Research proposal
Progress report for continuation grants
Curriculum vitae
Portfolio
Copies of degrees
References and reference forms

Grants for research in the humanities, social sciences, environmental research, and artistic research

Supporting attachments (research grant applicants)

Project grants for research in the humanities, social sciences, environmental research, and artistic research
Grants for non-fiction publications and translations of non-fiction
Other grants
Continuation grants
Specially allocated grants
Saari Residence grants
Things to remember before sending your application

Who can apply?

Kone Foundation provides funding for researchers of all nationalities working in Finland, and for Finnish nationals doing research abroad.

Only researchers who have completed a Master’s degree are eligible for Kone Foundation academic research grants.

Kone Foundation provides funding for research in the humanities, social sciences, environmental research, and artistic research. Funding is open to research groups as well as individual researchers. Project grants are awarded for projects that involve one or more researchers and have a research leader or supervisor.

Grants for non-fiction publications and translations of non-fiction are intended to support original work and translation in the humanities, the social sciences and the environmental research.

Other Kone Foundation grants are open to applications from professionals in the humanities and culture, either working individually or in or in collectives of some sort.

For what kinds of work can funding be sought?

Kone Foundation provides funding for research towards a doctoral degree, for postdoctoral research, and for research projects, in the humanities, social sciences, environmental research, and artistic research.

Funding is also provided for Finnish non-fiction writing and translations from or into Finnish.

Kone Foundation grants can also be provided for art and cultural projects and other projects that are significant for some aspect of Finnish society or culture.

Filling and sending the application form

Applicants should carefully complete the online application form and send it electronically to Kone Foundation.

When the applicant has sent the completed form, Sent will be displayed on the main page of the online applications service.

NOTE: The completed form must also be printed and posted to the Kone Foundation office along with the required supporting attachments.

Applications from within Finland and all required supporting documentation must be posted by 30 September at the latest. The date of postage marked on the envelope is sufficient evidence that the application has been posted on time. Applications posted from outside Finland must arrive at the Kone Foundation office by or before the application deadline. Envelopes should be marked Apurahahakemus, or Research grant application.

NOTE: We do not accept registered post.

See Contact Information.

Online application service

Applicants must sign in to the online application service. If the applicant has not used the service before, he or she must create a username and password by clicking on Create New Username.

When the applicant visits the site for the first time, she/he must create a new application: press Create New Application. All information entered can be later completed, edited, previewed and printed by choosing the Edit function.

How applications are processed

When the posted version of the application arrives at the Kone Foundation office, it is received and registered by a bar code reader. The same online application information details that were sent electronically are thus transferred to Kone Foundation’s online database.

Applications are sorted at the Kone Foundation office according to application type and discipline. So that each application reaches an expert in the appropriate field for assessment, it is essential that the applicant has selected the correct grant type and discipline.

All applications are handled confidentially. Persons involved in processing and evaluating the applications do not publicly discuss any applicant’s characteristics, personal circumstances or any information relating to any applicant’s economic situation. See also Privacy Protection.

Applications are peer reviewed. The peer reviewers are experts in the field and/or sub-discipline within which founding is being sought, with the necessary experience in assessing applications. The Board of Kone Foundation does not reveal the names of its peer reviewers. See also Criteria for Decisions.

Each year Kone Foundation receives many good applications that meet the required standard. Usually there are more applications of the appropriate quality than it is possible to fund.

During the processing period close attention is given to possible conflicts of interest or of incompetence due to the likelihood of bias. In the event of there being a conflict of interest or likelihood of bias in any individual case, affected peer reviewers and/or Kone Foundation board members will not participate in processing the application in question.

Funding period

Research grants applied for in the autumn are intended to be used from the beginning of the following year at the earliest. Usually Kone Foundation grants must be used up within three years of the date on which they were awarded. See also Use of the Grant and Deferral of Payment in the section headed Instructions for Kone Foundation Grant Recipients.

Research grants are not provided in arrears.

Application period and decisions on the applications

Application period for Kone Foundation grants begins on 1 August and ends on 30 September.

Funding decisions are made by the board of Kone Foundation at its autumn meeting, which is held by the end of November at the latest.

The list of successful applicants will be published on the Kone Foundation website at the latest on the day after the autumn Board meeting; see Decisions. Grants recipients will be sent a letter of notification by post. The names of the grant recipients will be published in the Kone Foundation annual report, too.

Kone Foundation also organizes specially allocated grants, application periods for which may differ from the regular application periods. Application periods are announced in conjunction with the announcements for specially allocated grants. For Saari Residence application periods, see the How to Apply section on the Saari Residence website.

Funding from other sources and other research-related pay

Applicants must list on the application form all grants received during the preceding three years, and any applications that are pending at the time of applying for Kone Foundation funding. Applicants must inform Kone Foundation immediately if he/she/they receive funding from any other source during Kone Foundation’s application and processing period. For projects, applicants must indicate on the application if they have sought funding for the same project from other sources.

If an applicant is granted Kone Foundation research funding without having informed us of successful grant decisions from other sources, the Kone Foundation decision may be repealed.

Kone Foundation grants are usually not granted to applicants who already have research financing  (research grant/salary) secured for the entire coming year.

Research grant applicants must also indicate in their applications all graduate school places they have been granted or for which applications are still pending. They must also inform of any paid work related to the project to be funded.

General information on supporting attachments

All necessary attachments are sent in printed form to the Kone Foundation office along with the printed version of the online application form. Whenever possible, attachments should also be attached to the online application form. Possible file types are doc, rtf and pdf.

The envelope containing the printed version of the completed application form must contain all the required supporting documentation. Applications or supporting materials received after the deadline cannot be taken into account. The exceptions are certificates, and permits for public defence of academic dissertations awarded after the deadline for Kone Foundation grant applications. These should be sent to the Kone Foundation office as soon as possible, no later than 15 November.

The applicant’s likelihood of being to successfully complete the project is assessed based on the curriculum vitae and other supporting attachments that are included with the application.

The precise list of attachments required varies according to grant type, and are indicated below.

• Grants for research in the humanities, social sciences, environmental research, and artistic research
• Project grants for research in the humanities,social sciences, environmental research, and artistic research
• Grants for non-fiction publications and translations of non-fiction
• Other grants

Research proposal

The research proposal included with the application must be for work that falls within the fields covered by Kone Foundation funding. Proposals relating to environmental research must indicate the relevance of the research to environmental problems or challenges. In assessing all research proposals attention is paid to scientific merit, feasibility, topicality and possible original contributions to knowledge.

For doctoral research grant applications, the accompanying research proposal should be no more than three pages long.

The content and structure of research proposals will vary to some extent from one discipline to the next. In general however, the proposal should include the following parts:

• Introduction: The background of the research and its subject matter, and the significance of the proposed research in light of this background.
• Aims, objectives: What is to be studied and why. The objectives must be indicated as clearly as possible, for example through research questions.
• Research materials and methods: The research data or literature and the method chosen for analyzing or handling these materials.
• Work outline: A short estimate of the expected duration of each phase of the project.
• References, sources: There is no need for citations in the research proposal itself, but it is a good idea to include a concise list of the most important materials to be used in the research.

A cost estimate should not be included with the proposal. Applicants for Kone Foundation continuation grants must include an updated research proposal with their application.

Progress report for continuation grants

Those applying for continuation grants must include with their application a short report (max. 2 pages) indicating the state of progress of the research. The report should give a brief account of what has been achieved during the previous Kone Foundation funding period, and the current state of the project.

NOTE: In addition to the progress report, continuation grant applicants must include with their applications an updated research or work proposal.

Curriculum vitae

The purpose of the CV is to provide a concise overview of the research grant applicant’s education and experience. It should include work experience, previous research, previously received grants, publications, presentations and teaching experience; any of these which are of particular relevance to the project for which Kone Foundation funding is sought are especially important to include. A good length for curriculum vitae is between two and four pages.

Portfolio

Grant applications for artistic research funding must include a portfolio, which showcases the artist’s ability in the relevant field and conveys an impression of him or her as an artist. A portfolio thus showcases the applicant’s level of artistic expression, quality of artistic thought, and any other special proficiency that the applicant finds it relevant to mention.

At least part of the portfolio should be sent in printed form, but it could also include a compact disc (CD) or digital videodisc (DVD), for example. Sending a portfolio in electronic form only is not recommended.

Copies of degrees

Applicants must include a copy of their most recent academic degree, or of the degree most relevant to the research project to be funded. There is no need to have the copy stamped by a notary public.

All supporting attachments should be sent with the application before the deadline. The exceptions are certificates, and permits for public defence of academic dissertations awarded after the deadline for Kone Foundation grant applications. These should be sent to the Kone Foundation office as soon as possible, no later than 15 November

References and reference forms

For researchers applying for doctoral research funding, it is essential to include with the application a reference letter from the research supervisor(s) or someone else highly familiar with the applicant’s work. If the same referee provides letters of reference for more than Kone Foundation research grant applicant, it is important that they be ranked in order of merit. Kone Foundation is keen to support postdoctoral research, and for this reason postdoctoral applicants are also strongly recommended to support their application with a letter of reference from an expert who is highly familiar with the applicant’s work. Applicants may include several letters of reference with their application if they wish.

For applications related to research leading to a doctoral degree, the referee(s) should use the appropriate reference letter form from the two types provided. For postdoctoral research and other types of grants, however, referees can submit free-form letters of recommendation if preferred.

The name, degree or profession, and contact information of the referee(s) should be entered on the online application form in the section headed Referee or Referees.

The applicant is responsible for supplying the referee(s) with the appropriate reference letter form. The referee should return the reference letter in a sealed envelope to the applicant, who must ensure that it arrives with the application and all other supporting attachments before 30 September.

NOTE: The method for sending letters of reference changed in 2008. The referee(s) no longer send the letter(s) directly to the Kone Foundation office but instead send them directly to the applicant, who must include them along with all the other supporting attachments.

See Forms.

Grants for research in the humanities, social sciences, environmental research, and artistic research

Foundation provides funding for researchers of all nationalities working in Finland and for Finnish nationals conducting research abroad.

Only researchers who have completed their Master’s degree are eligible for Kone Foundation academic research grants.

Kone Foundation grants are awarded for research in the humanities, social sciences, for environmental research and for artistic research. The grants are generally not intended to support research in the fields of education, psychology, theology, law, economics or communications research.

The applicant should first of all select the correct discipline and sub-discipline from those listed in the drop-down list on the online application form. The applicant should only select the option entitled Other, what? only if none of the options listed adequately covers the area in which he or she is doing the proposed research.

Individual researchers can apply for research grants for a maximum of one year at a time. Kone Foundation awards research grants for a maximum of four years for doctoral research, and for a maximum of two years for post-doctoral research. A fourth year of research funding is intended for final preparations of the PhD thesis, and will be granted only on well-established grounds.

To be eligible for grants researchers must be engaged in full-time research.

The New Research Grant Application option should be selected on the application form if the applicant is applying for the first year of funding for this purpose from Kone Foundation. Select Continuation Grant if applying for the second or later year of funding for the same purpose from Kone Foundation.

The amount of Kone Foundation research grants (applies to decisions from 2009 on) is €22,800 annually (€1,900 per month) for doctoral research, and €25 200 annually (€2,100 per month) for post-doctoral research.

Kone Foundation is among the large Finnish foundations involved in a postdoctoral research pool established to support Finnish postdoctoral research abroad. For more information on The Foundations’ Post Doc Pool go to www.postdocpooli.fi.

Postdoctoral researchers seeking funding for research abroad for the 2010-2012 period should apply for funding from the Post Doc Pool, and not directly from Kone Foundation.

Supporting attachments (research grant applicants)

New applicants are asked to include the following with their application:

• Research proposal (max. 3 pages).
• Curriculum vitae.
• Reference letter form(s) 1, or (for post-doctoral applicants) one or more free-form letters of reference.
• A copy of applicant’s academic degree(s).
• A portfolio (for applicants applying for funding for artistic research).
   

Supporting attachments required from applicants for continuation grants:

• Applicant’s account of progress on the project (max. 2 pages).
• Updated research proposal (max. 3 pages) (link).
• Reference letter form(s) 2 from applicants applying for doctoral research funding. At least one reference must be from the person supervising the research.

NOTE: Non-Finnish applicants must include at least one letter of reference from a Finnish university or research institute.

The application must include all the required supporting attachments. Applications or supporting materials received after the deadline cannot be taken into account. The exceptions are certificates, and permits for public defence of academic dissertations awarded after the deadline for Kone Foundation grant applications. These should be sent to the Kone Foundation office as soon as possible, no later than 15 November.

Project grants for research in the humanities, social sciences, environmental research, and artistic research

Research grants are also awarded for projects that involve one or more researchers and have a research leader or supervisor. Kone Foundation grants for research projects must also be applied for one year at a time.

Read more >> (in Finnish only).

Grants for non-fiction publications and translations of non-fiction

Kone Foundation provides funding for Finnish non-fiction writing and translations from or into Finnish. Non-fiction grants are intended to support non-fiction writing and translation in the humanities, the social sciences and environmental research. The aim is to support efforts to make research in these fields as accessible as possible to the general public.

Read more >> (in Finnish only).

Other grants

Kone Foundation grants can also be provided for art and cultural projects and other projects that are significant for some aspect of Finnish society or culture.

Read more >> (in Finnish only).

Continuation grants

The New Research Grant Application option should be selected on the application form if the applicant is applying for the first year of funding for this purpose from Kone Foundation. Select Continuation Grant if applying for the second or later year of funding for the same purpose from Kone Foundation.

Notice also that in most cases different supporting attachments are required from continuation grant applicants than from those applying for the first year of funding.

Specially allocated grants

Kone Foundation also organizes applications for specially allocated grants. More information in Finnish only, see Suunnatut haut.

Saari Residence grants

In addition, the Foundation also awards residency grants for artists in various fields. Read more about residency grants in Saari Residence section.

Things to remember before sending your application

• Make sure that you have sent the printed version of the online application form along with all required supporting attachments. Make sure also that you have electronically sent the online version of the form, including the files containing whatever parts of the required supporting attachment are applicable. When you have sent the completed form, Sent will be displayed on the main page of the online applications service.
• Remember to sign the printed version of the completed application form.
• Do not send any part of the application as registered post. We do not collect registered post from the post office.
• For applications sent from within Finland the date of postage marked on the envelope is sufficient evidence that the application has been posted on time. Applications sent from abroad must be sent to arrive at the Kone Foundation office by or before the application deadline.