On this page, you will find answers to grant applicants' frequently asked questions.

Content

Grant guidance

Grant period

Sending the application and attachments

Can I apply?

References

Background information

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Grant guidance

Is it possible to come and present my project and discuss my application with you in person?

Advice on applying for a grant is generally given by telephone or through email. (09 612 810, switch). Contacting the Cultural Foundation will have no effect on the evaluation of applications.

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Grant period

Can a grant be applied for retrospectively?

The grant-funded work can begin only after a grant decision has been made. Expenditure grants are likewise intended to cover expenses that are incurred after the grant decision has been made.

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Sending the application and attachments

Can I send attachments to my application or complete my application after the application period has ended?

Attachments and applications must be submitted during the application period, not after it has ended. Once the application period has ended, only doctoral diplomas, permissions for public defence of dissertation, and rights to complete graduate degrees are accepted in the Online Application Service (by the end of January in the Central Fund October round of applications; in the January round of applications, the deadline must be checked from the regional fund in question). Other attachments cannot be submitted afterwards.

I was able to secure funding from another source (e.g. a grant from another foundation, position of a salaried doctoral candidate). How should I report this?

Securing funding from another source should be reported in the Online Application Service. The same service should also be used to cancel the processing of the application, if the project has been fully funded or you have sufficient time to apply for a grant from the Cultural Foundation at a later application round.

I have received an informal signed reference directly from the referee as a PDF file. How should I send it to you?

Scan and attach the reference to your online application within the application period. If you have submitted your online application already, you may cancel it, attach the reference and resubmit the application. After the deadline, it is no longer possible to submit a reference.

Can I apply?

I will graduate with a doctoral degree after the application period ends. Can I nevertheless apply for a higher grant for a postdoctoral research?

You can apply for a supplemented grant if you attach a permission to defend your dissertation to your application within the application period or after it before the deadline (by the end of January in the October round of applications; in the January round of applications, the deadline must be checked from the regional fund in question). If the application is missing an attachment when the grant decision is made, the grant may be awarded conditionally. In this case, the attachment must be submitted in the Online Services for Grantees before the use of the grant may begin.

I will be notified on my right to study after the application period ends. Can I nevertheless apply for a doctoral theses grant?

Explain your situation in your application and notify the Cultural Foundation of your status through the Online application service as soon as it is confirmed (by the end of January in the Central Fund October round of applications; in the January round of applications, the deadline must be checked from the regional fund in question). If the application is missing an attachment when the grant decision is made, the grant may be awarded conditionally. In this case, the attachment must be submitted in the Online Services for Grantees before the use of the grant may begin. You need your dissertation supervisor’s reference on your academic success or your research plan to support your application. It must be submitted during the application period.

I submitted an application to the October Round of Applications. Can I still apply for a grant from the January Round of Applications despite that?

The grant decisions of the October Round of Applications are announced to applicants about one week before the deadline for the January Round of Applications. You can prepare a grant application to the January Round beforehand and submit it in case funding cannot be secured by a grant from the the October Round.

To which regional fund should I submit my application? My hometown is Pori, I live in Kuopio and I am undertaking my doctoral dissertation work in the University of Lapland.

A regional fund application asks how the applicant and project are linked to the region, but there are slight differences in emphases. We hope that you will apply for a grant for the same project from one regional fund only. Familiarise yourself with the respective policies of the regional funds found on their homepages and, if necessary, contact alternate regional funds to pick the right fund.

Can I submit the same application to more than one regional fund?

You may apply for funding with separate applications from more than one regional fund, if the project will be implemented in the area of more than one regional fund. In your budget, itemise the portion of each regional fund and apply from the regional fund in question for their respective portion only. In other cases, it is advisable to select a single regional fund from which to apply for a grant or, due to the possible national nature of the project, to apply for a grant from the Central Fund.

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References

If the name of the referee is not given in the application, will the online reference be linked to the application?

If your referee uses a reference number, the reference will be automatically linked to your application. Otherwise, the reference will be linked to the application on the basis of your name. If you are applying for a grant as a member of a working group or a research team, but are not the person responsible of writing the application, make sure to tell the referee the name of the person responsible in addition to the reference ID number.

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Background information

Why do we require background information from the applicants?

For background information, the Cultural Foundation will ask for the applicant's gender, nationality, and place of residence and birth. This background information is necessary so as to establish donor funds for the grants, due to some donor funds having strict rules regarding the grantee’s age, nationality, sex, or place of residence. These factors do not affect the expert evaluation of the project.

The background information is used for statistical purposes, as the Cultural Foundation monitors the division of grants to make sure that the processing is unbiased. The background information is combined into a large, anonymous statistical data set, from which individual applicants cannot be identified.

Why do we ask for personal identity numbers?

Submitting your personal identification number already in the application phase will speed up the process, if a grant is awarded. The grant and related documents will appear in the Online Services for Grantees. If your personal identification number is missing, your grant will not be displayed in the Online Services and you may not submit any payment proposals regarding it. We also need your personal identification number for the annual declaration to the tax authorities as well as for the notification to Mela (The Farmers' Social Insurance Institution).

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This page was last updated on June 15, 2023.