Foundation for Economic Education

The Foundation for Economic Education (Liikesivistysrahasto, LSR) is a fund founded by Finnish businessmen in 191. The fund was created to promote the growth of the business and well-being of the independent Finnish nation. For more than a hundred years, the Foundation for Economic Education has influenced the development of Finnish society by supporting economic research and education with grants. Our nationwide grant distribution also increases expertise serving practical business.

The Foundation for Economic Education is managed and its funds are primarily used for purposes promoting higher economic education by the supporters’ association Liikesivistysrahaston Kannatusyhdistys ry. The supporters’ association has approximately 950 individual members, who, based on their membership belong to the regional committees of the Foundation for Economic Education.

We award 4.5–5 million euros in grants annually to researchers at different stages of their career based on applications. Most of the grants are awarded for doctoral thesis and post-doc level research work. The special goal of the three-year grants for research groups is to increase the impact and the sense of community in the research. The grant support also covers conference trips, research visits, conferences and seminars.

A significant part of the grants is allocated to their recipients from the Foundation for Economic Education’s special funds. The funds are often closely related to donations made by Finnish companies, NGOs, and individuals for the benefit of the Finnish business and economy.

We publish information about the granted grants on our website (www.lsr.fi/en). You can read about the research work of our fellows in the researchers’ blog.

Our investment activity is a long-term balancing of return and risk. Most of the profits of funds donated to us are used for grants; the share of other operating expenses is less than 15%.