Frequently asked questions about the winter call
General
What does ‘two-stage review’ mean?
In the first stage, in general, two individual reviews on the applications are requested from panel members before the panel meeting. Applications that receive a final rating of 5 (excellent) or 6 (outstanding) in at least one individual review will proceed to the second stage, to be reviewed at the panel meeting.
What kind of review feedback will applicants receive?
All applicants will receive the reviews by individual reviewers complete with subratings and final ratings. If the application proceeds to the panel, the panel summary and the panel’s overall rating will be added to the review report. The panel’s assessment is based on the individual reviews and the discussion during the panel meeting. If the overall rating given by the panel is 5 or 6, the panel’s subratings will also be added to the review. Finally, the panel ranks these applications against other applications in the same funding opportunity.
How to read the review report if a panel has discussed the application
The review report on an application is a composition of both individual and panel reviews and ratings. The reviews and subratings prepared by the individual reviewers before the panel meeting are recorded in sections 1–2 (Academy Projects) or 1–3 (Academy Research Fellowships). Section 3 or 4 is the review panel’s summary assessment. The ‘Overall rating’ in the review report is the overall rating given by the panel. The overall ratings given by individual reviewers before the panel meeting are recorded in sections 3.1.3 or 4.1.3.
Can I share the review report given on my application with others?
As a rule, the review report is a secret document under the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities. As a party, you will receive the review report on your application, because the report has affected the processing of your application.
The review report contains information other than that concerning the applicant themselves, such as the names of the reviewers and a possible assessment of collaborators or persons to be hired for the project. If the review report contains secret content other than content concerning yourself, you may not disclose it to a third party. Nor may you use such secret information for your own personal benefit or the benefit of another, nor for the detriment of another, with the exception provided for in the Act on the Openness of Government Activities. You must also take into account data protection legislation. Please do not disclose the name of the reviewer included in your review report, for example.
Can I contact the person who reviewed my application to ask for more detailed feedback?
Under the GDPR, publication or otherwise unauthorised disclosure of personal data without specific consent from the data subject is prohibited. In addition, according to the RCF’s guidelines on the review and decision-making processes, contacting reviewers is prohibited.
Reviewers, too, are obliged to treat applications confidentially and are not allowed to discuss them or the reviews with third parties, including the applicant.
Learn more about responsible evaluation in our review principles (PDF).
When will the 2026 winter call funding decisions be made, and when can I start using the funding?
The decisions on the 2026 winter call will be made in June 2026. The funding period starts on 1 September 2026. You will receive an email notification after the funding decision has been made.
Who gives the commitment by the site of research?
The organisation’s SARA administrator can define the commitment issuers for the organisation, from whom the applicant can choose a commitment issuer for their application. The applicant must agree on the commitment with the representative of site of research in advance. We will request the commitment by the site of research from the person indicated in the application (commitment issuer at the site of research). After the call has closed, the person indicated in the application will receive an email notification requesting a commitment for the application.
What should I do if, after the call has closed, I notice that my application has the wrong commitment issuer?
Contact us immediately (via our helpdesk, select ‘Application guidance, non-thematic calls’) to give the correct commitment issuer. We will change the issuer and send them a commitment request from the online services (SARA).
How soon after the call’s closing date must the commitment of the site of research be given?
After the call has closed, the person indicated in the application will receive an email notification requesting a commitment for the application. For the 2026 winter call, the commitment must be given within 14 days of the closing date, or the application may be inadmissible.
Is the research plan structure the same as in the previous winter call?
The structure of the research plan has not changed, but please note the new mandatory appendix: Research security assessment. Use the template provided.
In addition, adherence to good scientific practice, the implementation of open science and the consideration of equality and nondiscrimination are now an even more significant part of the research plan. The RCF requires that RCF-funded research adheres to good scientific practice, complies with the guidelines on open access to research outputs and, with regard to research data, on responsible data management. The research must also promote gender equality and nondiscrimination. Applicants must describe in the research plan how the project will support these guidelines and objectives. Applies to RCF calls opening on or after 19 September 2025: If the description is missing, the application will not be considered (processed). As before, consideration of all the abovementioned objectives is one of the criteria in the review of applications.
Write the research plan on our template (Word or LaTex) and append to the application it as a PDF appendix. The link to the template is available in the call text.
Has the panel structure changed?
The 2026 winter call does not include a Clinical Researcher panel. Otherwise, the panel structure has remained unchanged. The panel descriptions have been modified based on feedback from the 2025 winter call. Some panel titles, descriptions and keywords have been revised. It is worth carefully examining the different panels to find the one that best suits your application.
Why is my field missing from the panel structure?
The panel structure, the panel descriptions and 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 application may therefore address a topic that is not necessarily specifically mentioned in the panel description. The panels are also typically multidisciplinary, and thus do not necessarily contain a detailed description of a particular field. On the other hand, a field can also fit several different panels, which is why it is perhaps not mentioned.
If my application fits several panels, how do I make the choice?
Choose a panel whose description matches the research questions in your application and the specific research you intend to carry out during the funding period. The reviewers value scientific novelty, so think about what is most important and most innovative in your application. Is the novelty in a revolutionary method or in a new application area? You can also think about which panel topics best match your own and your research team’s expertise, so that you can convince the experts of the feasibility of your application.
How do I know whether an organisation is eligible to apply and whether it can act as the site of research?
We will not take a position on whether a certain type of organisation is eligible if the application is not yet pending. In other words, we do not give binding, prior opinions on eligibility. We will decide on the eligibility once the application is pending in our system.
How do we submit the cost coefficients to the RCF?
The organisation’s information is updated centrally by a representative of the site of research (your organisation) who has administrator access to the online services. See instructions on the features in the online services available to organisation representatives (PDF, in Finnish only).
Where can I get help if I have problems with the online services?
Academy Research Fellowship
Can I apply for an Academy Research Fellowship if I currently have an Academy Research Fellowship?
If you have a five-year post as Academy Research Fellow, you cannot apply. If you have a four-year post (the new-form Academy Research Fellow funding), you can apply for a new Academy Research Fellowship as long as your funding periods do not overlap and you meet the other eligibility criteria.
How much does parental leave extend the eligibility when applying for an Academy Research Fellowship?
Family leave extends the eligibility to apply for an Academy Research Fellowship. The easiest way to calculate your eligibility is to add the number of days of parental leave to the date of your degree. The resulting date should fall between 1 January 2019 and 31 January 2024. Please note that only leaves taken after the doctoral degree count towards the extension. If you have been on partial family leave, the family leave period will extend your eligibility correspondingly. For example, six months of 50% family leave extends eligibility by three months.
Can tenure-track professors or lecturers (tenured teachers) apply for Academy Research Fellowship funding?
You can apply for an Academy Research Fellowship if you are not yet a full-time, senior researcher and if you meet all other eligibility criteria. Senior-level positions are, for instance, 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.
How much funding can I be granted?
The maximum amount granted for an Academy Research Fellowship is 700,000 euros. The cost estimate must be realistic and carefully justified in terms of the implementation of the research project and the objectives of the funding scheme.
Whose salary costs can be included in the cost estimate for an Academy Research Fellowship?
Academy Research Fellows may be granted funding for their own salaries and for the salary costs of the research groups they lead.
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.
Can I apply for an Academy Research Fellowship to more than one site of research?
The funding is granted to a single site, but you may have an employment relationship to more than one organisation. The site of research, i.e. the recipient of the funding, must ensure that the combined proportions of the different sites make up a full-time employment and salary.
Can the Academy Research Fellow work abroad for part of the term?
RCF funding is awarded to a Finnish research organisation, which will manage the funding throughout the funding period. The Academy Research Fellow must have a close connection to Finland throughout the funding period. The researcher 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.
What’s the difference between an Academy Project and an Academy Research Fellowship?
The objective of the Academy Research Fellowship 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. Applications for Academy Research Fellowships are reviewed with a focus on not only scientific quality but also the applicant’s merits and increasing qualifications during the funding period.
The aim of the Academy Project funding scheme is to attain internationally as high a scientific standard of work as possible and to support scientific breakthroughs and top-tier international research collaboration. In the Academy Project scheme, the focus of the review is on scientific quality and novelty of the research.
Academy Project Funding
Can I apply for Academy Project Funding in the 2026 winter call if I already have ongoing RCF funding?
Your application will be processed if your current funding ends no later than 31 December 2026.
Other cases:
- If you are the principal investigator of an ongoing Academy Project (funding period ends 1 Jan 2027 or later), your new Academy Project application will not be processed. This also applies to an application by a consortium subproject.
- If you are the principal investigator of a subproject in an ongoing Academy Project (funding period ends 1 Jan 2027 or later), your new Academy Project application will not be processed. This also applies to an application by a consortium subproject.
- Your application may also be processed if your current funding period has been extended due to family leave, military/civilian service or long-term illness, and the project ends after 31 December 2026 due to the extension.
- If you have funding for an Academy Professorship (funding period ends 1 Jan 2027 or later), you cannot apply for Academy Project Funding.
- If you have funding for an Academy Research Fellowship (funding period ends 1 Jan 2027 or later), you cannot apply for Academy Project Funding.
- If you are a director, deputy director or research team leader of an ongoing RCF-funded Centre of Excellence (the last funding period of the CoE programme ends 1 Jan 2027 or later), you cannot apply for Academy Project Funding.
- If you have ongoing funding (continuing after 1 Jan 2027) other than the RCF funding listed above (e.g. Academy Programme funding, targeted Academy Project Funding, funding for international joint projects, Finnish Flagship funding, mobility funding), you can apply for Academy Project Funding.
Can I apply for Academy Project Funding if I am a director, deputy director or team leader of an RCF-funded Centre of Excellence in the 2022–2029 CoE programme?
No, your Academy Project application will not be processed if you are the director, deputy director or team leader of a Centre of Excellence included in the 2022–2029 CoE programme.
Do I need to have the title of docent to apply for Academy Project Funding?
No, you do not need to have the title of docent, although applicants usually have qualifications at the professor or docent level. Applicants must have substantial merits of scientific work after obtaining the doctoral degree, such as a good publication record and experience in leading a research team.
Can a company apply for funding?
The RCF does not grant funding to support economic activity. If a research organisation is also engaged in economic activities, separate accounts must be kept of the activities, and the funding must be in line with the de minimis regulation (Commission Regulation 1407/2013). The application will be reviewed based on scientific criteria, and the applicant must have a substantial record of scientific work.
How much funding can I be granted?
The maximum funding is 600,000 euros for a four-year Academy Project, up to 1 million euros for a four-year consortium project and up to 500,000 euros for a four-year consortium subproject. If the Academy Project’s funding period is shorter than four years, the maximum funding amounts will decrease according to the length of the funding period. For instance, a three-year project can be granted up to 450,000 euros. The maximum funding amounts are the same for all scientific councils. Pay particular attention to ensuring that the cost estimate is realistic and justified for the implementation of the research project.
Can I get more funding if my project includes doctoral training?
No, the maximum funding is the same regardless of whether the project involves doctoral training. However, we are setting aside funds from our 2026 research funding budget to boost doctoral training within Academy Projects. The funding will further strengthen researcher training in RCF-funded research projects, and applicants are encouraged to include doctoral candidates in their project research teams. The inclusion of doctoral education in a project is one of the criteria used, for example, when deciding between two projects judged to be of equal scientific quality.
How do I apply for funding for a doctoral candidate’s salary on the tab ‘Funding for the project’?
To apply for funding for a doctoral candidate’s salary, go to the tab ‘Funding for the project’ and to ‘Salaries’; see the category ‘Postgraduate student’. Also make sure that the tasks and roles of the project’s doctoral candidates and the promotion of their research careers are clearly set out in the research plan. The recruitment of doctoral candidates must be justified in terms of the research plan.
Can the project’s funding be used to pay the PI’s salary?
Yes, with certain restrictions. Read more in the call text and the funding terms and conditions.
How do I apply for funding for the salary of an Academy Project PI?
If the project includes salary costs for the PI, use the ‘Principal investigator’ category in the ‘Salaries’ section of the ‘Funding for the project’ tab in the RCF online services.
Please note that the PI’s salary costs may only under certain limitations and on justifiable grounds be incorporated into the total project costs. In order for the salary costs to be eligible, the PI’s tasks must be clearly specified and motivated.
The salary costs must not be significant in relation to the project’s total costs. For example, a four-year research project can include up to six months of the PI’s working hours, which altogether includes project management, doctoral thesis supervision and research work. Justified, research-related reasons must be provided for the PI’s salary for research, on the tab ‘Salary of principal investigator’.
Read more in the Academy Project call text under ‘Funding to be applied for and funding period’, ‘Salary costs of principal investigator’.
The funding period of a subproject in an Academy Project consortium extends beyond 31 December 2026 due to an extension. Are the other consortium parties eligible to apply for funding in the winter call?
Yes. The extension of the funding period of a subproject does not affect the eligibility of other consortium parties.
Can I apply for Academy Project Funding in the 2026 winter call, if I am a director, deputy director or team leader in an application submitted to the RCF’ call ‘Finnish Centres of Excellence in Research 2026–2033’?
Yes, you can, but a positive funding decision for the CoE application will result in your Academy Project application not being considered.
