2026 Academy Research Fellowships, all research fields

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.

An Academy Research Fellow is a talented early-career researcher. An Academy Research Fellowship supports early-career researchers on fast career tracks. The funding supports the researchers so that they can increase their competencies and make significant career progress towards more demanding research positions and achieve an established position in the national and international research community. An Academy Research Fellow produces high-quality, high-impact research that stimulates scientific renewal.

An Academy Research Fellowship provides researchers with a good and diverse opportunity to work independently on their research and to contribute to developing the research in their field. As an Academy Research Fellow, you are encouraged to engage in international research collaboration and mobility across international and sectoral borders, for example, so that you will work abroad for part of the funding period. Foreign researchers who already work or who will work in the Finnish scientific community may also apply for the funding.

The objective of the funding scheme is to promote high-quality, high-impact science with capacity for renewal as well as to support researchers in increasing their competencies and making career progress. Researchers need a wide range of experience from working in different research and work environments to be able to increase their competencies.

By working in different kinds of research groups or in other research-related positions, researchers can further strengthen their personal networks and improve their chances of securing competitive research positions or other senior expert tasks. For today’s researchers, it is also important to be able to acquire new methodological skills and adopt new means of communicating with people with different backgrounds.

In addition, working in roles and tasks other than actual research yet relevant to the professional research career further advances an Academy Research Fellow’s qualifications. These may include teaching and supervision, administrative duties, interaction or advocacy, or other tasks related to the organisation’s core functions.

The Academy Research Fellowship funding is applied for by an individual researcher who has completed their first doctoral degree within 2–7 years of the start of the calendar year closest to the application deadline. The 2026 winter call includes an exception to this rule: the funding may be applied for by a researcher whose first doctoral degree certificate is dated between 1 January 2019 and 31 January 2024.

Applicants who have completed their doctoral degree longer ago than the period mentioned above can be considered only for special reasons (pregnancy or parental leave, childcare leave while caring for a child (biological or adopted) under 3 years of age, partial childcare leave, military or nonmilitary service, or long-term illness (personal or close relative’s), if these reasons have caused a long-term career break. The special reasons will be taken into account for the period following the doctoral degree.

If you plead these special reasons, justify them in the application under ‘Personal data’. Edit your details and degrees and the section ‘Additional information’. Indicate the start and end dates of career breaks. If these reasons are confidential, get in touch with us immediately after the closing date via the helpdesk.

Merits and increased competencies of Academy Research Fellows

Past and planned mobility, research collaborations, the international dimension of the research plan and other competencies and qualifications achieved by the applicant are important considerations in the review.

In the application, you must describe your merits to date and how you will increase your competencies both during and after the funding period. These can be demonstrated, for example, by the establishment of a research team and other academic leadership experience, planned or implemented co-publication, sharing of data, supervision and teaching experience, various expert tasks, application for co-financing, and national and international cooperation and mobility. Also clarify how the research idea differs from your doctoral dissertation.

The description of your increasing competencies and your career plans is provided on the tab ‘Merits and increased competencies’ in the online services. See the guidelines and structure: Merits and increased competencies.

Special terms and restrictions

In the winter call, we will consider (process) only one application per researcher if the application concerns Academy Project Funding (incl. consortium subproject) or an Academy Research Fellowship. If you submit more than one application for any of these funding opportunities or apply for funding from more than one of them, we will only consider (process) the first application submitted.

If, during the application process, you are offered a permanent senior researcher position, please inform us without delay. The Academy Research Fellowship is intended for a researcher who does not yet hold a permanent and senior research position. Senior-level positions are, for instance, positions at research career stages 3 or 4, that is, professor, assistant/associate professor, research director and comparable posts. If you have a fixed-term position in a university’s tenure-track system, for example, you can apply for an Academy Research Fellowship.

Other ongoing RCF funding

If you currently have a four-year RCF-funded Academy Research Fellowship, we will not consider (process) a new Academy Research Fellowship application from you. You may apply for an Academy Research Fellowship no earlier than in the last year of your post, provided that the funding periods will not overlap.

If you have or have had a five-year Academy Research Fellowship, we will not consider (process) a new Fellowship application from you.

Other conditions for and obstacles to the granting of funding

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 report on a completed or ongoing RCF-funded project by the set deadline, we will not consider (process) your application.

Your application will not be considered (processed) if you 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 some other respect 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.

A positive funding decision can only be made if the conditions set by the RCF for funding are met. In addition to the eligibility criteria, another condition that must be met in order 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.

You 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 criteria for the RCF's funding decisions. Also see the policies of our scientific councils before you submit the application.

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 its 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 plan and CV.
• If applying for an Academy Research Fellowship, you will also write a Merits and increased competencies
• Draft the above appendices on our templates (see ‘Application parts in the online services’). Read the instructions on using the templates. You have access to the templates even before the call opens.
• Read the review guidelines and review form. Write your research plan in such a way that reviewers can easily find the answer to the review questions.
• In the winter call, applicants must select a review panel for their application. Take time to familiarise yourself with the panel structure and selection guidelines.
• Contact your collaborators. Request letters of collaboration from national and international collaborators that are relevant to the implementation of the project. 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 of funding and the terms and conditions in the call text under ‘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.

When the call opens

• Sign up or log in to our online services. Check and update your personal details. Your up-to-date email address is important when we are in contact with you.
• Instructions on how to fill in the application form are available in the online services.

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
• Scientific council and review panel
• Abstract
• Public project description
• Project’s funding and commitment by site of research. For the 2026 winter call, the commitment must be given within 14 days of the 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 should be described in the research plan.
• Mobility: list of research visits
• Affiliation with research infrastructures, Centres of Excellence and Finnish Flagships
• Short data management plan
• Research ethics
• Progress report on all RCF-funded projects that have not yet submitted final reports

Appendices to be appended on dedicated tabs

• The research plan is a mandatory appendix. Use the template provided.
• The CV for Academy Research Fellowship applicants is a mandatory appendix. Use the template provided.
• The merits and increased competencies of Academy Research Fellowship applicants is a mandatory appendix. Use the template provided.

Other appendices

• The research security assessment is a mandatory appendix. Use the template provided. Read more about research security.
• The full list of publications is a mandatory appendix.
• The doctoral degree certificate 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.

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.

Academy Research Fellowship funding is granted for four years. The funding period is 1 September 2026–31 August 2030. The funding to be distributed through this call depends on the Finnish Parliament’s decision to allocate the necessary funds in the 2026 state budget.

The cost estimate in the application must be drafted based on objectives of the funding scheme and the proposed project. The maximum funding granted comes to 700,000 euros.

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

The PI of the funded project must have a close connection with Finland during the whole funding period. The researchers hired with the funding shall primarily work in Finland. However, during the funding period, they can work for periods of varying lengths at a foreign university, for instance. The Academy Research Fellow will lead and supervise research according to the research plan also while work is being performed abroad.

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 contribution of the site of research to the funding of the project. 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’, provide the following information:

• cost estimate, including an estimate of the annual amount of funding needed, itemised by type of expenditure
• the annual instalment costs are spread equally (e.g. 70%/30%) over all funding years
• all 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 in terms of the implementation of the research project and the objectives of the funding scheme. Justify the most significant research costs by type of expenditure in the free-text field.

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

• Academy Research Fellow’s salary
• salaries of Academy Research Fellow’s research team
• essential implementation costs
• travel expenses
• collaboration and mobility in Finland
• international collaboration and mobility
• preparation of international projects.

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.

Academy Research Fellow salary

Funds can be made available towards the Academy Research Fellow’s own salary, hiring a research team and other research costs. Funding can be applied for and used flexibly based on the needs of the research.

The total cost estimate need not include the applicant’s own salary if the salary is arranged in some other way and the applicant is able to commit to the research work described in the research plan.

The Academy Research Fellowship covers four years.

In addition, an Academy Research Fellow cannot be paid salary from another RCF-funded research project or a project funded by the Strategic Research Council (SRC).

Research team salaries

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, studies or other assignments (max. duration six months) may also be carried out in the form of outsourced services.

Instructions on job titles at different stages of the research career.

Mobility aid

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. To obtain further information, you should 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 site of research is a Finnish research organisation such as a university or a research institute.

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 are regarded as overheads for the project’s site of research. Only exceptionally and for justified reasons can they be accepted as research costs to be covered by RCF research 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 application must include the overheads percentage, indirect employee costs and coefficient for effective working hours of the site of research. The site of research maintains these in the online services under the site’s details. The information is provided as percentages.

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. RCF funding may also cover VAT costs, but only on certain conditions (see Value added tax and read more in our standard terms for funding).

The site of research undertakes to see to that the Academy Research Fellow will be able to fully commit to the research and advance their competence in roles and tasks other than actual research yet relevant to the professional research career. The site also undertakes to offer the Academy Research Fellow a full-time employment relationship throughout the funding period. The salary is determined based on the pay system of the site of research.

Read more in the guidelines for sites of research.

Research at EUI or IIASA by Academy Research Fellows

Those applying for an Academy Research Fellowship can also apply to do research at the European University Institute (EUI) as part of the Fellowship. The EUI can receive one Academy Research Fellow 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. Contact us via the helpdesk (Application guidance, non-thematic calls) if you need help when drafting your application.

During the funding period, Academy Research Fellows can also visit the multidisciplinary International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), which focuses on global issues that require broad-based, multidisciplinary research cooperation that makes use of applied systems analysis.

If your research is linked to one of IIASA’s research programmes or projects, agree on the visit with IIASA directly. However, please read about IIASA’s research before applying. Contact us via the helpdesk (Application guidance, non-thematic calls) if you need help when drafting your application.

How to submit and supplement the application

The deadline is non-negotiable. We will not consider (process) an application that has not been submitted by deadline. The deadline for applications is 12 November 2025 at 16.15 Finnish time.

Make sure to submit the application in good time before the deadline. The system will only accept applications that contain all obligatory information. The 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. Once the review process has started, supplementations can no longer be taken into account. Typically, the review of an application starts 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 plan, plan of intent, abstract and progress 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 secret information. This publicity is based on the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities.

We are committed to following regulations on data protection. The applicant is responsible for the disclosure of the personal data contained in the application and, where appropriate, for requesting the consent of the parties concerned.

The GDPR-compliant privacy notice 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 proceed to be reviewed by a panel. 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: Responsible researcher evaluation

Review panels and panel selection

The applications are reviewed by pre-selected panels. Read more about the review panels. Select the panel under ‘Scientific council and review panel’ in the application form. The selection is binding. You cannot change the panel after the call deadline.

Panel selection instructions:

How to select the review panel

1. Examine several panel descriptions in your field and carefully read both the scope and keywords before choosing the panel.
2. Choose one panel and one scientific council for your application. None of the panels are linked to a particular scientific council as such.
3. Submit your application to the most relevant panel. We may reallocate applications, but only if there has been an obvious typographical or other clear error in the selection. The applicant will be informed in such cases.

Please note

• Any topic is welcome, regardless of whether it is explicitly stated in panel descriptions. Panels are typically multidisciplinary.
• The keywords are not an exhaustive list of the topics that will be covered in the panels. They are intended to help applicants choose the most appropriate panel.
• The panel structure does not represent any scientific classification as such. The numbering, names or descriptions of panels do not reflect any priorities.
• The panel descriptions have been revised after the previous winter call. See the panel structure.

Review criteria

Criteria affecting the review of the scientific quality of the application:

• Applicant’s competence, expected achievements and potential
• Quality of research
  • Scientific quality, novelty and innovation of research
• Implementation
  • Feasibility of research plan, including aspects of responsible science
  • Expertise, human resources and cooperation, including aspects of responsible science.

In addition, the review panels and individual reviewers may, to support decision-making, draw attention to factors such as the societal effects and impact of the project.

The research security appendix will not be peer-reviewed.

In the review of applications for Academy Research Fellowships, special attention will be paid to the applicant’s increasing competencies and ability to stimulate scientific renewal.

The academic competence and qualifications of the applicant will be evaluated with special reference to their postdoctoral research and scientific collaborations in relation to their career stage. In the application, the applicant can demonstrate their competence by describing, for example, their experience of different research environments, their ability to build up collaborative networks, previous national or international mobility, existing or planned joint projects or more independent publishing than in previous career stages. The review will also focus on the applicant’s increasing competence and expected qualification for the most demanding research tasks. Read more in the guidelines on merits and increasing competencies.

See the review questions and guidelines on our website. The review guidelines and forms and the review 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 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 in research and the scientific community, promotes diversity in research and the scientific community as well as supports sustainable development.

In addition to the above factors, the RCF’s scientific councils also apply their own specific policies when making funding decisions. The updated policies will be made available on the RCF’s website before the call opens. Read the scientific council's policies before submitting your application.

The scientific councils will make the funding decisions in June 2026.

You will receive an email notification after the funding decision has been made. After receiving the email, you can log in to the online services with your user ID to view the decision and its justifications. In the online services, you will also have access to the review report(s), which may include the panel ranking (panels rank the best applications).

How to receive the funding

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

• Contact us primarily via the helpdesk (select ‘Application guidance, non-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 the Ask & Apply webinar schedule and materials.
• Also see the winter call FAQ.