Proof of Concept Funding

The RCF’s Proof of Concept Funding has been created to reinforce the innovation path with a view to supporting the societal utilisation of research results and building bridges from research to utilisation. At the same time, the funding complements Finnish national funding to support cooperation between research organisations, businesses and other societal actors.

The aim is to promote the versatile utilisation of the results of research funded by the RCF and the SRC and to increase the societal impact of the research. In addition, the aim is to strengthen the utilisation skills of research organisations and researchers and to provide an opportunity to develop the capacity to collaborate with companies and other stakeholders to achieve a seamless transition from research to utilisation.

The RCF treats Proof of Concept Funding as a form of targeted Academy Project Funding. The objective of the funded project is to demonstrate the feasibility of the utilisation ideas generated in research previously funded by the RCF or the SRC, to further develop the ideas and to strengthen the versatile utilisation of the research results.

The funding can be used to, for example:

• accelerate the effective utilisation of research and knowledge for society's needs and increase the economic or other societal impact of research results
• pilot or test research results in experimental or practical settings
• develop new approaches for industry, public administration or the third sector.

The projects to be funded are expected to move from research towards societal use of the research, including commercialisation. Compared to the funding opportunities offered by Business Finland, the RCF’s Proof of Concept Funding is closer to scientific research. At the end of the project, the solution sought in the project may still be in a pre-commercial phase or in a phase where it is being prepared for deployment for other uses.