One of the key tasks of the TRANSFORM research platform is to support high-quality research related to well-being at the University of Tampere. By providing financial support for project preparation and other goal-oriented projects supporting research, we aim to promote high-quality and effective research, preparation for funding calls and, ultimately, the success of project applications. All activities which are funded must be related to the promotion of the effectiveness or fairness of welfare systems or services. There have been a total of three funding rounds for the TRANSFORM research platform, where it was possible to apply for both seed funding and bridge funding. Financial support has been granted in different application rounds, for example:
- As seed money to support project preparation
- As bridge funding to cover project-to-project funding discontinuities
- For post-doctoral research in accordance with the objectives of the research platform
- For organizing seminars and other similar events
With seed funding, we fund preparatory projects aimed at ambitious research projects targeting high-level international (e.g. EU) or domestic (e.g. Academy of Finland) funding applications. Funding can be applied for activities supporting the funding application, such as exemption from teaching or administrative duties during the project preparation period, travel costs for collaboration, organisation of related workshops, and small-scale pilot studies.
The bridge funding is intended to overcome short-term funding interruptions in between projects.
When hiring post-doc researchers, we required that the research of a hired researcher should address issues such as: a) the conceptualization of the effectiveness and equity of welfare systems and services; b) the assessment of the effectiveness of welfare systems and services at different levels; and the examination of various measures; c) the analysis and understanding of different processes, practices or technologies to increase effectiveness; or d) the evaluation of service reforms and strategies or the study of their assessment methods. Funding for post-doctoral researchers was implemented in collaboration with the Sustainable Welfare Systems (SWS) research programme.
All in all, the funding granted by Transform has sought and received external funding, launched new national and international consortia, and facilitated the vitality and research of the University of Tampere in the form of various events and seminars. Through the links above, you can get to know the activities funded by Transform in its various forms.