Applications open for Special and Pooled Funds (Finland)

Special funds are funds from which grants are allocated to areas of research and education or groups of applicants that meet criteria set by donors. The pooled funds thematically bring together several targeted purposes, and they correspond with the selected JEL categories on the application form. In enhancing the competitiveness of Finnish companies, commercialization is often linked to:

• Successful scaling of companies’ business operations, innovation management, manufacturing, services, and business concepts in international markets.
• Successful utilization of digital channels and concepts as well as successful pricing.

Focus Areas

• Business renewal
• Entrepreneurship, scaling and growth
• Future sustainable environment
• Industrial dynamics
• Leadership competence
• Pooled Funds
  • Industrial Organization:
    • Organization of Production
    • Forest Products
  • Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change:
    • Agriculture
    • Natural Resources
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Other Primary Products
    • Industrialization
    • Manufacturing and Service Industries
    • Choice of Technology
    • Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • Technological Change: Choices and Consequences
    • Diffusion Processes
    • Social Innovation
  • Environmental and Ecological Economics:
    • Technological Innovation
    • Ecological Economics: Ecosystem Services
    • Biodiversity Conservation
    • Bioeconomics Industrial Ecology
    • Government Policy

Costs Covered

• Target (cost) grants are also available for conference travel, research visits, or other study trips.

Duration

• Individual working grants of 4–12 months are awarded for the calendar year 2026. Grants under the thematic special project may range from 12 to 36 months, starting from 1 January 2026. Research group grants are awarded for a 36-month period from 1 January 2026, to 31 December 2028. PI (Principal Investigator) specifies the working periods of the group members, which may range from 12 to 36 months.
• Conference travels, research visits, or other study trips, as well as the organization of conferences or seminars, may take place starting from 1 October 2025.

Eligibility Criteria

• Grants may be applied for by individuals, research and working groups, as well as organizations.
• The three-year research group grant is open to groups led by a Principal Investigator (PI). This multi-year grant offers a unique opportunity to focus on collaborative research that seeks solutions to current, significant issues for business and society. Research group members are doctoral and postdoctoral researchers. A plan for building an international research network is required as part of the application.
• Individuals and working groups can apply for grants for 4–12 months of doctoral or postdoctoral research work in 2026. In addition to research work, a separate application can be submitted for one conference trip.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Grants are not awarded for undergraduate or graduate degree studies.

For more information, visit Foundation for Economic Education.