2027 Call to strengthen R&D activity and cooperation in wellbeing services counties

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.

In 2027, the RCF will grant 8 million euros in funding to strengthen R&D activity and cooperation in wellbeing services counties.

Call objectives

• The funding granted under this call is aimed at strengthening cooperation between the collaborative areas for healthcare and social welfare and other research actors in the areas.
• The funding is aimed at promoting R&D activity and cooperation in the wellbeing services counties.
• The funding also promotes welfare and health and the development of services in the collaborative areas for healthcare and social welfare.

Project objectives

• The funded projects must increase cooperation between wellbeing services counties, universities, universities of applied sciences and government research institutes.
• The projects will strengthen the quality of R&D activity and the health and social services.
• The projects’ R&D activities will improve the productivity and impact of the health and social services system.

The funding applied for must be used for R&D activities that are in the public domain. R&D activity refers to systematic actions to increase knowledge and use it for new applications. The goal is to create something fundamentally new. R&D covers fundamental research, applied research and development. R&D expenditure includes salary costs allocated to R&D, purchased services, other operating expenses and acquisition costs.

This is the second time the call to strengthen R&D activity and cooperation in wellbeing services counties is being launched. The first call was based on a one-off budget authority of 8 million euros granted by the Finnish Government in 2024. The present call is based on increases in General Government Fiscal Plan for 2026–2029. For 2027, the Government has proposed a budget authority of 8 million euros to the RCF for strengthening R&D activity in wellbeing services counties.

Applications are invited from consortia composed of three or more teams, not from individual teams. A consortium application is an application built around a joint project plan, where each subproject of 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.

A consortium participating in the call must have at least three parties:

• The consortium PI’s site of research must be a wellbeing services county that maintains a university hospital or the HUS Group.
• At least one subproject PI must have their site of research in another wellbeing services county.
• At least one subproject PI must have their site of research at a university, a university of applied sciences or a government research institute.

In addition, the consortium can be strengthened by cooperating with other actors (e.g. organisations, municipalities and companies).

The number of consortium applications considered by the RCF for each collaborative area is limited to twice the number of wellbeing services counties in that area. This restriction applies only to the leading subproject of the consortium. Non-leading subprojects from the same collaborative area can therefore be involved in several consortia, irrespective of this restriction.

The maximum number of applications per collaborative area for the leading consortium subproject is: Northern Finland 8 applications, Eastern Finland 8 applications, Inland Finland 6 applications, Western Finland 6 applications and Southern Finland 18 applications.

After the call has closed, the RCF will request commitments from the sites of research for all subprojects of the consortium applications submitted. Only applications from consortia whose all sites of research send their commitments within the deadline will be processed. The collaborative areas are asked to ensure that the number of applications does not exceed the maximum set. If the consortium PI's site of research submits more commitments than permitted, consortium applications will be considered in the order the commitments are received. Applications linked to commitments received after the limit has been reached will not be considered.

An applicant may submit only one application, either as consortium PI or as subproject PI. The number of collaborative partnerships is not limited.

PIs of ongoing consortia and subprojects funded in the 2025 call for strengthening R&D activities and cooperation in wellbeing services counties cannot apply for funding in this call.

The PIs of consortium subprojects must hold a doctoral degree.

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.

Conditions and obstacles to the granting of funding

Funding may only be granted if the conditions laid down for the granting are met and if there is no obstacle to the granting. Provisions on the general conditions and obstacles to the granting of government grants are laid down in the Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Grants (688/2001). In addition, the funding is granted subject to the specific conditions and restrictions concerning RCF funding and the call in question.

The conditions and obstacles to granting apply to all applicants. If a condition is not met or an obstacle arises, the entire consortium application is declared inadmissible or is rejected.

The entire consortium application is declared inadmissible or rejected in the following cases:

• The application is late.
• The application is substantially incomplete, or the application has not been supplemented as requested by the deadline. The RCF will request supplementation if the incompleteness can be corrected so that the application can be considered. However, the possibility of supplementation does not apply to research or action plans. An application may be dismissed without a request for supplementation if the incompleteness cannot be corrected by providing additional information.
• The site of research does not commit to the application by the deadline.
• The applicant is not eligible. Eligibility is defined in this call text.
• The applicant has submitted more than one application in the call. In that case, only the first application will be considered.
• The applicant has been found guilty of a serious violation of research integrity within the past three years .
• The applicant has not submitted a report on a completed or ongoing RCF-funded project according to the guidelines and by the deadline.
• The applicant is a member of the Board of the RCF, one of its scientific councils or the Strategic Research Council (SRC) during the period in which the call or funding decision process is being conducted.
• The applicant has participated in the planning of the call to an extent likely to give them a comparative advantage over other applicants.
• In the application, the applicant has not identified and assessed the risks related to research security and, where necessary, presented an adequate risk management plan.
• The applicant has not described in the application, in accordance with the guidelines, how good scientific practice will be followed in the implementation of the project.
• The applicant has not described in the application, in accordance with the guidelines, how gender equality and nondiscrimination will be promoted in the implementation of the project.
• The applicant has not described in the application, in accordance with the guidelines, how the project complies with RCF guidelines on the implementation of open access to research outputs and, in the case of research data, on responsible data management.
• The funding has been applied for to a site of research that is not located in Finland, or the applicant does not have a close connection to Finland to implement a multi-year project. The connection must be indicated in the application.
• The funding has been applied for in such a way that the final beneficiary is an organisation located in Russia or Belarus, or that cooperation with Russian or Belarusian researchers or research teams violates the instructions or regulations of the site of research or the authorities. RCF funding shall be granted and used in a way that respects the equal treatment of researchers regardless of nationality.
• The applicant or the application does not meet the competence or other key requirements set for the call, the application does not belong to the call in question, there are in some other respects no conditions for processing the case, or it is apparent that the applicant for some other reason cannot receive funding with the submitted application.

The RCF Board decides the principles for RCF funding decisions, that is, the guidelines that outline the special conditions and other criteria for the RCF's funding decisions. The present call is governed by the principles adopted on 18 September 2025.

If, after the application has been submitted, funding is received from another call or from another funder, notify the RCF of this without delay.

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 project plan and CV. Prepare them on our templates, see section ‘Application parts in the online services’. You have access to the templates even before the call opens.
• Read the review guidelines and the review form. Write your project 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. The present call is governed by the standard terms adopted on 22 September 2025. If you are granted funding, you are also bound by the terms.

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.
• Please 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
• Consortium parties: In a consortium application, the consortium PI appoints the subproject PIs.
• General description: topic, keywords and scientific disciplines of the project, details on the site of research
• Abstract
• Public project description
• 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.
• Collaborators: List of collaborators. The collaboration is described in the project plan.
• Mobility: list of researcher visits
• Affiliation with research infrastructures, Centres of Excellence and Finnish Flagships
• Brief data management plan
• Research ethics
• Most relevant publications and other 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 outputs, with justifications. Detailed instructions are available on the application form.

Appendices to be appended on dedicated tabs

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

Other appendices

• The research security assessment is a mandatory appendix. Use the template provided. Read more: Research security.
• Letter of collaboration to be attached if necessary.

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 three-year funding period for the projects funded in the call starts on 1 September 2027.

The maximum funding is 800,000 euros for the entire consortium. The total funding budget is 8 million euros.

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

The funding is granted to a Finnish site of research 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.

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

The RCF requires audits of the projects. The site of research shall submit to the RCF the auditor’s report on the use of funding in the project. Each party to the consortium that has received a funding decision will submit a separate auditor’s audit report to the RCF. The auditor’s report must be submitted to the RCF Registrar’s Office within three months of the end of the funding period.

Funding plan

Full costing is applied to the funding. The RCF’s funding contribution comes to 100 per cent. No self-financing contribution is required from the sites of research.

The cost estimate, filled in on the tab ‘Funding for the project’, shall include an estimate of the annual need for funding by type of expenditure. 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 costs by type of expenditure in the free-text field.

The funding applied for must be used for R&D activities that are in the public domain. R&D expenditure includes salary costs allocated to R&D, purchased services, other operating expenses and acquisition costs.

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 of the Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Grants.

As a rule, staff hired with RCF research funding must have an employment relationship. Short-term research, study, or other assignments may also be carried out in the form of outsourced services, the duration of which, as a general rule, shall not exceed six months.

What is required from the site of research?

The site of research of the project plan must be a wellbeing services county that maintains a university hospital or the HUS group, another wellbeing services county, a university, a university of applied sciences or a government research institute. The site of research must be Finnish.

We require that the site provides the project with all necessary basic facilities. These are determined based on the nature of the R&D activity and are the same as those available to other R&D actors 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 funding.

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. 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. 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 applies to the entire consortium. We will not consider (process) an application that has not been submitted by deadline. The deadline for applications is 18 November 2026 at 23.59 Finnish time. Applications submitted in paper form must arrive at the RCF by 18 November 2026 at 16.15.

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.

Call guidance (see section ‘Contacts’) will be available until 16.15 (Finnish time) on the closing date of the call. If you run into problems in the online services that prevent you from submitting the application, please contact the RCF Registrar's Office by email at kirjaamo@aka.fi before the deadline. In this case, the RCF will decide on a case-by-case basis how the application will be considered. Start drafting the application early enough so that you have time to contact us in case any issues arise.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to submit the application before the deadline expires. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the application contains all mandatory information and appendices and that they comply with the requirements set out in the instructions.

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 project plan. Once the review process has started, supplementations can no longer be taken into account. 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 project plan, plan of intent and abstract, 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 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. A panel of both Finnish and international experts will review the applications.

The review 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 gives an overall rating of 5 or 6, the application advances to the panel review stage. If the panel receives fewer applications than expected, it will also review all applications that received an overall rating of 4 from both individual reviewers. 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 application:

• how the project implements the objectives of the call (see ‘Background and objectives’)
• quality of the research or development activities described in the project plan
• impact as described in the project plan
  • impact on health and social services
  • R&D impact
  • other societal impact
• feasibility of project, including aspects of responsible science.

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 body making the funding decisions takes into account the entirety of the applications to be decided upon in the call in relation to the objectives of the call, and the funding promotes a wide variety of scientific research. The decisions are based on the review reports and the ranking made by the panel.

If there are applications of equal merit, priority is 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 May 2027 (estimate).

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.
• You can contact us via the helpdesk and by telephone on the closing date until the end of office hours at 16.15 Finnish time. If you run into problems in the online services that prevent you from submitting the application on time, please contact the RCF Registrar's Office by email at kirjaamo@aka.fi before the deadline.
• We will organise a call info webinar on 27 August 2026 at 15.00–16.00.