, another condition that must be met for the funding to be awarded is that you have in your application identified and assessed the risks related to research security and, where necessary, presented an adequate risk management plan. The applicant must also describe in the research plan how good scientific practice will be followed in the implementation of the project, how gender equality and nondiscrimination will be promoted in the implementation of the project, and how the RCF’s guidelines on open access to research results and on the responsible management of research data will be followed in the project.

The RCF Board decides the principles for RCF funding decisions. The present call is governed by the principles adopted on 18 September 2025.

You must immediately notify us if you receive funding from other sources for the same purpose after you have submitted your application to us.

The application consists of a form 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.

Before the call opens

Check your eligibility

• Read the section Who can apply? to see whether you meet the eligibility criteria.

Plan the contents of your application

• Start drafting your research utilisation plan and CV.
• Prepare the above appendices on our templates, see ‘Application parts in the online services’ below. Read the instructions on using the templates. You have access to the templates even before the call opens.
• Read the review guidelines and the review form. See also: instructions for research utilisation plan and FAQ page. Write your research plan in such a way that reviewers can easily find the answer to the review questions.
• Contact your collaborators. Request letters of collaboration from national and international collaborators that are relevant in terms of project implementation. The letters must be appended to the application before the call deadline.

Plan the funding of your project

• Draft the budget in line with the guidelines of your organisation. Read more about the amount and conditions of the funding in section ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’.
• Contact your organisation’s support services now if you have any budget-related questions.
• Also read our standard terms for funding. If you are granted funding, you are also bound by the terms. The present call is governed by the standard terms adopted on 22 September 2025.

When the call opens

• Sign up or log in to the online services. Check and update your personal details. Your up-to-date email address is important when we are in contact with you.
• The online services contain instructions for filling in the form.
• If you are applying as part of a consortium, read the consortium application guidelines before you start drafting the application.

Application parts in the online services

The different parts of the application are listed below. A comprehensive A–Z index of application guidelines is available on our website. Instructions for filling in the application form are also on the tabs of the form.

• Personal details
• General description: topic, keywords and scientific disciplines of the project, details on the site of research
• Consortium parties: In a consortium application, the consortium PI appoints the subproject PIs.
• A list from which up to three strategic choice areas can be selected on which the utilisation potential of the project idea is focused
• Abstract
• Public project description
• Research results utilised in the project. The applicant must describe in the application the research results obtained in the RCF- or SRC-funded project ending between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2026, on whose utilisation the proposed project is based. Add the funding decision number of the eligible project on the same tab in the online services.
• Project's funding and commitment by site of research. The commitment must be given within 14 days of the call's closing date, or the application may be inadmissible. See section ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’ in the call text.
• Salary costs of principal investigator
• Collaborators: list of collaborators. The collaboration is described in the research utilisation plan.
• Mobility: list of researcher visits both in Finland and abroad and across sectors
• Affiliation with research infrastructures, Centres of Excellence and Finnish Flagships
• Brief data management plan (follow the guidelines where applicable, considering the objective of the call)
• Research ethics
• Progress report on all RCF-funded projects that have not yet submitted final reports.
• Most relevant publications and other outputs: up to ten most project-relevant publications and up to ten other research outputs. The consortium PI enters a total of up to ten jointly agreed most important project-relevant publications by the consortium members and a total of up to ten of the consortium members’ most relevant own research outputs, with justifications. The information is used to assess the competence of the applicant or consortium to carry out the project. Detailed instructions are available on the application form.

Appendices to be appended on dedicated tabs

• The research utilisation plan is a mandatory appendix. Use the template provided.
• The curriculum vitae is a mandatory appendix. Use the template provided.

It is recommended that the research utilisation plan describe the full utilisation path for the research results, from short- and medium-term effects up to long-term impact, and that it show which stage of the utilisation path will be carried out with the requested two-year funding. See the guidelines for writing the research utilisation path.

Other appendices

• The research security assessment is a mandatory appendix, appended to the consortium application by the person responsible for the consortium application. Use the template provided. Read more about research security.
• The list of publications from the last five years is a mandatory appendix.
• If necessary, append a letter of collaboration.

Submitting the application in the online services

You can submit the application when you have filled in or attached all the necessary information. A red warning triangle tells you that there is an error or information missing.

The consortium PI submits the joint consortium application. They can submit the consortium application only after all subprojects have tagged their applications as complete.

You can authorise a person to edit or view the application on the tab ‘Authorisation’.

Submit your application in good time. You can supplement and edit the application and change appendices until the call deadline.

The RCF’s funding contribution to an individual project is up to 300,000 euros. In the case of a consortium, the maximum funding comes to 450,000 euros. The project’s funding period on 1 May 2027 and ends on 30 April 2029.

The funding to be distributed through this call depends on the Finnish Parliament’s decision to allocate the necessary funds in the 2026 and 2027 state budgets.

The PoC funding is primarily intended towards the salaries of persons who work full-time on the project and for other project costs.

The funding is granted to a Finnish site of research (usually a university or institute institute) through which the funding is paid.

The project PI 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.

Funding plan

As a rule, research funding granted by the RCF is co-funding. The RCF’s contribution to the funding is up to 70% of the total costs, and the site of research (host organisation) will cover at least 30% of the total costs. Before submitting the application, you must agree with the administration at your organisation on the funding contribution of the site of research. You must check with your organisation whether the funding planned as the own funding contribution suits this purpose.

On the tab ‘Funding for the project, enter the following information:

• cost estimate, including an estimate of the annual amount of funding needed, itemised by type of expenditure
  • The annual instalment costs must be spread equally (e.g. 70%/30%) over all funding years.
• funding granted for the project as well as funding that will be provided by the site of research if the project is launched

Only costs that pass through the books of the site of the research must be included in the total costs.

Pay particular attention to ensuring that the cost estimate is realistic and justified for the implementation of the research project. Justify the most significant research costs by type of expenditure in the free-text field.

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

• salary of team
• PI’s salary costs (under certain limitations)
• salaries of researchers returning to Finland
• necessary costs arising from implementation of project
• travel expenses
• cooperation and mobility in Finland
• international cooperation and mobility
• preparation of international projects.

In the present call, RCF funding can also be applied for to cover, for example, the following direct costs arising from promoting the utilisation of research (provided they do not arise from economic activity):

• costs of carrying out the research utilisation plan
• market or patent surveys, other equivalent proof-of-concept activities
• experimentation and pilot projects
• protection of IPRs (excl. maintenance fees)
• commercialisation preparation (not actual commercialisation or commercialisation activities that will benefit only one company).

RCF funding cannot be used for economic activity. Read more: Economic operator.

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 Grants.

Salary of team

As a rule, staff hired with RCF 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, the duration of which, as a rule, shall not exceed six months.

Instructions on job titles at different stages of the research career

Salary costs of principal investigator

RCF funding for research projects is primarily intended for the salaries of researchers working full-time on the projects and for other research costs.

As a rule, funding is not granted for the salary of the project PI. The PI’s salary costs may only under certain limitations and on justifiable grounds be incorporated into the total project costs. For the salary costs to be eligible, the PI’s tasks must be clearly specified and justified. The salary is justified on the tab ‘Salary of principal investigator’.

The salary costs must not be significant in relation to the project’s total costs. A two-year project must not include more than three months (equivalent to 1.5 months/year) of the PI’s working hours for project management and implementation.

If the project includes salary costs for the PI, use the ‘Principal investigator’ category in the ‘Salaries’ section of the ‘Funding for the project’ tab in the RCF online services.

If the PI does not have an employment relationship

• If the PI does not have an employment relationship with, for example, the university or research institute for the duration of the funding period, they must explain how their salary will be covered during the funding period.
• Retired researchers can be granted funding on the same grounds as other researchers.

Mobility aid

Mobility aid can be applied for as research costs related to the implementation of the plan. The aid is applied for in accordance with the practices of the site of research. To obtain further information, contact the personnel and financial administration of the site of research.

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

What is required from the site of research?

The project's site of research is a Finnish research organisation such as a university, a research institute or some other research organisation. We require that the site of research 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 costs of ensuring immediate open access to peer-reviewed articles are included in the overheads of the site of research. The costs associated with storing and sharing research data and material are regarded as overheads for the project’s site of research. They may only exceptionally and for justified reasons be accepted as research costs to be covered with RCF research funding. The site of research also commits to ensuring that the data management plan can be implemented at the site, and that the measures to be taken comply with good data management practice. After a positive funding decision, the site of research will also approve the data management plan of the project.

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 shall also make sure that the applicant has not been found guilty of any serious violation of research integrity during the previous three years.

The overheads, indirect employee costs and coefficient for effective working hours of the site of research are entered in the application. The site of research maintains these percentages in the online services under the site’s details. The information is provided as percentages.

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

Read more: Guidelines for sites of research.

How to submit and supplement the application

The call deadline is non-negotiable and also applies to consortia. We will not consider (process) an application that has not been submitted by deadline. The deadline for applications is 06 May 2026 at 16.15 Finnish time.

The consortium PI submits the joint consortium application. They can submit the application only after all subproject PIs have tagged their applications as complete. While the call is open, the consortium PI can return the consortium subproject application to be supplemented.

Make sure to submit the application in good time before the deadline. The system will only accept applications that contain all obligatory information. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the content of the application appendices is correct.

You can edit and supplement the application until the deadline. For example, you can change the appendices to the application. If you notice that your application lacks important information after the deadline, immediately get in touch with us via our helpdesk, so that the application can be reopened for supplementation. However, the possibility of supplementation does not apply to the research utilisation plan. Once the review process has started, supplementations can no longer be considered. Typically, the application review begins 1–2 weeks after the call has closed.

We may ask you to supplement the application. In that case, you will receive a supplementation request by email. If you do not supplement the application by the given deadline, or if the application is substantially incomplete even after a request for supplementary information, we may declare it inadmissible (i.e. it will not be processed). Make sure that your email address is 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 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 utilisation plan, the results of previous research presented on the application form, the abstract and the progress report, which are primarily kept secret, the application and its appendices are public documents. For example, the CV is a public document and as such must not include any secret information. This publicity is based on the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities.

The RCF complies with data protection legislation. The applicant is responsible for the disclosure of any 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.

RCF funding is granted based on peer review. We mainly use foreign experts as reviewers, and they make up the review panels.

The review of applications follows a two-stage process. In the first stage, experts are asked to give at least two individual reviews on the application. If at least one expert has given an overall rating of 5 or 6, the application will advance to the panel review stage. Applications that receive an overall rating of 5 or 6 from the review panel will be ranked.

The fundamental principles of the review are transparency, integrity, equity, competence and diversity. Read more about responsible researcher evaluation.

Review factors

Criteria affecting the review of the quality of the application:

• utilisation potential, impact and innovativeness of project idea
• feasibility of application and innovativeness of implementation, including previous merits of the applicant and the team and aspects of responsible science
• quality and scope of stakeholder and user groups described in the application, and their importance to the implementation of the project

The research security appendix will not be reviewed.

See the review questions and instructions on our website. The review instructions, forms and principles are only available in English.

The present call is governed by the principles for RCF funding decisions adopted by the RCF Board on 18 September 2025.

The decision-making body will take into account the entire set of applications to be decided in the call in question in relation to the objectives of the call, and the funding promotes a wide variety of research utilisation in the strategic choice areas. The decisions are based on the review reports and the rankings made by the panels. If there are applications of equal merit, priority shall be given to the application that the decision-making body considers best advances the dismantling of gender stereotypes, promotes diversity in research and the scientific community as well as supports sustainable development.

A subcommittee appointed by the RCF Board will make the funding decisions in November 2026 and January 2027.

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 funding decision and its justifications. In the online services, you will also find the review report (or reports) on the application, which may include the panel ranking (given to the most successful applications).

How to receive the funding

A positive funding decision is accompanied by the standard terms for funding. They contain instructions on how to receive the funding (section 1.2).

• Contact us primarily via the helpdesk (select ‘Application guidance, thematic calls’).
• Technical issues with the online services? Contact us via the helpdesk (select ‘Online services and other technical questions’). Also see our how-to guides for the online services.
• Our telephone number (switchboard) is +358 295 335 000.
• See also: FAQ and guidelines on writing research utilisation plan Call webinar (presentation and recording), links available after event.
• More information on the national strategic choices for RDI policy and activities and their backgrounds is available on the Finnish Government's website.