2026 NSF call: Verticals-enabling Intelligent Network Systems (VINES), invitation-only
- maximum funding for three-year project €1,500,000
- applications invited from individual research teams and consortia composed of two or more teams; each project or consortium subproject will submit its own application
- funding granted only to applicants who have received a ‘Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding’ letter from the RCF and who have been selected for funding by both the NSF and the RCF
VINES is a National Science Foundation (NSF) programme that seeks to support both fundamental research and technology development. The aim is to enable leaps in the performance and capabilities of next-generation (NextG) advanced intelligent network systems. The NSF acts as the 'Lead Agency’ of the call.
Applications must include at least one US organisation and at least one organisation applying for funding from the RCF. In the joint US-Finnish projects, Finland’s share of the cooperation is funded by the RCF in Track 1 of the programme: Use-inspired Fundamental Research.
Before you fill in the application in the online services (SARA), carefully read the call text and the standard terms for funding. The present call is governed by the standard terms adopted on 22 October 2024.
If the call text is in conflict with the standard terms, the terms should always be considered primary. If the translated English or Swedish version of the call text is in conflict with the Finnish call text, the Finnish version should always be considered primary.
Read the full call text below.
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 overall objective of the partnership between the RCF and the NSF is to facilitate research cooperation between US and Finnish researchers. This collaboration is expected to generate valuable discoveries and innovations that can advance a number of scientific and technological areas. The partnership achieves its objectives through research projects where the participating funding agencies fund research carried out by researchers in their own countries.
The NSF and the RCF collaborate via a ‘Lead Agency Opportunity’, in which the NSF acts as the Lead Agency. In this approach, proposers from both countries will collaborate to write a single proposal. It is the responsibility of the US proposer to submit the proposal to the appropriate NSF programme for review. Researchers from Finland participating in the joint research project will apply for funding separately from the RCF in accordance with the guidelines and procedures provided in this call text.
The joint call seeks to support both fundamental research and technology development The aim is to enable leaps in the performance and capabilities of next-generation (NextG) advanced intelligent network systems.
Only invited applicants can apply for funding under this call. Invited applicants are those Finnish applicants who have been selected for funding in the VINES programme call ‘Verticals-enabling Intelligent Network Systems’. Each participating project or consortium subproject will submit its own 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
You must immediately notify us if you receive funding from other sources for the same purpose after you have submitted your application to us.
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 not submitted a report on a completed or ongoing RCF-funded project according to RCF guidelines and by the set deadline, we may decide not to consider (process) your application.
An 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, or if there are otherwise 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.
The RCF Board decides the principles for RCF funding decisions. The present call is governed by the principles adopted on 16 April 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.
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
- Abstract
- Project's funding and commitment by site of research.
- Salary costs of principal investigator
- Collaborators: List of collaborators
- Mobility: list of researcher visits
- Affiliation with research infrastructures, Centres of Excellence and Finnish Flagships
- Research ethics
- Public project description
Appendices to be appended on dedicated tabs
The following appendices have templates that you must use in your application:
Other appendices
- Research plan/proposal submitted to the NSF, in NSF format. Subprojects within the same consortium submit a joint appendix. Submit the appendix in PDF format.
- Review report(s) obtained from the NSF. Subprojects within the same consortium submit a joint appendix. Submit the appendix in PDF format. If the review report is not yet available to the applicant, submit a PDF appendix in this section stating: “The review report will be sent to the Research Council of Finland as soon as it is available.”
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.
On the ‘Cost estimate’ tab of the online application form, paste from the cost estimate submitted to the VINES call the contribution to be applied for from the RCF The full cost estimate of the consortium does not need to be filled in, as it is included in the attached full proposal.
The project duration is up to 36 months. The earliest start date of the project is 1 June 2026.
The site of research is a Finnish organisation (usually a university or research institute) through which the funding is paid. The maximum funding for a three-year project comes to 1,500,000 euros.
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.
You can apply for 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
- necessary costs arising from implementation of research
- travel expenses
- cooperation and mobility in Finland
- international cooperation 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.
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, 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.
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 (see below) be incorporated into the total project costs. For the salary costs to be eligible, the PI’s tasks must be clearly specified and justified. Under ‘Salaries’ on the tab ‘Funding for the project’, choose the purpose for which funding for the PI’s salary is sought. The salary is justified on the tab ‘Salary of principal investigator’.
Funding for the PI’s salary costs can be applied for for the following purposes:
To manage the project
- The salary costs must not be significant in relation to the project’s total costs. For example, a three-year research project may include a maximum of 4.5 months of the PI effective working hours for project management.
To carry out research
- The RCF may grant funding for the PI’s salary for no more than a year for well-justified, research-related 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 RCF’s standard terms for funding.
- Funding may be paid for this purpose only if it is specified in the specific conditions of the funding decision.
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 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 is also responsible for ensuring that the applicant has not been found guilty of a violation of research integrity in 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).
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 20 May 2026 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.
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 research plans, plans of intent, abstracts and progress reports, 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 notice concerning the RCF research funding process is available on our website under Data protection.
A subcommittee appointed by the RCF Board will make the funding decisions in June 2026 (tentative schedule).
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.
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).
