Responsible science
Responsibility is an integral part of our activities. We fund high-quality, high-impact and innovative research in a responsible manner.
In the context of responsible science, we take into account research ethics, equality and nondiscrimination, open science, sustainable development goals and the principles of responsible researcher evaluation. Our aim is thereby to strengthen the quality and impact of research.
In all funding calls, we require applicants to describe in the research plan how the project will adhere to good scientific practice, how gender equality and nondiscrimination will be promoted in the implementation of the project, and how the project will comply with our open science policy. Applies to RCF calls opening on or after 19 September 2025: Applications lacking any of these descriptions will not be considered (processed). Furthermore, consideration of all the abovementioned objectives is one of the criteria in the review of applications.
Good scientific practice refers to the recognised procedures and norms within the scientific community that guide all stages of research, from planning to reporting. The Research Council of Finland is committed to following the guidelines The Responsible Conduct of Research and Procedures for Handling Alleged Violations in Finland issued by the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) and requires all researchers and other parties it funds to comply with them as well. Read more about how to describe good scientific practice in your application.
The core purpose of research ethics principles and obligations is to ensure that research is conducted in an ethically acceptable manner and that the rights and wellbeing of participants are protected. Read more about how to describe research ethics considerations in your application.
When it comes to equality and nondiscrimination, responsible science has to do with promoting equality and nondiscrimination in research projects or in society at large. Read more about how to describe equality and nondiscrimination aspects in the applications.
As regards open science, responsible science is related to publication plans that support open access. We require that the projects we fund commit to open access publishing. We also require a brief data management plan describing how the data will be stored during the project, how any legal and ethical issues related to data distribution will be resolved, and where the data will be made available after the end of the project. Read more about how to describe open science aspects in the application.
In the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, questions of responsible science relate to describing how a project can contribute to one or more of the SDGs. Read more about the sustainable development principles.
As regards responsible researcher evaluation, the issues of responsible science are related to that our review processes and criteria are described openly and that reviewers are made familiar with responsible assessment. Instead of journal-based metrics, responsible research evaluation primarily assesses the quality of research outputs and takes into account the diversity of research careers as well as career breaks. In addition, the decision-making takes into account the wide range of career paths, impact and the promotion of open science. Read more about the responsible researcher evaluation.
