The Finnish Research Impact Foundation
The Finnish Research Impact Foundation works to promote industry-academia cooperation from the vantage-point of academic research interests and considerations. FRIF’s role is to facilitate joint research projects that not only bring commercial success but also strengthen Finnish expertise and research excellence.
The Finnish Research Impact Foundation was created by the Finnish government in 2019.
The organizations represented on the Foundation’s board of directors are Confederation of Finnish Industries (Elinkeinoelämän keskusliitto), Federation of Finnish Enterprises (Suomen Yrittäjät), The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia ry), the Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities (UNIFI ry), and the cooperation body of state research institutions Tulanet.
This is how we promote industry-academia cooperation in practice:
- FRIF invests annually some two million euros to support research collaborations through its Tandem Industry Academia funding programme. The funding is mainly driven by research interests and objectives. The funding criteria are based on academic research considerations, with a view to achieving more effective practical application of research results.
- Projects funded by FRIF provide the opportunity to collect and produce information about research-driven industry cooperation and the conditions for its success.
- FRIF produces insights into the conditions for research-driven industry cooperation and contributes to the public discussion around the subject.
- FRIF facilitates meetings and exchange between Finnish industry and academia.
Board of directors
Sampo Ahonen
Chair of the Board
Partner, Helmet Capital
Maija Urponen
Vice Chair of the Board
Entrepreneur, CEO, Researcher, Kaupunkitutkimus TA Oy
Gyöngyi Kovács
Board Member
Vice Rector, Hanken Svenska handelshögskolan
Anu Kaukovirta
Board Member
Vice President, Unit Director, Natural Resources Institute Finland Luke
Jouko Lampinen
Board Member
Dean, School of Science, Aalto University
Ismo Kauppinen
Board Member
Managing Director, Founder, Gasera Ltd.
Manja Ahola
Board Member
You can contact Board Members by email firstname@vaikuttavuussaatio.fi.
Contact information →
Former board members
Petri Kalliokoski
Board Member 2019-2024
Chair of the Board 2025
Johanna Buchert
Board Member 2019–2025
Anna Mauranen
Board Member 2019–2025
Leena Otsomaa
Board Member 2019–2025
Lauri Oksanen
Chair of the Board 2019–2024
Virpi Muhonen
Board Member 2022–2024
Keijo Hämäläinen
Board Member 2022–2024
Juha Teperi
Board Member 2019–2021
