Background and objectives
The Research Council of Finland’s Proof of Concept Funding is intended for demonstrating the feasibility of ideas on how to utilise research results of projects funded by the RCF and the Strategic Research Council (SRC) and for strengthening the versatile utilisation of research results based on these ideas.
The funding can be used to, for example:
- promote the effective use of research results and knowledge for the needs of society and increase the economic or other societal impact of research
- pilot or test research results in experimental or practical settings
- develop new models for industry, public administration or the third sector.
The funding will increase the competence of research organisations and researchers in utilising research and provide researchers with opportunities to diversify their collaboration networks and increase their expertise in business and stakeholder cooperation.
The funding complements Finnish national funding instruments to support cooperation between research organisations, businesses and other societal actors. Compared to the funding opportunities offered by Business Finland, the RCF Proof of Concept Funding is closer to scientific research.
The projects to be funded are expected to move from research towards commercialisation or other societal use of the research. At the end of the project, the solution sought by the project may still be in a pre-commercial phase or in a phase where it is being prepared for deployment for other uses.
