Privacy Policy for grant applicants and grantees

Finnish Cultural Foundation (0116947-3)
Bulevardi 5 A, 00120 Helsinki
Phone +358 9 612 810 

Contact person for data protection:
Juhana Lassila, juhana.lassila@skr.fi

1. Grant applicants
2. Grant recipients

• name*
• applicant type*
• degree or profession*
• place of work or study*
• work and study situation*
• contact information*
• location
• language of communication
• main area*
• career phase*
• the name of the head of the research group
• the subject and field of the application/grant, the applicant’s presentation and any additional information*
• the amount of the grant
• duration of the grant/project*
• type of grant*
• purpose of the grant*
• work plan / summary of the work, research or project plan*
• the country or country in which the work or project is carried out*
• municipality(s) of implementation of the work or project (in Finland)*
• place of performance of the work or project
• information on the applicant’s previous and pending grants
• appendices to the application, such as a work, research or project plan*, income and expenditure estimate (* when applying for an expense grant), CVs and publications, and web links
• information on the person’s scientific or artistic activities to date
• consent to the processing of personal data
• an external statement’s assessment of the applicant
• preliminary commitment of the collaborator (* for applicants of the Art for All grant)
• preliminary commitment of the publishing partner (* For applicants of grants foe Non-fiction books or grants for popularisation of science and art)

The mandatory information for the processing of the grant is marked in the list above with an *.

Applicants under the age of 15 must fill in the application together with their guardian.

Firstly, the data is collected from you in connection with the grant application through the grant applicant’s online service.

We also receive information about you from an external statement provider when they make a statement about you.

We use external experts to evaluate applications, and they also provide us with information about you in connection with the evaluation.

During the processing of your grant application, we may receive information about you from other funding providers in order to ensure the overall level of funding and to avoid overlapping grants.

In section 2b) you will be informed about the processing of your personal data if you are awarded a grant.

The purpose of processing personal data is to identify grant applicants, enable the processing of grant applications and make grant decisions. The legal basis for processing in this regard is legitimate interest.

We may also process your personal data to communicate about news, events or other matters related to the Foundation’s activities through our newsletter, if you have given your consent to receive the newsletter.

We may also process your personal data for research and statistical purposes on the basis of the legitimate interest of the Foundation and any external research party.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data you on the basis of your particular personal situation, if we are processing your personal data on the basis of legitimate interest. You can contact us at yleisinfo@skr.fi, if you wish to object to the processing of your data. You must specify the specific situation on the basis of which you object to the processing.

In addition, the legal basis for the processing may be the Foundation’s legal obligation.

The Foundation may disclose your personal data to parties relevant to the grant process and to third parties for research or statistical purposes. Before the transfer, the Foundation always ensures that the transfer complies with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, concludes the necessary agreements with the transferees, and ensures that the transferees have a sufficient level of data security.

The Foundation uses external experts to evaluate the applications, who have access to the information necessary for the evaluation work. Experts are bound by professional secrecy.

During the processing of the grant application, the Foundation may disclose the necessary information to other funding parties in order to ensure the overall level of funding and to avoid overlapping awards.

We may also disclose your personal data to the Association of Finnish Foundations for the purpose of compiling statistics on grant applicants.

We may disclose your data to the National Archives once every five years for archiving and possible research use, when at least ten years have passed from the submission of the application, if your application is rejected and your application year ends in chapter five.

We may also disclose your data to other research institutes and individual researchers for scientific or historical research.

We can use artificial intelligence systems to streamline and speed up operations in the grant process. Artificial intelligence systems can also process personal data. Artificial intelligence is not used for independent decision-making, and the operation of artificial intelligence is always supervised by humans. We have carried out necessary risk assessments based on the AI Act and the GDPR, and we have ensured the level of data protection and information security of the AI systems before their introduction. We maintain the AI literacy skills of our personnel through training.

We use external service providers (email system, artificial intelligence, communication application, archiving) to process your personal data for the purposes set out in this privacy policy.

With regard to these service providers, personal data may also be transferred to servers outside the EU/EEA.

If personal data is transferred outside the EU/EEA, it will be ensured that the processing of personal data is adequately protected and processed in accordance with this agreement. Protection may include, for example, an adequacy decision by the European Commission or appropriate contractual clauses, such as model clauses approved by the European Commission and other appropriate safeguards.

All grant applications are permanently stored in order to enable, develop and ensure transparency of the Foundation’s grant activities, as well as to find out the applicant’s previous grant history, name, field and subject of the application, grant amount, domicile and year of birth.

The Foundation may permanently retain the applicant’s name, email address, telephone number and address for the purposes of the Foundation’s long-term follow-up studies.

If your grant application is not approved, your personal data other than the above will be deleted within 10 years of the application.

We may transfer your data for archiving to the National Archives once every five years, when at least ten years have passed from the submission of the application, if your application is rejected and your application year ends in chapter five.

• name*
• applicant type*
• degree or profession*
• place of work or study*
• work and study situation*
• contact information*
• location
• language of communication
• main area*
• career phase*
• the name of the head of the research group
• the subject and field of the application/grant, the applicant’s presentation and any additional information*
• the amount of the grant
• duration of the grant/project*
• type of grant*
• purpose of the grant*
• work plan / summary of the work, research or project plan*
• the country or country in which the work or project is carried out*
• municipality(s) of implementation of the work or project (in Finland)*
• place of performance of the work or project
• information on the applicant’s previous and pending grants
• appendices to the application, such as a work, research or project plan*, income and expenditure estimate (* when applying for an expense grant), CVs and publications, and web links
• information on the person’s scientific or artistic activities to date
• consent to the processing of personal data
• an external statement’s assessment of the applicant
• preliminary commitment of the collaborator (* for applicants of the Art for All grant)
• preliminary commitment of the publishing partner (* For applicants of grants foe Non-fiction books or grants for popularisation of science and art)

The mandatory information for the processing of the grant is marked in the list above with an *.

• account number
• payment information and transactions;
• • tax identification information
  • the fund from which the grant is awarded;
  • information on the time of decision-making;
  • changes and cancellations concerning the grant
  • the end dates of the withdrawal period for the first and last instalment of the grant
  • information on the notification to the Tax Administration and the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution

Firstly, the data is collected from you in connection with the grant application through the grant applicant’s online service.

We also receive information about you from an external statement provider when they make a statement about you.

We use external experts to evaluate applications, and they also provide us with information about you in connection with the evaluation.

During the processing of your grant application, we may receive information about you from other funding providers in order to ensure the overall level of funding and to avoid overlapping grants.

The processing of personal data is based on a the Foundation’s legal obligation to process the personal data of grant recipients under the Foundations Act or the Accounting Act, such as the processing of data in order to carry out the general duty of care of the Foundation’s Board of Directors and to ensure the achievement of the Foundation’s purpose; for example, accessibility of decision-making, supervision of the use of grants.

The purpose of processing personal data is to identify grant applicants, enable the processing of grant applications, make grant decisions and pay grants to recipients. The legal basis for processing in this regard is legitimate interest.

We may also process your personal data to communicate about news, events or other matters related to the Foundation’s activities through our newsletter, if you have given your consent to receive the newsletter.

We may also process your personal data in other communications related to the Foundation’s operations on the basis of the Foundation’s legitimate interest.

We may also process your personal data for research and statistical purposes on the basis of the legitimate interest of the Foundation and any external research party.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data on the basis of your particular personal situation, if we are processing your personal data on the basis of legitimate interest. You can contact us at yleisinfo@skr.fi, if you wish to object to the processing of your data. You must specify the specific situation on the basis of which you object to the processing.

The Foundation may disclose your personal data to parties relevant to the grant process and for research or statistical purposes. Before the transfer, the Foundation always ensures that the transfer complies with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, concludes the necessary agreements with the transferees, and ensures that the transferees have a sufficient level of data security.

We may publish on our website or social media accounts the name of the grant recipients, the grant amount, the topic and field, domicile and the degree level. This information may also be disclosed to different media.

The Foundation uses external experts to evaluate the applications, who have access to the information necessary for the evaluation work. Experts are bound by professional secrecy.

During the processing of the grant application, the Foundation may disclose the necessary information to other funding parties in order to ensure the overall level of funding and to avoid overlapping awards.

We may also disclose your personal data to the Association of Finnish Foundations for the purpose of compiling statistics on grant applicants.

For scientific or historical research purposes and statistical purposes, the following data on approved applications may be transferred to the Research Information Hub maintained by the Ministry of Education and Culture:

• Name
• degree or profession
• ORCID identifier, if applicable;
• the topic and field and any additional information
• the amount of the grant
• the date of award and the date of commencement.

We may also disclose your data to other research institutes and individual researchers for scientific or historical research.

We also disclose your personal data to the Tax Administration and the Farmers’ and Grant Recipients’ Social Insurance Institution on the basis of a statutory obligation.

We may disclose your data to the National Archives of Finland for archiving.

We can use artificial intelligence systems to streamline and speed up operations in the grant process. Artificial intelligence is not used for independent decision-making, and the operation of artificial intelligence is supervised by humans. We have carried out the necessary risk assessments based on the AI Act and the GDPR, and ensured the level of data protection and information security of the AI system before its deployment. We maintain the AI literacy skills of our personnel through training.

However, we also use external service providers (email system, artificial intelligence system, communication system, grant payment system, archiving) to assist us in the processing of personal data, who process your personal data for the purposes set out in this privacy policy.

With regard to these service providers, personal data may also be transferred to servers outside the EU/EEA.

If personal data is transferred outside the EU/EEA, it will be ensured that the processing of personal data is adequately protected and processed in accordance with this agreement. Protection may include, for example, an adequacy decision by the European Commission or appropriate contractual clauses, such as model clauses approved by the European Commission and other appropriate safeguards.

We will delete your personal identity code and bank account number until the grant has been paid in full and the declaration of use submitted by the grant recipient has been approved, however, in such a way that the deadlines set by law for the storage of accounting material are met. In practice, this means a minimum storage period of 7 years and a maximum of 12 years.

We store your other personal data permanently in order to enable, develop and ensure transparency in the Foundation’s grant activities, as well as to determine the applicant’s previous grant history and for the purposes of the Foundation’s long-term follow-up studies.

We may archive your personal data in an archive hotel by the Foundation or we can hand it over to the National Archives for archiving.

We have in place technical and organisational methods and safeguards that are sufficient for our operations to ensure the data security of personal data.

Personal data in electronic form is protected by generally acceptable and reasonable technical means, such as firewalls and passwords. Materials containing personal data in the register, which are not in electronic form, are located in locked premises to which unauthorised access has been prevented.

The rights to update and view personal data have been restricted both personally and temporally by the controller’s internal, centrally managed access rights. Appropriate agreements have been made with our service providers and the confidentiality and security of personal data is ensured.

The Foundation uses various cookies on its website, which can also be used to collect your personal data.

When you visit our website for the first time, we will ask for your consent to store non-essential cookies. You can find more information about cookies on our website under cookie settings, where you can also disable cookies later.

You have the right to check what information about you has been stored. This request may be refused on the grounds laid down by law.  The exercise of the right is free of charge.

The Foundation protects the right to privacy of applicants, commentators and experts and does not disclose statements or assessments concerning applications to grant applicants, grant recipients or third parties.

You have the right to request that incorrect information about you be rectified. In addition, in certain situations, you have the right to request the erasure of data concerning you or to request the restriction of processing on grounds laid down by law.

To the extent that you have provided us with information yourself, you may have the right to receive such information in a machine-readable format and the right to transmit this information to another controller.

To the extent that you have given your consent to the processing of personal data, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting yleisinfo@skr.fi. This may affect our ability to process or award a grant.

If you have any questions regarding the processing of your personal data, please contact us at yleisinfo@skr.fi . If you consider that we have not complied with the applicable data protection regulations in our operations, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

The competent supervisory authority in matters related to the processing of personal data is the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman, Lintulahdenkuja 4, 00530 Helsinki, tel. 029 566 6700, tietosuoja@om.fi.