Second funding period (2023–2026) for SRC programmes CLIMATE and LITERACY (invited applicants only)

The funding can be applied for by consortia funded in 2020 under the SRC programmes CLIMATE (Climate Change and Humans) and LITERACY (Information Literacy and Evidence-Informed Decision-Making).

In accordance with the original call text (CLIMATE call text, LITERACY call text), the cost estimate for the consortium’s entire term (six years) must have been drafted so that the funding for the second funding period comes to no more than 70% of the funding for the first period.

However, for the programmes launched in 2020, the Strategic Research Council (SRC) is prepared to provide some 27 million euros in continued funding, corresponding to 80% of the total funding for the first funding period. This means that, contrary to the initial call text, consortia can apply for funding for a second period corresponding to up to 80% of the first period’s funding.

How to submit and supplement the application

The deadline is non-negotiable. The deadline for applications is 6 April 2023 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 joint consortium application is submitted by the consortium PI. The PI can submit the consortium application only after all subprojects have tagged their applications as complete. The application follows the same consortium model as the model used in the application for the first funding period.

You can edit and supplement the application until the deadline. You can make changes to a submitted application (e.g. change appendices), but you must make them before the deadline.

If you notice that your application lacks important information after the deadline, immediately get in touch with the call’s contact person, so that they can reopen the application for you. Make sure to re-submit the application after you have supplemented it. We will consider the supplemented information insofar as it is possible in view of the review and decision-making process.

We may ask you to supplement the application. If you do not supplement the application by the given deadline, we may decide not to process it. Also make sure that your contact details (email address) are up to date.

How the application becomes pending

According to section 17 of the Finnish Administrative Procedure Act and section 8 of the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector, the sender is responsible for the application arriving by the set deadline.

An application becomes pending 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.

If you have not submitted a final report on a completed or ongoing Academy-funded project by the set deadline, we may decide not to process your application.

An application will not be processed if the applicant or the application does not meet the competence requirements or other key requirements, or if the application otherwise does not qualify for processing.

The SRC may decide not to process and 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 about the circumstances that may cause us not to process or review an application.

Publicity and data protection

Except for the research and interaction 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 confidential information. This publicity is based on the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities.

The Academy of Finland is 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 statement concerning the research funding process is available on the Academy website under Data protection.

The application consists of forms completed in the online services and PDF appendices.

Personal data

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

Consortium parties

• Subproject PIs (site of research that will receive the funds)
• Details on each party (name, email address, organisation and country)

General information

• Details on the site of research
• Title of research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• Research fields (at least three, no more than five). See the research field classification.

• Keywords in English and Finnish/Swedish

Abstract

• Maximum length 2,500 characters including spaces
• Brief overview of scientific and societal objectives, research methods and data as well as expected research results and impact; if necessary, update the abstract used for the first funding period

• Read more about the abstract.

SRC call for invited applicants: research and interaction

In the online application, fill in the following free-text fields: Please fill in sections A–C in Finnish.

• Description of (a) how the objectives set out in the consortium’s original research plan have been reached or promoted and (b) the research objectives and implementation for the second funding period (max. 10,000 characters)

• In item a, make use of the consortium’s follow-up data (interim report). Focus on highlighting key results, outputs and achievements.
• In item b, include any changes in target-setting and implementation, their justifications and effects on the consortium’s activities (personnel, structure of work packages, procurements, etc.).

• Description of (a) how the objectives set out in the consortium’s original interaction plan have been reached or promoted and (b) the interaction objectives and implementation for the second funding period (max. 10,000 characters)

• In item a, make use of the consortium’s follow-up data (interim report, incl. impact stories). Focus on highlighting key activities, outputs and achievements.
• In item b, include any changes in target-setting and implementation, their justifications and effects on the consortium’s activities (collaborators and stakeholders, means of interaction, procurement, communications, etc.).

• Summary in Finnish of the above points (i.e. summary of the consortium’s achievements during the first funding period; the main objectives for the second funding period and any changes to the original research and interaction plan, with justifications). This summary shall be submitted to the SRC to support decision preparation (max. 2,500 characters).

Collaborators

• Specify the new collaborators of the project (name, organisation, country, brief description of goals/benefits of the collaboration)
• Remember to append the new letters of collaboration on the tab ‘Appendices’.
• Read more about letters of collaboration.

Research ethics

• Preliminary ethical review for project and/or animal testing permit (yes/no)
• Found guilty of research misconduct (yes/no). We will not process a funding application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.
• Guilty of illegal employment within the meaning referred to in section 7(2) of the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (yes/no)
• See the ethical guidelines.

Funding for the project

• The project’s funding follows the full cost model. The SRC’s funding contribution comes to 100%.
• Before you can fill in the cost estimate, you must first select the site of research on the tab ‘General information’.

• The site of research maintains the following percentages: effective working hours, indirect employee costs, overheads percentage and VAT.
• Enter the funding period (1 October 2023–30 September 2026).
• Enter salaries and other costs.

Public project description

• Maximum length 1,000 characters including spaces
• Popular and reader-friendly description of the research project in English and Finnish/Swedish
• We use the project descriptions in our communications on funded research projects. It is important that the public description is written for a general audience. The project description is also stored at fi, a service that makes available information on research conducted in Finland.

• Read the guidelines on the public project description.

Authorisation

• You can authorise another person to supplement or view your application.
• Start by entering the person’s name in the field.
• The person must have an account in the Academy’s online services (SARA).
• You cannot authorise more than one person at a time to edit a field in your application, and you cannot edit that same field while the authorisation is active.
• Do not authorise yourself.
• See technical instructions on the authorisation process in the how-to guides for the online services.

Appendices

• Appendices must be PDF files.

Case-specific appendices (subprojects)

1. If necessary: new letters of collaboration, if the consortium has new collaborators
2. If necessary: account of state aids received (applies to organisations engaging in economic activity).

NB! The interim report (see reporting guidelines for first funding period) must be submitted by 28 March 2023 in the Academy of Finland’s online services before the application is submitted. Please note that the reporting form was updated in autumn 2021. The applicant will no later than 31 March receive information on the approval of the interim report or a request to supplement it.

Changes to original plans

In the application for continued funding, consortia are encouraged to specify and if necessary update their research and interaction plans for the second period. All changes to the original research and interaction plan are described and justified on the application form (see above); the research and interaction plan itself must not be modified. The budgets of the subprojects may differ from those set out in the original research and interaction plan, as long as the overall budget of the consortium is not exceeded (max. 80% of the funding for the first period).

The applications for continued funding will not be peer-reviewed. Academy of Finland officials and the Strategic Research Council will conduct a so-called mid-term review of the consortia. The review will focus on the information presented in the application for continued funding and the interim report. The aim is to determine whether the research and interaction work carried out by the consortium has progressed as expected, that is, whether the work has been active and appropriate and whether the plan for the second period is up-to-date and justified.

The Strategic Research Council aims to make the funding decisions in June 2023. The decision criteria are based on the results of the mid-term review mentioned under ‘How the application is reviewed’.

How to receive the funding

A positive funding decision is accompanied by the funding terms and conditions. Make sure to check the decision and accept the funding and its terms in the online services without delay. This must be done within eight weeks of the decision date, unless otherwise stated in the special conditions of the decision notification.

If necessary, update the popular project description. It is important that the public description is written for a general audience. Once you have accepted the funding, the system will send a notification to the commitment issuer at the site of research. That person must also accept the granted funding.

The funds can be paid only after the applicant and the representative of the site of research have accepted them. The system will then notify the funding to the finance administration of the site of research, whereupon the funds will be ready to use.

• Tuomas Katajarinne, Science Adviser, tel. +358 295 335 067, firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi
• Helpdesk at aka.fi/feedback; send your message to the Division of Strategic Research.