DigiSus funding for societal impact or community building initiatives
In 2026, we distribute up to 25,000 euros in total for Societal Impact and Community Impact projects related to the broad intersection of digitalization and sustainable development. The call is continuous: we will process applications as they are sent to us. The call will close at the end of September or when the allocated funds have been distributed. An exception to this is our sub-call for Continuous Education course: the application period will end in the end of May.
- Application period: at any time from 25 February until 30 September 2026 (or when all funds have been distributed)
- Funding period: Funding must be used by 31 December 2026
- Amounts funded: 500 to 3,000 euros per application (up to 8,000 euros possible for a Continuous Education course, more information below)
- Total funding available: 25,000 euros
- Decisions on funding: Within 4 weeks from application submission date (except during July summer break)
Societal impact
Societal impact projects aim at creating or increasing impact of research results in society. This can include, for example, implementing research findings in practice, creating dissemination materials that popularize research, disseminating results through white papers or workshops to inform industry practices, or research-to-business activities. Societal impact projects must reach beyond Tampere universities and aim to impact other stakeholders (e.g. public sector, policymakers, NGOs, industry, citizens).
Following the strategy of DigiSus, we especially encourage to apply funding for:
- Developing and disseminating guides or resources for schools and/or educators
- Producing policy briefs to influence decision-makers on timely digitalization related issues
- Continuous education course: We have tentatively reserved up to 8,000 euros for organizing a continuous education course with DigiSus relevance. The funding is intended to support affordable participation costs and the planning of a course that can also be offered in future years. Funds may additionally be used for course planning and guest lecturer fees. The applicant is responsible for delivering the course by the end of 2026. The call for course suggestions will remain open until a suitable course is selected (or until 31 May). Further inquiries: matias.nurminen@tuni.fi
Community impact
Community impact projects can be, for example, events or activities aiming to nurture the DigiSus community and support cross-disciplinary research culture at Tampere Universities and beyond. This can include one-time events as well as series of events (e.g., workshops, meetups, open guest lectures, campaigns, public engagement). The events can be organized for the university community, local stakeholders, the international audience, as well as the general public. Ideally, the activities would be inclusive and available for anyone to join in.
Funding criteria
- The project should be related to the themes and goals of DigiSus.
- The main applicant must have an employment contract with Tampere Universities when applying and during the project implementation.
- The funded applicants are expected to write a brief blog text about their project. The blog texts will be published on the DigiSus website during 2026–2027.
The funding can be used for:
- Billable services and purchases (see purchase invoice instructions on the intranet)
- Fees for persons not employed at Tampere University (see instructions on fees on the intranet)
- Working time allocations (i.e. salary costs) of Tampere University staff members (see instructions on the intranet)
- Travel expenses (see Travel Policy on the intranet)
- Reimbursement of expenses in cases where invoicing is not possible
How to apply
Send a short, free-form application, maximum two pages (PDF file, no attachments), by email to digisus@tuni.fi. The language of the application can be either English or Finnish.
The application must include:
- Title in both English and Finnish.
- The name of the main applicant, contact information and position at Tampere Universities. Include a link to the main applicant’s public TUNI profile, Curriculum Vitae and/or ORCID identifier, depending on what info is relevant for the applied project.
- Public short description of the project for communications purposes* (in English, 300 characters including spaces).
- Purpose of the funding and a short work plan.
- Expected societal or community impact: Why is the project important? What are its short-term and long-term goals? What results can be expected?
- Relevance to DigiSus: How does the idea relate to digitalization and sustainability transitions?
- Who are the communities / collaborators / target groups / stakeholders involved in the project? How will be project benefit them?
- A clear budget and timetable describing what the funding will be used for. For salaries of Tampere University employees, add 20% indirect costs into the salary budget. Do not add other overhead costs or personnel side costs.
When planning the application, remember that the funding must be used by the end of 2026.
* We publish the titles and short descriptions of accepted applications on the DigiSus website, LinkedIn, and other channels of Tampere Universities.
Decisions
The DigiSus coordination team will evaluate the applications case by case with the support of the DigiSus management board members. We aim to make decisions within 4 weeks of receiving the application, except during the summer holiday period (July). The projects can start as soon as funding is granted, and the funding must be used by 31 December 2026.
More information
Kirsikka Kaipainen and Matias Nurminen, DigiSus coordinators
Thomas Olsson and Sanna Kumpulainen, DigiSus academic directors