Support for science, research and the arts – October round of applications begins
The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s October round of applications takes place between the 10th and the 31st of October 2025, closing at 4 pm Finnish time (EET) on the last day of the application period. As last year, a total of €29 million is available in grants. Applications are open to private individuals, organisations and working groups in all fields of science, research and the arts.
The October round is the largest of the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s calls for applications, receiving around 10,000 applications each year. Artistic work and doctoral dissertation research receive the most funding.
“One-year and multi-year working grants are the cornerstone of our funding. In the October rounds of the last few years, we have awarded on average over 450 grants that cover a period of one or more years. They are aimed at all fields of science, research and the arts and extend up to four years. We encourage artists, researchers and scientists to apply for our multi-year grants,” says Juhana Lassila, Deputy CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
The foundation’s grants are available to all fields of science, research and the arts and cover work, expenses, or both. Science grants are primarily awarded as personal working grants for doctoral dissertations or for postdoctoral research. Artists can apply for grants for their work or projects, and organisations can apply for grants to help implement their projects.
“We also encourage longer-term productions and touring activities in the arts,” Lassila explains.
The Finnish Cultural Foundation supports both early-career and experienced individuals. Grants are available for new projects and further development of ongoing projects.
Applications in the October round will be peer-reviewed by more than fifty panels of experts from different scientific, research and artistic disciplines. These experts are located across Finland.
From autumn 2025 onwards, the Finnish Cultural Foundation will use the AI-based functions of Microsoft Azure OpenAI to process applications. Please note that the data from the applications will not be used for AI model training, nor will AI be used to evaluate the applications or decide on the grantees.
Supporting the natural resources sector and non-fiction books
In addition to general grants for research, science and the arts, the Finnish Cultural Foundation allocates funding for specific themes.
Additional Million-euro Funding to Science
In the October round of applications, funding is available for research that addresses the carbon dynamics and climate coupling of soil processes or that explores the economic links of ecosystem services in agriculture and forestry. The €1 million allocated for specific themes will be distributed between no more than five research projects.
Non-fiction Books, Popularization of Science and Art
In the October round of applications, we will also award grants for popularized non-fiction books about science, research and the arts, as well as for the translation of such books. Unlike in previous rounds, the application must be accompanied by a provisional commitment provided by the publisher.
Support for Romani Language and Culture
Applications for the Support of Romani Language and Culture Grant are available for purposes such as literary work in the Romani language, translation of literature into Romani, creating teaching materials in Romani and teaching the Romani language. In addition to writing books, literary work includes writing scripts for various artistic or journalistic projects, and song and rap lyrics.
The following special-purpose grants are also included in the October 2025 round of applications:
- Eminentia for individuals in the later stages of a long scientific, research or artistic career in any field.
- Kirpilä Art Collection Research Grant for research that may relate to art collecting, art collectors’ collections, home museums, or artists represented in the Kirpilä Art Collection. The grant is intended for post-doctoral research.
- Art for Everyone Grant, which aims to increase the opportunities of people in need of care or support to experience high-quality art and, in this manner, promote cultural equality.
Useful links
- Further information on the October round of applications and special-purpose grants
- General information about the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s grants
- Guidelines related to grants
- Online Application Service – during the application period, the SKR Bot provides advice 24/7 in the online service
- Guidance for applicants
- The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s newsletter provides tips on how to apply for grants and reminds you about important dates. Subscribe to our newsletter
