Finnish Cultural Foundation updates its grant application process – €44 million available in October, January application period discontinued
In future, the Finnish Cultural Foundation will have one annual application period for grants from both its central fund and regional funds. The application period runs from 15 to 30 October 2026.
In the application round from 15 to 30 October 2026, the Finnish Cultural Foundation will award a total of €44.2 million in grants for research, art and culture. The sum corresponds to the total amount awarded in last year’s application rounds.
Applications are open to private individuals, organisations and working groups in all fields of research and the arts. The foundation funds research and artistic projects whose creators are Finnish or live in Finland, or who have a clear, strong connection to Finland or Finnish culture.
The majority of the grants awarded are general working and expenditure grants for research and the arts.
A working grant is intended to cover ordinary personal living expenses over a specified period. An expenditure grant covers costs arising from the applicant’s activities or the purchase of specific equipment.
A grant available for the first time is Returnee Funding for Finnish Postdoctoral Researchers. It is open to Finnish early-career researchers who have completed a postdoctoral period of at least three years abroad. The Finnish Cultural Foundation supports their return to Finland by offering them funding to establish their own research group here.
Our Million-euro Funding for Science supports scientific research, with themes that change each year. This year, the focus is on clinical research into inflammatory mechanisms.
Local Culture Project grants are available for projects relating to the local culture and cultural heritage in Finland. The grant was previously available in the regional funds’ January round of applications. Going forward, the application period for the Musical Instrument Loan Scheme and Translating World Literature into Finnish – A Grant for Publishers will also take place in October.
You can also apply for a grant for non-fiction books, popularisation of science and art, support for Romani culture and language, and basic studies in research, science and the arts and related purposes.
You can find all the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s grants here. https://skr.fi/en/grants/finnish-cultural-foundations-application-period/
Grant applications submitted to the Finnish Cultural Foundation are peer-reviewed in dozens of expert panels. Research and art experts from all over Finland are included in the panels. An expert may evaluate applications in no more than two application rounds. After their second peer review assignment, they are subject to a three-year period of non-availability.
Information for applicants
- The Finnish Cultural Foundation has combined its four annual application rounds into a single round. The January round of applications will no longer be held; instead, applications for grants from the regional funds are accepted in October. Applications for mobility grants can be submitted throughout the year.
- You can familiarise yourself with the application process in advance by using our sample form. The previous test form is no longer in use.
- You can apply for a working grant for full-time (100%) scientific or artistic work for up to four years, and for part-time (50%) work for up to one year.
- The amount of a full-time working grant is determined by your professional experience and whether you are an early-career, mid-career or experienced researcher or artist.
- If you are an individual applicant (a private individual or a person in charge of a working group), you may submit only one application per application period. However, you may participate in another application as a member of a working group, act as the contact person in an organisation’s application or apply for a musical instrument loan.
