Innovation and Growth Research is Business Finland’s research call for proposals to tackle global challenges facing the Finnish economy and society. The aim of the Innovation and Growth Research call is to increase the dialogue between policy makers and policy developers, on the one hand, and researchers, on the other. The themes of the funded projects are related to research on innovation activities and growth.
The funding call has three themes (R&D, renewal, and industrial policies), and the aim is to fund at least one project within each theme. The research groups are expected to work closely with the parties that will take advantage of their results.
Questions asked in the 2025 Innovation and Growth Call include:
- How to achieve the 4% target for R&D as a percentage of GDP by 2030? How to ensure the necessary resources while increasing spillovers and leveraging innovations for growth and productivity? What other measures are needed?
- How to renew the Finnish business sector with new business models and strategies? How do solutions from companies of different sizes foster renewal across various sectors and ultimately drive creative destruction?
- Geopolitical shifts impact international competition and business operational and innovation environments. How do new industrial policy choices at the global level affect small open economies such as Finland?
We are looking for idea applications containing research topics for the development of innovation policy and innovation environment.
The project related to the research idea must
- Comply with the themes and objectives of the funding call (See the instructions on the requirements for a call for ideas and evaluation criteria) (pdf)
- have a multidisciplinary vision
- engage in genuine and close international cooperation with top researchers (describe the methods of cooperation)
- build various types of interactive forums (and describe how they can be used), which enable the theme to be addressed in cooperation with companies, researchers, and innovation policy developers and implementers. The interaction is described in the “Utilization Roadmap”. You should also reserve personnel resources for implementing the interaction.
Research call schedule
- The call for ideas will be opened on 10.1.2025.
- Please send your idea application containing a brief description of the research idea, implementation, resources, and utilization (see call attachment, slide 9) by February 10, 2025 at 11:59 pm at the latest to the Business Finland record office with the ID BFRK/1/35/2025.
- The Business Finland evaluation panel scores and ranks the applications, gives applicants feedback on the application and informs the applicant about whether or not to submit an actual funding application
- Based on the idea applications, we will request up to 10 of the research groups to submit an actual application. The final funding applications must be submitted by April 28, 2025 via Business Finland’s online system using the Co-Research form.
- Business Finland's Co-Research funding criteria are applied to the funding.
Co-Research funding
Funding terms and conditions - Attach to the application the forms filled out by the companies participating in the cooperation of the project and possibly other organizations: Notification of participation in project
- Up to 7 projects will be funded in the call.
Research funding volume and who can apply
- Business Finland prepares to finance up to EUR 3,5 million in 2025
- Business Finland’s level of funding is 95% for research organizations (see the definition of a research organization, page 24, paragraph 83).
- The indirect personnel cost and overhead cost multipliers are based on the multipliers previously agreed upon with Business Finland
- Corporate financing not necessary
- The maximum recommended project duration is two years.
