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Academy of Finland 2014: Research knows no boundaries

Tiina Jokela PhD, Senior Science Adviser, Strategic Research

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Public research funding in Finland

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Government research funding 2014

Source:

Statistics Finland 2014

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Academy of Finland

The Academy promotes scientific research and its application by:

• awarding funding for scientific research and researcher training

• advancing and engaging in international scientific collaboration

• providing expertise in science policy

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Organisation

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Academy of Finland

• Four research councils, covering all scientific disciplines

• Funding for scientific research, researcher training and the development of research capacities (€310 million in 2014)

• Each year, some 8,000 people benefit from Academy funding

• A staff of around 130

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Academy of Finland research funding 2000–2013

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Academy funding opportunities

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Academy of Finland funding in 2013

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Academy funding for research career

Academy Professors (40):• are top researchers who contribute to the progress of research

within their field of research• are granted funding for a maximum of five years at a time

Academy Research Fellows (296):• are granted funding for independent scientific work as laid down

in the research plan• are granted funding for a maximum of five years

Postdoctoral Researchers (600)• A maximum of four years after gaining the doctorate• Are granted for three years

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Finland Distinguished Professor (FiDiPro) Programme

• Joint Academy-Tekes funding programme for recruiting foreign or expatriate Finnish top researchers to Finland

• Recruited to scientifically, technologically and industrially relevant fields

• Applicant is a Finnish university or research institute

• Competition-based and fixed-term funding, highly flexible

• The Academy has funded 35 FiDiPro Professors, Tekes 52 FiDiPro Professors and 14 FiDiPro Fellows

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FiDiPro funding

• Funding is awarded to research projects for a fixed term with a funding period of 2 to 5 years.

• Funding may cover expenses such as:• salary and travel of the visiting top researcher• costs of a possible research team to be set up• expenses of accompanying family members • FiDiPro researchers may bring along a key member or key members

of their own research team, whose expenses may also be partially covered.

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Centres of Excellence (CoE) in ResearchObjectives:• to raise the quality standards of research and improve international competitiveness • to increase visibility and esteem• to embed leading-edge research in research, education and technology policy• to develop top-level, innovative and efficient research and researcher trainingenvironments

Finnish CoE programmes since 2000:• 2000–2005 (26 CoEs)• 2002–2007 (16 CoEs)• 2006–2011 (23 CoEs)• 2008–2013 (18 CoEs)• 2012–2017 (15 CoEs)• 2014–2019 (14 CoEs)

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Research programmes in 2012• Climate Change, FICCA (2011–2014)• Computational Science, LASTU (2010–2015)• Nutrition, Food and Health, ELVIRA (2006–2014) • Photonics and Modern Imaging Techniques (2010–2013)• Responding to Public Health Challenges, SALVE (2009–2012)• Sustainable Energy, SusEn (2008–2012) • Sustainable Production and Products, KETJU (2006–2013) • The Future of Living and Housing, ASU-LIVE (2011–2015) • The Health and Welfare of Children and Young People, SKIDI-KIDS (2010–2014)• Ubiquitous Computing and Diversity of Communication, MOTIVE (2009–2012)

Programmable Materials, OMA (2012-2016)•Sustainable Governance of Aquatic Resources, AKVA (2012-2016)• The Human Mind, MIND• Synthetic Biology (FinSynBio) • The Future of Learning, Knowledge and Skills, TULOS• Arctic Research• Energy Research• Personalized health

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Research programmes

• Respond to topical issues in science and the grand challenges faced by society

• Are clusters of research projects focused on a defined subject area or a set of problems, funded for a fixed period, and operated under a coordinated management

→ Greater added value than through normal project funding

• Provide cooperation platforms for researchers in different disciplines, end-users of research knowledge and research funding bodies

• Promote international collaboration:

• international networking of programmes• co-funded international research projects

Added value• multidisciplinarity• internationality• cooperation• impact

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Evaluation activities

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Application processing – Who does what?

Processes the application

Prepare a scientific review (report) on the application; an international panel

Makes the funding decision on the application; panel report of key importance

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Review of applications: criteria

• Scientific quality and innovativeness of the research plan

• Competence of the applicant/research team• Feasibility of the research plan

• Quality of the research environment and its strengthening

• International and national research collaboration and researcher mobility

• Significance of the project for the promotion of professional careers in research and for researcher training

• Other research-policy objectives adopted by the Academy

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Internationalisation and researcher mobility

Supported in all funding opportunities, such as:

• Academy Projects• Research programmes and Centre of Excellence Programmes:

joint calls and networking• Academy Research Fellows and Postdoctoral Researchers

• Finland Distinguished Professor Programme, FiDiPro

• ERA-NET calls

• International joint calls with foreign funding agencies

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Collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF):

• Graduate Research Opportunity Worldwide (GROW) for NSF Graduate Fellows: Since 2008, the Academy has offered cooperation opportunities for the Fellows within projects run by the Academy’s Centers of Excellence and Academy Professors. The aim is to enable researchers to build international contacts at an early stage of their careers.

• Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE)

• Virtual Center SAVI (Science Across Virtual Institutes):

• Projects funded together with The Academy of Finland, Tekes and NSF

• WiFiUS (Wireless Innovation between Finland and US established 2011,

• WiFiUS 2, 2012 and WiFiUS 2014

• Innovations in learning and education, 2012

Cooperation with USA

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Academy of Finland: Advancing science and research

More information:

•Academy of Finland: www.aka.fi/eng

•Finnish science policy: www.research.fi/en

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