Frequently Asked Questions

Who can apply for a grant?

Grants can be applied for by individuals, research groups and communities. The previous education of the grant recipient may also be from a non-business field and represent new cross-disciplinary perspectives. Grants from the Business Education Fund are mostly work grants for dissertation research and post-dissertation (post doc) research. Grants are awarded to researchers and research groups affiliated to Finnish universities and educational institutions, as well as to Finnish communities.

Special Funds may also award grants to specific groups of applicants in accordance with their rules, cf. more here.

I received a grant, but I was offered a temporary job. How's my scholarship going?

No worries. Contact us at: apurahat@lsr.fi and tell us about your situation. 
Grants may be delayed. As stated in the Grant Letter, you must start raising your grant within three years of the grant date. 
Similarly, if you have already begun raising, we may suspend your grant. 
Your scholarship is waiting and you can continue to raise when your fixed term finishes. Congratulations on your job!

I want to apply for a travel grant for a conference that is already in October. Is this possible and when will I get a decision?

You can apply for a grant for your trip. However, please note that travel grants are awarded at the same date as the working grants, in November. So, for you, the decision comes only afterwards, and it can also be negative.

Why didn't I get a grant?

LSR does not justify negative decisions. In most cases, however, a grant application is rejected on the basis of an overly general application or an incorrect application. Therefore, be careful when filling out the application and read the instructions before you begin.

Is ”with this form you commit” section in the grant payment request also the commitment form, or do you have a separate form that should be completed?

We don’t have a separate commitment form, so the commitment in your payment request is enough.

How much salaried work am I allowed to do along the grant? Do you have indicative percentages of your total working time?

The grant application form has more questions about paid employment during the grant application period. Bracketing is less than 15 h / week, 15─30 h / week and more than 30 h / week. In addition, the questions relate to the purposes of paid employment and scholarship, and the costs of scholarship work. If your employment situation changes during the grant application period, contact the Fund’s office: apurahat@lsr.fi

How are common costs and additional staff salary declared and paid?

The group’s common costs are different from those included in the work grants, such as literature and materials, and conference travel and enrollment costs. The budget breakdown of the application form shows the research fellowships and their costs and the group’s common costs. There is no overhead or university reimbursement for the institution’s participation in the project. Particularly for the 3-year research groups, the relevant common costs of the group may be:

– additional staff costs
– travel expenses
– tools and equipment
– materials and services
– project management

The study group’s application is the responsibility of the group leader (Principal Investigator), who will also be responsible for the possible distribution of the grant among the group members after the award decision. When hiring an auxiliary work, you must follow the tax authorities’ instructions and use eg. palkka.fi website.

Can I start a grant period as soon as I receive information about the grant?

As a rule, the grant is intended for work in the following year. That is, when you apply for a grant in the 2022 application round, you apply for a project in 2023. The grant is awarded for max. one year at a time (with the exception of three-year research groups).

Is it possible to raise a grant while doing paid work?

The grants from the Foundation for Economical Education are generally for full-time work, but paid employment is not in itself an obstacle to receiving a grant. Grants are awarded upon application, and the application criteria in the form includes all needed information.

Also, read the answer to the question on this page, “How Much Work Can You Do With a Scholarship?”

I'm studying for a MSc degree, can I apply for a grant?

Master’s degrees are counted as first degrees, and we do not provide grants for first degrees.

Can I appeal against a negative grant decision?

No, you cannot.

Can I apply for a grant for a research focusing on other than this year's themes?

You can also suggest your own theme. Look at the section 
"Focus area" in the application form and select "No focus area / 
Other, specify". 
For more information on focus areas, visit the Grants section
 of our website, as well as our news page and blogs.

 

If I apply for a study grant in addition to a conference grant, do you also want a project brochure and research and funding plan attached?

Yes. If you are applying for a fellowship or postdoctoral fellowship separately in addition to a work grant, the research and funding plan attached may also be the same as the work grant supplement. It can be updated to highlight the importance and benefits of this conference trip for your research, but most effectively they will be featured in a one-page project brochure (referring to the research project for the entire project). Also from the point of view of evaluation, the research plan attached is a good thing. A one-page project brochure (A4) is the first attachment and, in addition to the above, will usually include an abstract of the presentation, or an abstract of it, and a summary of the conference travel budget.

How do I apply for a grant?

Grants are always applied for in the electronic system. Create a username for yourself and save it. You will need the same information to raise your grant if you are awarded one. Before applying, be sure to read the instructions carefully!

What does "researchers affiliated in one and the same organization" mean as an application criterion?

According to the criterion, consortia applications will not be considered in the grant round. The Principal Investigator (PI) as the person responsible for the application represents the host organization of the project. The researchers may also come from more than one organization, but they must be clearly part of the PI’s research team. The research and funding plan is essential information on the members’ affiliations.

See also the answers to the questions on this page:

“Are the group grants personal to the research group members?”

“How are common costs and additional staff salary declared and paid?”

IF I CHOOSE ONE OF THE POOLED FUNDS ON THE APPLICATION FORM, WILL THE APPLICATION BE CONSIDERED IN THE GENERAL FUND?

Potential eligibility for funding in a pooled fund is considered not in an exclusive manner. Most JEL codes appear in both the pool and the general call. The JEL codes that are only valid for pooled funds are indicative on the part of the applicant, but they do not limit the assessment of the application based on the fund’s general criteria, as mentioned in the guidelines for the pooled funds:

Special fund applications 2020

Is the designation of PI also an application criterion for a one-year project?

PI (Principal Investigator) is not an essential application criterion for a one-year project. The designation of PI is in particular a criterion for a three-year project in which PI leads the project. Only costs are possible PI grant allocations. It is also possible to nominate a PI for a one-year project, but more typically the person responsible for the project and application will also work on the grant (excluding working group target grants).

Also check out Mela’s instructions for the group leader.