What are the specific conditions for implementing RRF-funded projects?

n addition to the funding terms and conditions attached to the funding decision notification, the terms listed below shall be followed in the use of funds.

• Receipt of funding shall be approved without delay and within three working days of receipt of the funding decision.
• Extension of the funding period is possible only for special reasons and only until 31 December 2025.
• In the use of funding, deviations from the annual instalments according to the state budget (33.3% in 2023, 33.3% in 2024 and 33.3% in 2025) may only be made for justified reasons.
• The funded project is required to submit an interim report by 31 December 2025 and a final report by 31 March 2026. The projects must also prepare for further detailed RRF implementation and reporting requirements (incl. those related to the monitoring and follow-up of the implementation of the DNSH principle). Failure to report may lead to the recovery of funding.
• The Research Council of Finland requires audits of the projects. The auditor’s report must be submitted to the Research Council within three months of the end of the funding period. The deadline is non-negotiable. Failure to submit the auditor’s report by the deadline may lead to the recovery of funding.
• In all communications on the project, the funding recipient must mention the funding source and ensure the visibility of European Union funding by presenting both the EU logo and the text “Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU”.
• Beneficiaries shall keep all financial records and other records until the end of 2032, unless other European Union or national legislation requires a longer period.
• If overlapping funding is granted for the funded project from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) or other EU programmes, the PI shall inform the Research Council without delay.
• If the funding recipient is a business, an organisation or a foundation within the meaning of section 3 of the Finnish Business Information Act (244/2001), other than a legal person under civil law or a foundation-based university, the recipient must before each payment submit an account to the Registrar’s Office of the Research Council of Finland (kirjaamo@aka.fi) that details whether the recipient
  1. has failed to pay taxes or statutory pension, accident or unemployment insurance contributions, or failed to fulfil registration, notification or payment obligations related to fees charged by Finnish Customs during the year in which the application was initiated or during the preceding three calendar years
  2. has debts to be recovered by enforcement or debts that have been returned from enforcement with certificates of lack of means
  3. has a decision on declaration of bankruptcy, or a matter concerning the bankruptcy declaration is pending before a court of law
  4. has received a decision on the clawback of a government grant taken pursuant to sections 21 or 22 of Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001) or any other act that the recipient has failed to comply with
  5. has received a decision taken on the basis of deception, wrongful conduct or negligence, which the recipient has failed to comply with and by which the government loan or part thereof granted to the recipient has been ordered to be repaid immediately
  6. has received a recovery decision referred to in section 1 of the Finnish Act on the Application of Certain State Aid Rules of the European Community (300/2001) that the recipient has failed to comply with.