Instructions for Kone Foundation grant recipients

Acceptance of the Grant
Grant Payment
Use of the Grant, Deferral of Payment and Grant Cancellation
Social Security
Taxation
Mentioning the Kone Foundation as a Supporter of a Project
Filing of Research Materials
Reporting on the Progress of the Funded Research
Availability of Saari Residency for the Researchers
Travel Grants Abroad for Researchers

Acceptance of the grant

Successful applicants need not inform Kone Foundation of their decision to accept the grant allocated to them. Those accepting the grant should however contact the Foundation on matters related to grant payment (see below).

If for any reason the applicant is unable to accept the allocated grant, he or she should contact Kone Foundation as soon as possible.

Grant payment

Kone Foundation grants are always paid monthly, on the third working day of each month. Successful applicants are kindly asked to provide their bank account details and social security number to the Kone Foundation office no later than two weeks before monthly grant payments are due to commence.

Recipients of research grants

Payment of research grants to first-time recipients commences in January. Continuation grants are paid from the end of the previous funding period, unless the recipient has requested some alternative arrangement.

If the grant recipient wishes payments to commence in January 2012, his or her bank account number and social security number should be provided no later than 15 December. Applicants should do so by signing in to the Foundation’s website on the Notification of Payment Details page (in Finnish).

To access the page, applicants must enter the same username and password used in making the grant application. The application number must also be entered; this is to be found on the letter of notification sent to successful applicants.

Payment details can also be added to the webpage later. In such a case, however, the grant recipient must absolutely inform the Foundation office of the payment schedule so that the grant will be payed.

Other grant recipients

Recipients of project grants, book grants and other grants must make payment arrangements by contacting Kone Foundation in advance. If required, advice on how to send bank account details and the social security number safely can be obtained from the Kone Foundation office.

Use of the grant, deferral of payment and grant cancellation

Funding must be used within three years of its being granted. Grants may only be used to fund the project for which funding was originally sought.

To receive the research grant, recipients must be working on the relevant research full-time. It is in the responsibility of the recipient to defer grant payments for the duration of paid work, military service, maternity or paternity leave, and suchlike.

In all cases in which recipients wish to make changes to grant payment arrangements, we kindly ask they do so at least two weeks before the required change is due to come into effect.

There is room for flexibility about extensions to the period in which the grant is used, in cases where grant payment is deferred due to military service, maternal or paternal leave, or for caring for a child below three years of age.

Grant recipients must immediately inform the Kone Foundation office if they are awarded any other grant, another paying job, other funding or are accepted into graduate school. If the grant recipient neglects this duty, the Kone Foundation grant may be revoked or claimed for recovery.

The Kone Foundation grant must be used for the purpose it was initially awarded for. If the grant is not used according to instructions, any grants not yet received may be cancelled and grants already received may be claimed for recovery. A grant that has not been used within three years of its being awarded is considered cancelled. The recipient will not be notified of the cancellation separately.

Social security

Legislation concerning social security for those working on grants has come into force on 1 January 2009. The Farmers' Social Insurance Institution (Maatalousyrittäjien eläkelaitos, Mela) provides pension, accident and group life insurance coverage. Statutory insurance payments are approximately 11-14% of the monthly grant.

Kone Foundation will inform the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution (Maatalousyrittäjien eläkelaitos, Mela) of individuals or groups who have received funding for periods of four months or more, and whose grants exceed the minimum level for pension payments (which for 2011 is € 1 149,45).

It is the responsibility of the aforementioned grant recipients to contact Mela to arrange pension coverage. In the case of workgroups or projects, this is the responsibility of the group or project leader.

Mela provides notification of the grant recipient’s pension payments directly to the tax authorities. Please do not send receipts of pension fund payments to Kone Foundation.

Further information on social security for grant recipients can be obtained from the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution Mela, www.mela.fi | Info | In English, or by telephone at +358 (0)20 630 0500.

Taxation

Grants are tax exempt up to the amount equivalent to the Finnish state grants for artists (currently € 19.029,51 ).

Kone Foundation notifies the Finnish taxation authorities in January of each year of the grants paid out during the previous year.

Kone Foundation grant recipients need not send a tax deduction card to the Foundation. Neither does the Foundation make any tax deductions from the grants, even in cases in which the amount of funding already paid to the recipient within the same calendar year exceeds the maximum tax-exempt amount.

All grant recipients must inform the taxation authorities in his or her annual tax submissions of any grant the total annual amount of which exceeds the maximum tax-exempt amount. Information on possible tax-deductible expenses can be obtained from the taxation authorities.

Further information of taxation matters regarding grants:

National Board of Taxes, www.vero.fi | In English
Council of Finnish Foundations, www.saatiopalvelu.fi | In English

Mentioning the Kone Foundation as a Supporter of a Project

In a thesis, publication or the equivalent, it is good etiquette to thank supporters for their grants. A mention of the Kone Foundation’s support can be included, for example, in the foreword or on the reverse of the title page.

We also recommend that projects funded by the Kone Foundation use our logo on print products, publications and on the project’s internet page, for example. A printable Kone Foundation emblem and further instructions on its use are available at the Kone Foundation office (please refer to Contact Information).

Filing of research materials

Kone Foundation recommends that data collected in the process of carrying out research funded by the Foundation be archived for possible future use. Information on possibilities for filing data can be obtained from, amongst other institutions, the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD) | In English.

Reporting on the progress of the funded research

Grant recipients must provide a report of the progress including any results or findings achieved in the funded project within six months of the funding period’s end date. Recipients of continuation grants must submit a final report only after they no longer plan on applying for further continuation grants i.e. within six months of the final grant instalment being paid. A final report must be provided even if the funded project is only partially completed or not at all completed.

The final report should be 3–10 pages long and must indicate the progress of the project, its schedule and main findings as well as how the grant has primarily been used. Receipts are not required. The report should also state the date funding was awarded as well as the period or periods during which the funding was used. The report should be signed and dated.

Reporting on projects and on behalf of a work group is the responsibility of the group or project leader.

In addition to the final report, recipients of grants for non-fiction publications must send a copy of the completed work to the Kone Foundation office. Research grant recipients may include a short summary or overview of their research.

The final report should be posted to the Kone Foundation office. The envelope should be marked “Final Report.”

Neglecting the obligation to send in a final report endangers the possibility for future grants. The Kone Foundation may also claim the grant for recovery.

Reporting on projects provides an assurance that grants are indeed used for the purposes indicated in applications. This is important in ensuring the fair treatment of grant applicants and recipients, amongst other things. Reports also offer important information on the impact of grants.

Availability of Saari residency for the researchers

One of the Residence’s apartments and workspaces is reserved for researchers and non-fiction writers working under a Kone Foundation grant. The Residence is particularly suitable for the intensive final writing phase of a study or manuscript. Research groups funded by the Kone Foundation can also work at the Saari Residence for short periods of time.

Such applicants do not need to send in an application but should instead contact Executive Director Hanna Nurminen directly at least a month before the beginning of a residency period to discuss a stay at the Residence (hanna.nurminen(at)koneensaatio.fi).

Working periods at the Residence are as follows:

Period 1: January to February
Period 2: March to April
Period 3: September to October
Period 4: November to December

Shorter periods can also be negotiated.

Read more about Saari Residence.

Travel grants abroad for researchers

The Kone Foundation offers travel grants for researchers with a personal research stipend from the Kone Foundation. Read more >>