Frequently Asked Questions | The Finnish Cultural Foundation

Frequently asked questions.

Technical questions

If the online service does not open in Internet Explorer 10 or older

The Online service uses TLS 1.1 or TLS 1.2 protocols to create a secure connection. You can change your Internet Explorer security settings by clicking Tools (a gear icon in upper right corner) -> Internet Options -> Advanced tab -> scroll down to Security and select “Use TLS 1.1” and / or “Use TLS 1.2”

If the online service does not open in another web browser

Some older web browsers do not support TLS 1.1 or TLS 1.2 protocols. In this case you should update your browser or install another web browser. You can check whether your browser is supported here.

How do I log in to the Online application service?

You may log in with Finnish bank identifiers, or you may register and create a user ID and password by clicking the link Create username. When you have created a user ID and password, you will be able to access your application data by entering them at log in.

Applications are specific to the user IDs under which they were created. Therefore, to modify an existing application, you must log in to the Online application service with the user ID you used to create this existing application.

I have forgotten my user ID and/or password. What should I do?

You can request a new user ID or password to replace a forgotten user ID or password at Forgotten your password or user ID?

The new password and user ID will be sent to you by email. When you order a new password, your old password will no longer be valid. If you do not receive the password email message within a few minutes, check that it has not gone into your spam mailbox.

If you order a password several times, only the latest password received will be valid.

I cannot attach an attachment

An attachment is attached in the following way:
1. Select the file to be attached with the function Select
2. When you have selected the file, click Add
3. Wait until the attachment has been fully uploaded

How can I scan my attachments that are on paper into the electronic system?

Scan an image onto your computer in either a pdf or jpeg format. Select a resolution sufficiently low so as that the image is less than 3 MB in size. Paste the file from your files into the system.

The size of my image file is too large

The maximum size of each image file is 3 MB.
You can try to reduce the size of the image

You can try to reduce the size of the image file in the following ways:
1. Save your file in compressed file format, such as pdf or jpeg.
2. Reduce the image resolution.
3. Reduce the colour depth of the image.

Images need not be of printable resolution because the experts will review them electronically on screen. A suitable size is 1024 x 768.

The text in the application is too small

The Work Plan or other information in the application may be printed in text that is too small if the space reserved for printing is insufficient. This can easily happen if the text includes, for instance, many short or blank lines.

In this case, the system will reduce the text size in order to print all the contents. This may result in a text size difficult to read on paper. Make the text more compact by deleting blank lines and combining short lines. Shorten and compact the text sufficiently so that it is easy to read in preview format.

It is in the applicant's interest that the expert evaluating the application can easily read the contents of the Work Plan.

Can an application be amended after it has been sent online?

After submitting your application, if you notice a part that needs amending, cancel the submission, revise the applications and submit it once more. This can be done with I want to withdraw my application in order to revise itancel application under the Application tab.

Cancelling does not delete the data in the application but changes it back to a draft so that you can amend the application. Send the application again online after amending it.

I did not find an answer to a technical problem from this FAQ. What should I do?

Contact the Cultural Foundation's technical support by email at tekninentuki(at)skr.fi.

Explain your problem and give your contact information (an email address or telephone number) for us to contact you to answer your question.

Grant applicant

Grant guidance

Is it possible to come and present my project and discuss my application with you in person?

Advice on applying for a grant is generally given by telephone or through email (09 612 810, switch).

Grant period

Can a grant be applied for retrospectively / for work that begins in a few years’ time?

The grant-funded work can begin only after a grant decision has been made. Expenditure grants are likewise intended to cover expenses that are incurred after the grant decision has been made. As a rule, the Finnish Cultural Foundation does not award grants to applicants who have already secured funding for the project in question for the next full 12 months.

For example, work for a grant application completed and sent to the Central Fund in October 2019 may begin no earlier than February 2020 and no later than January 2021. If the work starts later, you may apply in October 2020.

Sending the application and attachments

Can I send attachments to my application / complete my application after the application period has ended?

Attachments and applications must be submitted during the application period. Certificates and the approval of a doctoral dissertation awarded after the application period has ended are exceptions. They must be submitted to the respective fund as soon as possible. Additionally, should you receive other sources of funding such as grants or salaried doctoral research posts after the application period ends, a notice must be sent online via the Application management function. The same function can also be used when cancelling the handling of the application altogether.

I have received a signed reference directly from the referee as a PDF file. How should I send it to you?

Scan and attach the reference to your online application within the application period. If you have submitted your online application already, you may cancel the sending of the application, attach the reference and submit the application again. After the deadline it is no longer possible to send or to amend the application.

Can I apply

I will graduate with a Doctor's degree after the application period ends. Can I nevertheless apply for a higher grant for a postdoctoral research?

Explain your situation in your application and notify the Cultural Foundation of your new degree as soon as it is confirmed. If you have a permission for the defence of dissertation, download it as an attachment to your application. It can also be delivered retrospectively through the Online application service (by the end of January with applications to the Central Fund in October; in the case of a regional fund application in January, the deadline should be checked from the regional fund in question). Otherwise, you will not be eligible for a higher grant.

I will be notified on my right to study after the application period ends. Can I nevertheless apply for a doctoral theses grant?

Explain your situation in your application and notify the Cultural Foundation of your status through the Online application service as soon as it is confirmed (by the end of January with applications to the Central Fund in October; in the case of a regional fund application in January, the deadline should be checked from the regional fund in question). A valid certificate of right to study will improve your chances of being awarded a grant. Also note that you need a dissertation supervisor’s reference on your academic success or research plan to support your application.

I submitted an application to the Central Fund in October. Can I still apply for a grant from a regional fund despite that?

Yes, you can, but note that decisions on Central Fund grants are announced in early February, about one week before the deadline for Regional Fund applications. If a grant is awarded by the Central Fund, there is then no need to apply to a regional fund.

My hometown is Pori, I live in Kuopio and I am undertaking my doctoral dissertation work in the University of Lapland. To which regional fund should I submit my application?

A regional fund application asks how the applicant and project are linked to the region, but there are slight differences in emphases. It is advisable to check the objectives of each regional fund on the Cultural Foundation's website and, if necessary, contact the individual regional funds for clarification.

References

If the name of the referee is not given in the application, will the online reference be linked to the application?

A reference will be automatically linked to the right application when the referee uses the given reference number. When it is not used, the reference will be linked by the name of the applicant.

Why do we require background information from the applicants?

The Cultural Foundation asks for information that is not directly related to the evaluation of the application. Such information includes, for example, sex, nationality, and place of residence and birth. This background information is necessary so as to establish donor funds for the grants, due to some donor funds having strict rules regarding the grantee’s age, nationality, sex, or place of residence. These factors do not affect the expert evaluation of the project and are only required for internal administrative purposes of the Cultural Foundation.

The background information is also required for statistical purposes, as the Cultural Foundation looks at the grant distribution using various variables to ensure the impartiality of the process. The purpose of the background information is not to determine the personal identity of the applicant. When the information is handled for statistics there is no regard to individual applicants.

Referee

Sending the reference

How can I send my reference to you from abroad?

You can send your reference online using our Online reference service. For this purpose, either a personal Finnish Internet banking ID or registration as a user of the online service is required.

Why hasn’t the online reference I sent been received yet? Its status is still sent, although I sent it a while ago.

When the deadline for references has closed and the Central or regional fund in question has begun the review process, the status of the reference will be updated to received.

Reference number

Will the reference be linked to the correct application even if I forget to use the reference number given to me by the applicant?

When the reference number is not used, the reference will then be linked to the application on the basis of the name of the applicant.

Sending references to more than one applicant

Should the applicants be ranked amongst themselves?

Please do so. It makes the experts’ work of reviewing the applications significantly easier. Evaluations by colleagues are highly valued.

Informal reference

Do you accept handwritten references?

We accept informal references. Please make sure that the applicant receives your informal reference in good time. She/he must attach it to the application before deadline of the application period.

Grantee

Requesting the deposit of the grant

What should I do to receive the grant? Should I notify someone that I am going to start using the grant according to my plan in December?

Submitting a payment request in November will suffice.

I logged in to the Online services for grantees with my personal Finnish online banking identifiers to make a payment request. I was notified that there is no grant in the system under my identity number. What should I do?

Notify the Finnish Cultural Foundation of your personal identity number.

How much are the grant installments? Are they paid monthly?

The grant is deposited either as a single payment or in installments of no less than 8,000 euros. It is not deposited monthly.

Why is the deposited grant not appearing in my bank account? I received an email informing me that I should have received it today, October 1.

The date of payment noted in the email refers to when the bank transfer is made from the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Nordea bank account. Bank transfers to other banking institutions may take up to two business days.

Where can I get a payment request form for the deposit of a grant of a registered organizations I am a part of? I lost the one posted to me.

You may request a new form from the Central fund or the regional fund that awarded the grant by telephone or email.

Can an expenditure grant awarded to my working group and me be deposited to a bank account of a supporting organization?

The grant will be deposited into the account you enter in the Online services for grantees. If the account is not yours, please add an identifier to the message field of the payment for the recipient. Furthermore, please note that the grant has been awarded to you and your working group, and a notification of the grant will be made to the Finnish Tax Administration on your behalf in due course.

Using the grant

In my application I stated I would start using the grant on August 1, but it looks like I am going to have to postpone using the grant by one year due to work / family reasons. How should I notify the Foundation?

If the grant has not yet been deposited, there is no need to notify the Foundation. The grant can be used within three years of it being awarded. If a deposit has already been made, notify the Foundation of a change in your circumstances by email and arrange a repayment of the grant installments already deposited for the duration of the suspension of the grant.

Is it possible to be awarded a working grant concurrently with another working grant, salary, adult education subsidy, or unemployment allowance?

With a grant awarded for full-time work it is not possible to receive corresponding funding from another source.

How much work am I allowed to do during the grant period? The awarded grant is meant for full-time work.

You are allowed to work for less than 25 % of the total weekly working hours allocated for grant-funded work, that is ca. 1.25 days a week. If you intend to work more, please contact the awarding Central Fund or the regional fund. Note that employment exceeding the allowed weekly amount has a significant effect on the total grant sum and the length of the grant period.

Reporting the use of a grant

How do you report the use of a grant awarded to a registered organization?

The report is submitted to the Online services for grantees. The report may be compiled by e.g. the contact person in the grant application or another person responsible for the project, using their personal Finnish online banking identifiers.

Will I receive confirmation of the approval of the report on grant use?

No separate notification of the approval of the report will be sent. If the report is lacking or requires further questions to be answered, you will be contacted.

When do I have to submit the report?

The report has to be submitted within a year of the last grant deposit date. For example, if you receive the only or last installment of the grant in your account in June 2017, the awarding Central Fund or regional fund will expect your report at the latest by June 2018.

I forgot to submit the report on time - what should I do?

Compile and submit the report on the Online services for grantees as soon as possible or contact the awarding Central Fund or regional fund to clear the matter.

Taxation of the grant

Do I have to pay tax for the grant?

A grant is, under certain prerequisites, exempt from tax up to the amount of the annual Finnish Government artists’ grant. Please see Guidelines for grantees and www.vero.fi for more information.

Multi-year grants

When and how do I apply for the second year grant? I have been awarded the first year grant sum of a three-year grant from the Central Fund last February.

You can fill in an application on the Onlinen application service a few months before starting to use the second year of the grant sum. The online service has its own application form for continued funding.