Guidelines for application

Guidelines for application

Please read the guidelines for application before applying.
The link to the grant application system is at the bottom of the page.

Note! Live Q&A sessions for applicants to TIA 2022 spring call on Mondays 11:00-12:00 am from 7 to 21 March 2022. Please, find more information here.

Who can apply for funding?

Funding will be awarded to the academic party, i.e. a university or a research institute, which in turn will employ the postdoc researcher. Tandem funding requires the active commitment and involvement of the industrial partner in defining the research question, in project execution and in shared supervision of the postdoc.

Who is the applicant?

The application is completed by the project’s Principal Investigator (PI) or by a delegate authorized by the PI. The PI is a senior-level researcher supervising the funded postdoc at the academic host organization. The PI shall be primarily in the employ of the academic organization for the duration of the project, not in the employ of the Industrial Partner, for example.

The postdoc researcher does not necessarily have to be identified at the funding application stage; the postdoc hired with the funds may also be appointed after the application review process.

What outcomes are expected?

The project should be conducted by a postdoc employed by the academic party. However, the project plan should clearly indicate the impacts of the collaboration for both parties and beyond. The project is expected to produce high-class scientific publications and scientific knowledge and/or intellectual property with high-impact future innovation potential.

For what period is project funding provided?

Projects are funded for a total period of 24 months. Postdocs are expected to divide their time equally between the academic and industrial partner. Note that these 12-month periods can be flexibly allocated depending on the project plan.

What is expected from the industrial partner?

The industrial partner is a Finnish company. The industrial partner is expected to provide working facilities and infrastructure for the postdoc for a 12-month stay. The industrial host will also provide supervision for the postdoc researcher throughout the project. The funding is intended for companies that are going concerns and that have at least one full-time employee.

In the application form, we ask the industrial partner to provide basic information about the industrial host (company) and the supervisor (a short cv is needed as an attachment). In addition, we ask the representative of the industrial host to describe the in-kind contribution to the project and project’s anticipated impact for the company.

What costs are covered and who gets the funding?

Academic partner

Funding for the 24-month project will be awarded to the academic host represented by the PI, who will be the postdoc researcher’s academic supervisor. The postdoc will be employed by the academic host. Full costs including overheads in accordance with full cost model will be covered for the 12-month period that the postdoc spends in the academic environment. For the other 12 months spent at the industrial host, only the postdoc’s salary and other personnel costs are funded.

Industrial host

The postdoc will work for a total of 12 months with the industrial host. During this time the industrial host will provide the necessary working facilities and infrastructure. The postdoc’s salary and other personnel costs are funded. The project plan should include the industrial partner’s in-kind budget and a description of in-kind contributions.

Example of two-year project costs

1st year in academic organization (12 months)

• overheads in accordance with full cost model
• salary and indirect employee costs
• travel costs
• materials costs

2nd year in business partner’s organization (12 months)

• salary and indirect employee costs
• other expenses (e.g. publications)

How to make an application:

1. Funding (24-month grant) for a postdoc researcher (less than 10 years since doctorate, unless special circumstances apply: maternity, paternity, parental or childcare leave, military or non-military service, or long-term illness).
2. Applications shall be completed via the FRIF online grant system by the PI in their capacity as representative of the research organization, or by a delegate authorized by the PI.
3. It’s not necessary to name the postdoc researcher at the application stage.
4. The research project is a joint venture between the academic and the industrial partner, bringing benefits to both sides.
5. The academic partner (including the postdoc researcher, if known) and the industrial partner jointly prepare and attach to the application a project plan and an assessment of the project’s anticipated impact.
6. The application process is started by the PI. Once the academic partner’s information has been completed and submitted, the industrial partner will receive an invitation to complete their own section via email. The industrial partner will have a further seven days to provide the required information after the application deadline.
7. The application can be reviewed and revised within 24 hours after submission to FRIF, even after the deadline. If you want to complement or make changes to the application or its attachments after that, please contact FRIF without delay. The additional information will be taken into account if timetable permits.
8. When both sections have been completed, the application will be forwarded for processing by FRIF and outside review. All applications will be reviewed by outside experts of scientific and industrial impact.
9. The Board of the Finnish Research Impact Foundation will make its funding decisions based on the reviews and inform applicants of its decisions.
10. The first projects will start up in autumn 2022.

The project plan and assessment of impact 

The project plan (max 10 pages with references, use PDF as file format) should include the following information in the indicated order:

1. Title of proposal
2. Objectives and ambition (clearly describe the benefits to both the academic and industrial partners)
3. Concept and methodology
4. Implementation: project work plan with deliverables and milestones
5. List of participants and their relevant merits
6. Ethics and security: Does the project require a permit from the research site and/or an ethics committee?
7. Publication and communication of the results

See instructions for writing an impact assessment here →

Attachments to application

• Commitment letter by academic host organization (free form)
• Short CV of PI (max 2 pages, see attached instructions for a CV template in Finnish or in English)
• Publication list of PI (10 most important publications relevant to the research plan)
• Documentation of post doc researchers’s (if known) special circumstances, if needed: maternity, paternity, parental or childcare leave, military or non-military service, or long-term illness
• Permission from faculty for postdocs (if known) who have not yet defended their thesis but who have received permission to defend
• Short CV of the funded post doc (if known) (max 2 pages, see attached instructions for a CV template in Finnish or in English)
• Publication list of the funded postdoc (if known) (5 most important publications relevant to the research plan)
• Project plan (max 10 pages, see instructions above for preparing a project plan)
• Impact assessment (max 3 pages, see guidelines here)
• Industrial supervisor’s a short cv (free form, max 2 pages. This attachment will be attached to the Industrial Partner’s form)

All attachment files should be in PDF format.

How to apply?

The application is completed and submitted online. You can access the application form at the bottom of the page. You will first need to register on the online application system. The application should be submitted by the project’s PI during the application period. No paper copies are accepted.

When will the applicants be informed of the decisions?

Tandem Industry Academy call’s funding decisions will be published on August 2022. All applicants will be informed of the Foundation’s decision by email.

When can projects be started?

The earliest start date for projects is in the fall of 2022.

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