Themes for next strategic research programmes decided – call text out in November

The Finnish Government has decided the themes for the strategic research programmes to be launched next year.

The three themes are:

• Demographic Changes – Causes, Consequences and Solutions
• Environmental and Social Links to Biodiversity Loss
• Pandemics as a Challenge for Society.

Welfare is the cross-cutting priority in all three themes.

The Strategic Research Council (SRC) will open multi-year research programmes around these themes. Professor Kimmo Nuotio, SRC Chair, said that the SRC is preparing to launch one programme for each theme.

“Together, the themes form an interesting mix, and I believe that researchers will find aspects in them that we haven’t even thought about. The themes are very current, and the need for knowledge is clear,” Nuotio said.

The SRC funds long-term, solution-oriented and scientifically high-level research aimed at finding solutions to major challenges facing Finnish society through multidisciplinary and interactive approaches. From the projects to be funded, the SRC expects active interaction between knowledge producers and knowledge users, covering the entire life cycle of the research.

The call text and guidelines will be published in late November (TBC) on the Academy of Finland’s website. The first call stage will be open until mid-January 2021.