Liikesivistysrahasto > Grants > General application instructions

Submitting a grant application

Application criteria and guidelines

General information

A grant application is submitted in the electronic grant system during the application period June 1 ─ August 15, 2023. The applicant must first sign up as a user of the system. 

One of the following uses will be selected for the applied grant:

  • Thesis
  • Postdoctoral research
  • Research group
  • Conference
  • Research visit or other trip in conjunction with academic studies
  • Organizing a conference or a seminar
  • Degree abroad
  • Preparation of teaching materials
  • Other intended use, please specify

Previously awarded grants or grant applications submitted to other funds but currently pending must be mentioned in the application.

The application and the necessary attachments are submitted electronically only. The application cannot be edited after it has been sent, so check the application carefully before submitting it in the application system. The application system closes at the end of the application period on August 15, 2023 at 24 p.m. (+ 3 UTC).

Supervisor’s statement

It is important to get a statement from the supervising professor especially when applying for a grant for doctoral research. The supervisor must submit his/her statement no later than August 31, 2023 in the electronic reference system. The statement may be in Finnish or in English.

Focus area of the application

It is possible for the applicant to choose for his project one of the focus areas of the 2023 grant round. The applicant may also name his/her own emphasis. The focus area is a voluntary option that is registered according to the applicant’s choice.

Attachments to the application form

Please add in the numbered order attachments 1─3, or, depending on your application attachments 1─4. The attachments must be attached to the application in the numbered order so that adequate handling of the application can be ensured. The number of the attachment is limited to four (4).

  1. One-page (A4) project presentation*
  2. Research and funding plan (maximum length of 3–5 pages; 5–8 pages in case of three-year research group)
  3. CV(s) (the CVs of the person in charge and group members as a single file; a community or joint project/network: the CV of the person in charge of the project)
  4. Depending on the application, one of the following:
    – a one-page intermediate report when applying for a continuation grant in a project previously supported by the Foundation for Economic Education
    – a notice of approval or an invitation by the organizer in charge for conferences and other trips if taking place already in 2023 (as of October 1)
    – a work certificate or educational diploma if considered especially relevant for the project (neither Master’s nor Doctoral degree certificates are attached).

*A project presentation summarizes for the reader a description of the research object or topic, pursued results and their significance for one’s own research field, the benefits of the project for business (especially in Finland) and other societal relevance, and the project’s cost estimate and finance.

LENGTH OF A GRANT PERIOD 

A personal grant may be applied for a period of 4, 6, 9 or 12 months of working. Grants can also be applied for projects of less than 4 months. In particular, Doctoral and Post Doc researchers may apply for a grant for one conference or for one other study trip. In a research groups, the parts of work of members may be of a maximum duration of 36 months.

AMOUNTS OF GRANTS OPEN FOR APPLICATION

In the 2023 grant round of the Foundation for Economic Education, the applied sums for 12 months full-time research are:

  • Thesis: EUR 26,000
  • Postdoctoral research: EUR 30,000
    Additionally, doctoral students and post doc researchers may apply for a grant for one conference or for one trip via a separate application.
  • Three-year research group grant: EUR 150,000─300,000  (EUR 50,000─150,000 / year). The application is submitted by the Principal Investigator, cf. application guidelines for the research groups.

Working grants include statutory Myel insurance and other related expenses. Other expenses are specified in the form and in the research and financing plan. In addition to the intended use, the amount of the grant to be awarded is affected by e.g. length of the period applied for, possible leave of absence from work or study, and other sources of funding indicated in the project’s financing plan.

OTHER APPLICATION CRITERIA
  • In accordance with the criteria set out in the rules of the special funds of the Foundation for Economic Education, the application may be addressed to a special fund, or to pooled funds formed from them, cf. application guidelines for the special funds.
  • The research group’s project plan may include material acquisitions for the group (e.g. statistics, analyzes of market/industry development). In other grants, the acquisition of material is typically part of one’s own work (qualitative methods).
  • If a grant application is submitted for a project for which the Foundation for Economic Education has already awarded a grant during the previous round, an intermediate report of the project must be submitted as an attachment to the application. 
VIRTUAL CONFERENCES

A partly or completely virtually organized conference trip is an eligible target for a grant application. For the purpose of organizing a conference or seminar, we seek to favor the organization of a traditional conference, but virtual or hybrid organization (participation both physically and via the network) may be necessary based on the application’s justification. One application with implementation options is enough.

PROCESSING OF GRANT APPLICATIONS AND DECISIONS

The assessment of the applications by the scientific experts and by the regional committees of the Foundation for Economic Education is performed in stages during the autumn of the application year. The Foundation for Economic Education’s board decides on the grants in November on the basis of a motion drafted by the grant committee, after which a list of the grants is published on the Foundation’s website before the end of the month. A press release on the grants awarded will also be sent to the biggest regional newspapers. Recipients will be sent of approval. The Foundation for Economic Education does not justify individual grant decisions.

THE BLOG

It is important to inform a wider audience too on what is accomplished with the grants awarded by the Foundation for Economic Education. A researcher shall, upon request, write about his/her project in the blog of the Foundation for Economic Education. The blog adds to the awareness and to the visibility of the project in the wide network of business and economics. The writers are asked to provide a short presentation of themselves and of their research as well as their photograph with their first blog entry. Appropriate illustrations may be included in the blog at other times too by sending them with a text.

Contact address and additional information: apurahat(at)lsr.fi

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