Two complementary forms of funding are available:
- SEED FUNDING to support research grant application preparation
- BRIDGE FUNDING to provide funding for promising researchers with interruptions or gaps in their contracts/funding. The idea is to support faculties to keep gifted researchers amid funding gaps.
The funding criteria for SEED FUNDING:
- The topic needs to be related to welfare systems and services and their effectiveness or equitability. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Conceptualizing the effectiveness and equity of welfare systems and services.
- Assessing the effectiveness of welfare systems and services by utilizing different measures on different levels.
- Analysing, understanding and/or implementing different processes, practices or technologies to improve effectiveness.
- Developing different practices, processes, methods, techniques, technologies, or models to improve effectiveness.
- Evaluating and evaluation methods for public policies, reforms, and strategies
- The main applicant needs to have strong ties with Tampere University. This means that an adjunct professor (docent) without a working contract to our university is not eligible to apply. Instead, a postdoctoral researcher applying seed funding for his/her own research project may get a positive response if the project will be managed by Tampere University. The aim is to support activities at Tampere University.
- Funding can be used for advancing ambitious ideas and related research grant applications. The funded project must have an explicit goal and schedule. The seed funding is targeted to a certain call, which need to be specified in the funding application. The funding must be used before the deadline of the targeted call. Possible calls are, for example, EU or Academy of Finland calls. However, the seed funding is not limited to those.
- The funding aims to generate high quality research and research grant applications. Funding can thus be used, for example, for hiring substitute teachers/managers to take over the applicant’s teaching duties, for travel expenses to identify and engage prospective partners, for organizing workshops, or for conducting small surveys. These are just examples. Grant writing or other services provided by the University’s PreAward team are not subsidized. Also, the applicant’s salary or bonus cannot be included as the funding is assigned to the applicant’s home unit/faculty to compensate the costs there.
- The applicant can be a researcher or research group chair.
Funding criteria for BRIDGE FUNDING:
Bridge funding aims to help research groups to cover the funding gaps between the projects/positions. Juridic reasons for temporary working contracts will be checked. This means that the applicant should be a head of unit at TAU.
For application, please provide a short explanation for each of the following questions:
- Why does this researcher need funding and why is it important to keep them within the university?
- What is the researcher currently doing? (I.e. the description for the beginning of the bridge)
- What will the researcher do during the bridge funding period? (I.e. the description of the bridge)
- What happens after the period of bridge funding in terms of work continuum (I.e. the end of the bridge)
- How does this person’s research apply to the TRANSFORM research themes?
- The applicant must be a head of the unit at TAU.
The application process for both forms of funding:
Please send your application to research coordinator Matias Heikkilä at matias.heikkila@tuni.fi
- Application period: November 10-December 8
- Decisions are made by the Transform-platform steering group and possible external evaluators.
- The application (1-2 pages, in English or Finnish) must include
- Working title
- Applicant’s relationship with Tampere University
- Topic (abstract) and the answers to respective questions.
- A short description how the topic is related to the Transform platform.
- The amount of funding and how it is planned to be used.
- Support letter from the head of unit (email) that confirms e.g. the work arrangements (for the seed funding)
Successful funding decisions will be published in the Transform platform website: https://research.tuni.fi/transform/ (title, applicant, amount)
Instead of tightly defined criteria and uses of funding, we want to maintain an open and interactive relationship with all researchers. Consequently, all ideas supporting high quality research are warmly welcomed. Do not hesitate to contact us!
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