Co-Creation funding can be applied for when:

A research organization and company want to develop a new idea and its potential together

• The purpose is to assemble a joint project with great potential around the idea and to build international cooperation and an international network.

A research organization wants to build a new consortium and competence network required for its activities and engage companies in joint development

• In a co-creation project, research organizations define a research problem and a path to resolve it with companies, prepare a project plan to attract companies, and build a new business network and international cooperation.
• During the project, companies also prepare their own R&D project.

• To demonstrate the relevance of the new research idea and the genuine demand for it, and to develop the idea further
• To build the business network and international network required for conducting the research and developing the innovations
• For other activities related to the feasibility of the idea

Co-Creation funding is not available for the preparation of joint projects related to leading companies (veturi in Finnish). New joint projects in leading companies’ ecosystem themes will be planned in existing platforms and forums.

Consider the following

• If a company exercises major control over a research organization as a shareholder or member, for example, the company cannot have any pre-emptive right to the research organization's results.
• If a research organization is engaged in financial activities, any profit must be re-invested in research, education or publication activities in accordance with the organization's main goal.

Read more about the funding terms and conditions

Only the project's final report needs to be submitted to Business Finland. We do not require an auditor's report. Business Finland's general terms and conditions of funding for public research apply to the projects.

Funding terms and conditions

Co-Creation funding can be applied for at all times. Send your application and attachments via our online service. You can also keep track of the processing of your application in the online service.

Go to the online service

Set goals for your project

In your application, define the preliminary problem and how it can be solved. The potential of the research idea must be high, and it must have broad applicability. When you apply for funding for a Co-Creation project, Business Finland's specialists will evaluate your application. During the evaluation, we will focus specifically on the following:

Impact of the project

• The novelty value of the idea on an international scale
• The impact of the planned joint project on the international business of companies
• The impact of the planned joint project on the research organization's capabilities
• In particular, we want to get new companies and groups of companies involved

Quality of the plan

• Actions for demonstrating the business potential and the need for research
• Actions for engaging companies and preparing a joint research plan
• A potential pool of companies has been identified, and some key companies' initial interest in participating in the Co-Creation project has been surveyed

Promoting the goals of Business Finland's programs

APPENDIX 1: Brief project plan

Attach a brief project plan of at most five pages with your application, including the following:

1. What is the significant problem that the research idea aims to solve, and what is its economic and social significance?

• What is the internationally recognized problem that the research idea aims to solve?
• Which industries/businesses are affected by the problem?
• What is its significance to economics, society, and sustainability?
• What is the radical/significant research idea that enables cutting-edge international public research on the problem?
• What international public research has been carried out or is underway in relation to this research idea, and how does your proposal stand out?
• What are the preliminary research questions of a possible Co-Innovation project?
• What is the role of a possible Co-Innovation project in solving these issues?
• What kind of preliminary objectives would you set for the Co-Innovation project?

2. Describe your desired cooperation network and the roles of its different actors (companies, research organizations, other actors). International cooperation partners?

• Describe the cooperation network that the project seeks to build and the parties that would form the network.
• What would the potential roles of the participants in the network be? (e.g., a company's own R&D project, a company financing a public research project, an in-kind investment)
• Who has already been contacted and who intend to join the project? Which parties will be contacted during the Co-Creation project?
• International cooperation plans for a possible Co-Innovation phase?

3. What kind of new international business opportunities could the project bring?

• How would the Co-Innovation project promote the growth and renewal of the international business of Finnish companies (qualitatively and in euros)?

4. Describe the public research Co-Creation project's

• Objectives (concrete and measurable)
• Implementation and schedule (work packages: who will do what and when, roles)
• Resources and project costs (services purchased, specify from whom and what)

APPENDIX 2: Notification of participation in a project

Yritysten ilmoitus projektiin osallistumisesta – Notification of participation in a project (docx)

Eligible costs

We only accept costs that are associated with the implementation of the project. These costs include:

• salaries and wages
• indirect personnel costs amount to 50% of the company's expenditure on salaries
• overhead is 20% of the company's expenditure on salaries and indirect personnel costs
• travel expenses
• costs of materials and supplies
• purchased services necessary for the implementation of the project

The following costs cannot be accepted as project costs

• research work
• unrequited expenses, such as grants, donations, awards
• costs of financial activities
• representation expenses (excluding meeting expenses for project negotiations)
• advertising or marketing costs
• equipment costs