Foundation’s grants
The Foundation primarily awards grants for university post-degree studies and for young research fellows in the fields of economics and technical sciences. We also provide financial support for education and the creation, assembly and publication of research and data within business and engineering. On this page we tell more about our grants, applications and how to use the grant.
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Grants to be awarded
We award grants both independently and in collaboration with other foundations. You can find out more about programs, awards and joint grants funded here.
The application period for foundation’s research grants is open next time in January 2025.
The following grants are available in our general call for applications:
- Working grants for 3, 6 or 12 months of full-time research for doctoral candidates and young postdoctoral researchers: € 6,000, € 13,000, or € 26,000. For postdoc researchers 12 month grant is € 28,000. Not more than five years may have passed since the doctoral dissertation.
- Grants for research costs. The grant is not granted for Open Access publications. The grant is up to EUR 5,000.
Travel grants are no longer available in general grant’s call. All travel grants are awarded through Tutkijat maailmalle -program, which will be open for applications later in the spring.
Restrictions
Grants are not awarded for research in medical sciences or law. The Foundation does not support basic higher education degree studies or continuing education such as MBA studies. (The Foreign Trade Special Fund’s rules restrict their travel grants to Aalto University School of Business students.)
How to apply
Applying for our grants happens through KAUTE’s grant service, which is open during the application period. Find instructions on how to apply for joint grants and programs here.
Before applying make sure that you fit the criteria for the grant call and please read through the frequently asked questions.For more information about the grants, please contact Executive Director Tuomas Olkku (040 901 5304, tuomas.olkku@kaute.fi). You can read the privacy statement of the application system here.
Requirements and criteria
Grants can be awarded to Finnish citizens, communities or workgroups. International scholars that have established strong ties with Finnish universities are also eligible. Applicants are usually required to have a business or engineering degree or experience from these fields. The grant amount depends on its purpose and the total yearly amount of awarded grants.
The signatory of the grant application is responsible for providing correct information in the application and its appendices. Incorrect and untruthful information may lead to the cancellation of an awarded grant or to a recovery claim for money already awarded.
Notifications related to the grant will be sent to the signatory at the email address provided in the grant application. The signatory must on their own initiative notify the Foundation about any change to their contact information during the grant usage period. Application appendices must be provided to the Foundation as PDF files through the grant service. Statements must be added through a link provided by the application system. Statements have to be provided within 7 days of the end of application period.
The following criteria will be used to evaluate the applications:
- Applicant ability
Assessment of applicant ability takes into account the applicant’s former achievements in research or elsewhere. Applicants are expected to show passion for their own research and that they have, or aim to have, international networks. Grant decisions will also take into account the applicant’s overall funding situation.
- Scientific ambition of the research
The research subject is new and relates to recent scientific conversation. Multidisciplinary approaches or research methods are also considered a merit.
- Relevance of research to Finnish society and business life
It is important to discuss the practical relevance of the research. Where possible, the applicants should describe how their research and its results could be utilized in education or in business.
From 2024 to 2026, our strategic themes are: supporting development through digitalization, accelerating the sustainability transition and a diverse and just future. The Foundation particularly welcomes applications from researchers whose work is in some way related to the above themes. Read more about the themes.
We value researchers’ interest in interacting with the Finnish society at large and spreading the word about their research results. We hope that grant recipients would also write accessible articles and blogs, or for example Tweet about their research. We will provide grant recipients with communications training for creating video material, among other things.
Instructions to the grant receiver
Congratulations for the grant! Here you can find instructions for accessing and using grant funds, reporting and communication.
Accessing grant funds
Accessing the grant funds requires filling out a payment request in KAUTE’s grant service. The grant is paid to the applicant’s bank account in Finland. Grants awarded to workgroups or research teams are not paid to personal accounts – the signatory of the grant application must agree on a grant payment process with the institution where the research takes place.
Grants are paid out four times a year. Payment dates are March 22nd, June 22nd, September 22nd and December 22nd. Payment requests must be filed a minimum of three days earlier. Grants totalling at least 6,000 euros can be accessed in multiple instalments (minimum instalment 3,000 euros).
Using the grant and grant expiration
The grant application signatory is responsible for the grant being used in the manner stated in the application. If the grant project is delayed, its content changes, or the project team undergoes changes while work is in progress, the grant application signatory must immediately inform the Foundation and seek the Foundation’s approval to continue using the grant.
If a payment plan / agreement form for a grant has not been delivered within six months of the grant being awarded, the grant will expire, unless otherwise agreed with the Foundation. If the grant is not accessed within two years of it being awarded, it will expire.
Communication
We value the willingness of grant recipients to share their research findings and provide opportunities for grant recipients to present their research, as well as training to support research communication. Grant recipients can communicate about their projects on the Foundation’s website in the form of blog posts. We also regularly feature the researchers we support in articles published on the website. We encourage grant recipients to share their research findings on their personal social media accounts, blogs and other communication channels as well. Publications based on research supported by KAUTE must include mention of the research funder. Presentations concerning research or a project may also use the Foundation’s logo. Download the logo here.
Reporting
Once the grant project has been implemented, the grant recipient must provide a free-form final report on the use of the grant. The report must describe the project’s results and usefulness, how the grant has been used and how it has contributed to the completion of the work. The report must be accompanied by a popular summary of the project, which can be published on the Foundation’s channels if necessary. The report is submitted through the grant system.
For longer projects, interim reporting is performed annually during the grant period. The first reporting must be made by the end of the year in which the grant has started.
If the grant has been awarded for a dissertation or licentiate thesis, or research or publication work, we hope that a research report or publication will be submitted to the Foundation after the completion of the work.
A brief description or a travel report of the travel grants must be provided at the end of the trip. The report must be accompanied by a popular summary, which can be published on the Foundation’s channels if necessary.
Taxation and pension
The Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution, Mela, manages the social security of the grant recipients with regard to pension, accident and group life insurance. Statutory insurance premiums are approximately 15–20% of the amount of a working grant.
We inform Mela of working grants awarded to a natural person or working group for a period of at least four months and a grant amount exceeding the minimum insurance limit (4 288 euros in 2023). Recipients of such grants must contact Mela themselves to arrange insurance. Mela reports pension insurance paid by the grant recipient straight to the tax authority. Receipts for paid insurance are not to be sent to the Foundation.
The grant recipient is required to notify Mela of any changes. Before making any schedule changes to the project, we recommend asking Mela about how the changes will affect insurance coverage and especially the length of the insurance period.
Grants awarded for scientific research are tax-free up to the amount of euros corresponding to the annual state artist grant (25 838,76 € in 2024). The Foundation sends information about the grants collected to the tax authority. The grant recipient must declare the grant in their tax return and tax will be paid for the excess of the tax-free grant. The deductibility of other expenses, such as pension insurance premiums, professional literature and travel expenses, can be inquired from the tax authority.
If the grant is used to hire auxiliary labour, the grant recipient is required to take care of withholding tax and other statutory obligations of the employer.
More information about insuring:
https://www.mela.fi/en/grant-and-scholarship-recipients/
Previous grants
Frequently asked questions
Is it possible to also apply for grants to support teaching?
Yes.
One of my referrers has not received an email invitation to leave a referral in your system. How do we proceed?
Ask them to check their email’s junk mail filter. If the message cannot be found, they can also send a scanned copy of the referral to info@kaute.fi.
Do the required referrals also have to arrive by the end of the application period, or can they be sent in separately afterwards?
The referral has one week from the end of the application period to send in the referral.
Can the thesis supervisor send a referral related to my grant application directly to KAUTE Foundation?
Yes – preferably so, that you add their contact information (email) in the section where it is requested. The program will send a referral request and web link to the referrer. The referrer has one week to send in the referral. If this is not doable, the referrer can also send a scanned PDF file to info@kaute.fi.
What is a project plan?
A project plan means a summary that describes the relevance of the project, the planned use for the grant and how the project will be implemented. A project plan differs from a research plan in that a research plan does not always consider the broad benefits of the research, but may be a purely academic description of the content of the research. The most important thing in a project plan is to motivate the benefits and relevance of the work or research visit.
Will you accept the application in Finnish and appendices in English, or applications that are completely in English?
Applications and/or appendices in English are fine.
Do the special funds also award working grants (12 months)?
Funds decide on grant recipients and grant sizes. Applicants do not need to take this into account – the Foundation will forward applications to the most suitable funds.
Are special fund grants applied for using the same forms as the general grants? Where should I mention a special fund in the form?
Applicants do not need to take this into account – the Foundation will forward applications to the most suitable funds.