Guidelines for grants awarded by the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters

Adopted at the Society’s meeting on December 21, 2020

At the beginning of each year, the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letter awards grants for research and research-related purposes in response to applications. Grant applications are submitted electronically following the instructions provided on the Society’s website. The applications are to be submitted by 31 January.

Grants are awarded for

1) PhD studies for the completion of theses. The grant is awarded for full-time research as a personal grant exempt from income tax.

2) Researchers or research teams for scientifical projects. The grant can also be used for e.g. recruitment of assistant staff, performance of field work or collection of empirical data. The grant constitutes taxable income to the extent that it is used for the payment of wages and salaries. As a rule, fund transfers are handled by a university or equivalent institution. Grants of EUR 10 000 or more are always disbursed to such an institution. The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters can for specific reasons fund research projects directly.

3) Travel grants for specific research or conference trips.

Grants can be awarded to members of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters or other researchers. When a non-member applies for a grant, it must be endorsed by a member who serves as a co-guarantor for the application and the performance of the foreseen work. This means that the member is required not only to endorse the application by approving it in writing, but also monitor the project and approve the project report. Applications that lack a guarantor are not processed.

Members are given priority over non-members in the award of travel grants. The key criteria in awarding grants to researchers or research teams are scientific standard and relevance. When similar projects compete over funding, applications filed by members are given precedence.

Travel grants can also be awarded during the year in response to an application filed by a member.

Grant applications are processed by grant committees appointed for each section. Additionally, there is a specific committee for the Sohlberg delegation. The grant committees prepare proposals concerning the amount and timeframe of the grants.

The board decides on the award of the grants in accordance with the adopted budget based on the grant committees’ proposals. Travel grants applied for during the year are not processed by any grant committee; instead, the board makes the decisions directly.

Persons receiving grants must submit a report on the use of the grant funds as soon as possible after completion of the work, or at least once a year no later than 31 May. The report is reviewed by the permanent secretary and treasurer and is subject to approval by the board.