Funding services
Funding for research organisations for public research and business cooperation
Is your research project world-class? Do you conduct research in close cooperation with companies that are at the top of their field? We offer financial services to research organisations with the aim of strengthening your expertise and accelerating the growth of companies' business. Business Finland's Co-Research, Co-Creation, Co-Innovation and Research to Business are Business Finland's four forms of funding for research organisations.
Business Finland's funding is competitive and discretionary.
R&D funding for companies
With the help of Business Finland's R&D funding, a company aiming for the international market can renew or develop completely new products, services, production methods or business models.
See instructions
How should Business Finland be mentioned as a funder?
Who is the funding suitable for?
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For universities and universities of applied sciences
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For other research organisations
Choose the right funding
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a research organization?
BF's Public Research funding is only granted to research organisations.
A research and dissemination organisation is an entity (such as universities or research institutes, technology transfer bodies, innovation brokers, research-oriented physical or virtual collaborative communities), regardless of its legal status (public or private) or the method of funding, whose main objective is to independently carry out basic, industrial or experimental research. or disseminate the results of such activities through training, publications or knowledge transfer.
Where such an entity also carries out economic activities, separate accounts must be kept of the financing, costs and income of such economic activities. In such an entity, companies exercising decisive influence, for example as shareholders or members, must not have a privileged right to the results achieved by it.
The research organisations are:
Research institutes within the scope of the state's on-budget finances:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (EK) VATT Institute for Economic Research (VM)
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry)
- Finnish Food Authority (MMM)
- National Land Survey of Finland NLS (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry)
- Finnish Meteorological Institute (LVM)
- Geological Survey of Finland (GTK)
- Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK)
- National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
- Finnish Environment Institute SYKE (Ministry of the Environment)
An organisation that has been assigned the tasks of a research and dissemination organisation described above as its main objective by law, decree or other rule applicable to it. It must be possible to verify that the activities in accordance with the main objective are also financially identifiable:
- Higher education system (universities and universities of applied sciences)
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health TTL
- Some other research organisations
Note. The organisation cannot assign itself the task of a research and information dissemination organisation, nor can the organisation give e.g. to his daughter a task that she herself has not been given
Where can I find up-to-date terms, criteria and instructions for Business Finland's funding?
The terms and instructions for Business Finland's funding can be found on the page Funding terms, amendments and instructions.
Project-specific funding terms, such as acceptable costs, reporting obligations and payment practices, can be found in Business Finland's funding online service, where the terms and conditions are shown in connection with your own funding decision.
If you have not yet applied for funding, you can also find instructions on how to apply and more detailed terms and conditions for different forms of financing on the Funding terms, amendments and instructions page.
Read the instructions and terms and conditions of the funding
Search results
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Co-Innovation
Funding for joint actions of research organizations and companies.- Status
- Call is open
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Research to Business (R2B) – funding for preparing the commercialization of a research-based solution, call 2/2026
The purpose of this funding call is to promote the utilization of research results as new business.
- Status
- Call is open
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Chips JU Calls 2026
The European Chips JU (Joint Undertaking) strengthens the European semiconductor ecosystem and Europe’s technological leadership.
- Status
- Call is open
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Cooperation between research organizations and SMEs
The aim of the call is to bring within the scope of research-company cooperation SMEs and so-called mittelstand companies that have not yet systematically utilized the expertise of research organizations. Only research organizations are funded in the call.
- Status
- Call is open
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New Competitiveness for the European Defence Industry
The objective of the projects is to achieve a significant increase in Europe’s defence capabilities and technological autonomy.
- Status
- Call is open