Innovation research

Call 2025

In 2025, Innovation and Growth Research is looking for research projects in research and development, renewal and industrial policy.

There are three themes in the call: research and development, renewal and industrial policy. The aim is to fund at least one project under each theme. The research groups' projects are expected to work closely with the users of the results.

The questions in the 2025 call for innovation and growth research include:

• How will the R&D target of 4% of GDP by 2030 be achieved? How can we secure the necessary resources while increasing externalities and generating growth and productivity from innovations?
• What other measures are needed? How can we reform Finnish business life with new business models and strategies?
• How do the solutions of companies of different sizes increase renewal in different sectors and, ultimately, creative destruction?
• Geopolitical changes affect international competition and the operating and innovation environment of companies. How do new industrial policy choices at the global level affect small open economies such as Finland? 

Call 2024 

In 2024, Innovation and Growth Research was looking for research projects on the internationalisation of innovations, the opportunities and threats of new technologies, and geopolitics.

The questions in the 2024 innovation and growth research call included:

• How to make Finnish innovations more international? How to create incentives that improve capabilities and create innovations that promote the internationalization of companies?
• How will new technologies ultimately improve well-being in the national economy? For example, what factors promote the creation of sustainable innovations in companies and contribute to well-being? How do new technologies, such as artificial intelligence or social media, create opportunities and what threats are associated with them?
• The geopolitical situation has changed radically in recent years. What are the new industrial and innovation policy choices in this new situation?
• How can innovation policy measures help the innovativeness, renewal and internationalisation of companies in the Finnish economy? 

 
The following projects were selected for funding:

Mobile is Global – how the new geopolitics influence the 5G and 6G industry

The project of Aalto University and Etla studies how the changing global geopolitical situation affects mobile communications technology (5G/6G) and how Finnish and European industry and their innovation ecosystems can adapt to the change. The aim is to identify the strategic areas that require policy measures in the 5G/6G ecosystem and to present recommendations for measures to Finnish decision-makers, especially with regard to innovation and technology policy.

Challenge-led Innovation Policy, Geopolitical Uncertainty and security (CIPGES)

The project of the Finnish Environment Institute and the University of Helsinki studies and analyses how geopolitical changes affect the Finnish innovation environment and the formation of a new challenge-based innovation policy, as well as how the innovation policy of the EU and Finland can respond to the changes. In addition, it is studied how the regions of Ostrobothnia, North Karelia and Uusimaa and the companies operating in these regions experience geopolitical changes and how the resilience of innovation activities in these areas can be improved.

Charting the Change: Innovations, well-being, and Economic Transformations (CARTAGENA)

Etla's project produces new research data on the multifaceted effects of technological development: 1) on the well-being of consumers and employees, 2) the success of Finnish companies in a tightening and changing competitive environment, and 3) the structural change of the entire economy. One of the research topics is the effects of generative AI on employee productivity, job satisfaction and the labour market. The project produces research-based information on the important drivers of change that shape companies' business operations and the labour market, as well as on the well-being effects of innovations and the green transition.

How to boost R&D through internationalization and sustainability?

The project by Etla and the University of Turku studies the promotion of private sector innovation and economic growth from the perspective of the green transition and international trade. The project studies the effects of changes in foreign trade on companies' innovation activities, the adaptation of industries (e.g. through R&D) to changes in world trade, innovation intensity and emission reduction, cost-effectiveness in reducing emissions, and the effects of environmental policy (such as emissions trading) on companies' innovation activities in Finland.

Governance of new technologies towards sustainability and well-being (GOWELL)

The aim of VTT's project is to analyse the prerequisites for proactive, participatory and guiding management of new technologies in selected technology- and challenge-driven case studies that are relevant to Finland, such as: 1) preventive services to avoid the accumulation of health and social problems, 2) artificial intelligence in medical technology, and 3) simulation of new materials using quantum computing. The review includes 5 science-based innovation ecosystems, including: Oxford and Stanford.

Future-proofing Finland's Strategic Competitiveness and Innovation System for a New Geopolitical Era

The project by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs applies the strategic competitiveness paradigm, which places national security alongside economic aspects and thus encourages a reassessment of the logic behind the assessment of critical technology sectors, innovation policy and commercial strategies. The project builds scenarios of the changing operating environment and systematically assesses risks and changes in the operating environment, as well as tools for planning policy measures.

Cultivating Nordic Lead Markets: Cross-border Collaboration as a Catalyst for Internationalization (NORDLEAD) 

VTT's project expands understanding of the opportunities offered by innovation policy and promotes the internationalisation of companies by analysing the opportunities and methods of the Nordic pioneer markets. Lead markets refer to a market environment that supports the early adoption of innovative solutions, paving the way for their establishment as global standard solutions. The project will provide an understanding of which innovations and industries can benefit from policy measures to develop pioneer markets and the effectiveness of different measures.