In the January round, the Regional Funds give out grants to support arts and academia in their own regions. This time the round includes 16 funds, because the Uusimaa Fund only gives out grants every other year (January 2024 being the next time).

The Regional Funds award grants to applicants who live or were born in the region, as well as to academic or artistic work and diverse cultural projects taking place in the region.

Special-purpose grants common to all the Regional Funds include projects related to each region’s heritage, Art for Everyone grants and Spearhead Project grants. The additional EUR 1 million for cardiovascular research is open for applications from every region. Each region may also have its own special-purpose grants.

Support for research on cardiovascular diseases

In the January round, all Regional Funds are accepting applications for the joint additional EUR 1 million for research on cardiovascular disease. This additional funding is directed at various fields within medicine, but applications may include components related to specialist areas within cardiovascular research or closely related disciplines.

Besides research, applications may relate to funding for starting up research groups or completing projects, for example. Applicants can be individuals, teams or research consortia, and the funding can be spread over more than one year. Typically the “additional million” grants have totalled EUR 100,000–250,000 per project, but even bigger projects than that are welcome to apply. Applications are evaluated on medical grounds and on the basis of their national or international significance, without any need for a regional perspective.

Art for Everyone grants for long-term projects

The purpose of the Art for Everyone grant is to reach people who have difficulties accessing art. Potential sites for these projects include diverse institutions and assisted living residences.

The minimum sum for the Art for Everyone grants to be distributed from the January Round is EUR 10,000. The objective is that the funded projects will span a longer period, to maximise their impact. They may apply either to several audiences or to long-term work with one audience.

Special-purpose regional grants

Major grant for developing a more sustainable future

The South Karelia Regional Fund is providing funding totalling a maximum of EUR 100,000 for projects that combine art, science and technology and are linked to ecology, the circular economy or social resilience. 

Major grant for research on the energy sector

The South Savo Regional Fund is providing funding totalling a maximum of EUR 100,000 for research on the energy sector. The research subject may be the sustainable use of renewable natural resources, energy storage or other solutions related to security of supply, for example.

Speak Finnish Boldly!

The South Ostrobothnia Regional Fund has a Speak Finnish Boldly! grant in addition to its usual funding for artistic or academic work. The grant sum is EUR 3,000 and the applicant must undertake to improve their Finnish language skills during the grant period.

Planning Grant

Applications may be made to the Pirkanmaa Regional Fund for planning and developing a Spearhead or Major Project for the 2024 application round. The grant sum is EUR 2,500 and its purpose is to facilitate the planning and development of large-scale and extraordinarily demanding projects.

Further information

For more information on the Regional Funds’ grants, please refer to each Regional Fund's subpage and to the regional information videos on the Cultural Foundation’s YouTube channel. 

There will be a joint grant information event for all the Regional Funds on Tuesday 31 January between 2pm and 4pm. More details will be available on the January Round’s web page close to the date.