Nessling Foundation’s general call is open from 12.– 30. August 2024. We will award a total of 2.3 million euros in grants. Please note that the information on this page still applies to the 2023 call. We will update this page during May.
In the general grant call, we are looking for innovative projects and active researchers that enable or support sustainability transformations that protect natural systems.
We provide funding for projects that contribute to the Nessling Foundation’s mission to seek systemic solutions for an ecologically sustainable future.
In the general grant call, we award funding for three purposes. You can apply for:
- personal grants for doctoral thesis researchers (for a maximum of 4 years)
- personal grants for post-doc researchers (for a maximum of 2 years)
- grants for implementation projects where research is put into practical use through cooperation between the producers and users of knowledge.
Read the instructions for making an application
What kind of work will the Nessling Foundation support in the autumn 2023 call?
In the midst of the current ecological crisis, society and its various sectors will have to take into consideration both the capacity of our planet and humanity’s dependence on natural systems. This is called a sustainability transformation. During sustainability transformations, society as a whole and all of its sectors – politics, people, nature, urban and rural, ways of thinking – undergo a transition. Natural systems, culture, the economy, energy solutions, food systems, cities and the well-being and functioning of citizens are undergoing a simultaneous transformation.
The Nessling Foundation offers funding for innovative projects and active researchers that enable or support sustainability transformations that protect natural systems. Natural systems are systems formed by other species and their habitats. These systems support all life, including human societies. Natural systems are threatened by the crossing of planetary boundaries.
The research or project does not have to address all aspects of sustainability transition. Rather, the applicants need to understand how their research contributes to protecting natural systems and understanding and implementing the necessary transformation. Applicants are asked to concretise this in their application, for example by tying their project to a particular socio-ecological system and the securing of planetary boundaries.
The Nessling Foundation particularly supports projects that promote cooperation between different disciplines or sectors and the transfer of knowledge and information to end-users. We fund multidisciplinary projects as well as projects dealing with a specific disciplines, and basic and applied research. It is important that the applicant understands the role of their research in solving environmental challenges as well as the societal relevance of the project and is able to express this. We do not require that the projects relate to Finland only, because the sustainability transformation must be carried out on a global scale. However, the results of the projects that receive funding must be applicable to decision making in Finnish society and support Finland’s environmental goals.
What kind of funding can be applied for in the autumn 2023 call?
Each applicant can only submit one application, and the same person can only receive funding once in each funding category. We will not provide funding for a new project if the applicant is currently running a project funded by the Nessling Foundation.
We award personal working grants along with funding for possible research costs for doctoral thesis projects for a maximum of four years
- In the 2023 call, the amount of a personal grant is 28,000 euros a year for a doctoral thesis researcher. In addition, well-founded research and travel expenses can be included in the application.
- The applicant must be a researcher in the research project, i.e. the author of the thesis.
- We fund doctoral thesis work if the project is less than halfway through. We do not fund the finalising of doctoral theses.
- The funded work must commence in 2024.
- The doctoral student’s undergraduate degree must be completed and admission to the doctoral programme must be confirmed before the start of the work funded with the grant.
- The grant can also be used in a non-Finnish research institute.
We award personal working grants along with funding for possible research costs for post-doc research projects for a maximum of in two years
- In the 2023 call, the amount of a personal post-doc grant is 34,000 euros a year. In addition, well-founded research and travel expenses can be included in the application.
- The applicant must be a researcher in the research project, i.e. the recipient of the post-doc grant.
- We fund post-doc projects if the researcher has obtained the degree no longer than 5 years ago (excluding parental leave, Finnish military/civil service). You can apply in the 2023 grant call if your defense took place in 2018 or later.
- The funded work must commence in 2024.
- The grant is also applicable if the applicant has obtained permission for defence of their dissertation.
- The grant can also be used in a non-Finnish research institute.
We award project funding for the implementation and use of knowledge-based information
- The amount of the grant is EUR 50,000–100,000 per project.
- This grant can be applied for by co-creation and action projects involving researchers and end-users of knowledge-based information (e.g. a company, municipality or other organisation). The project must involve collaboration between the producers and users of information as well as participatory procedures.
- The applicant shall be the principal investigator responsible for the project.
- Funding can be applied for a maximum period of one year. We can also fund co-financed projects, the continuation of which will be financed by another party.
What are the key criteria for funding decisions?
Personal research projects, i.e. doctoral thesis and post-doc projects:
- Connection of the research to promoting sustainability transformation and securing natural systems
- The scientific quality of the research, the researcher or research group
- Originality and novelty value of the research
- Societal relevance and scalability of results
- Cooperation and mobility between researchers/research groups/organisations, including international mobility
- Communicating about the research and interacting with stakeholders (especially knowledge users)
- Educational, advisory and scientific structures that support the research (if applying for a grant for a doctoral thesis)
Scientific knowledge implementation projects:
- Connection of the project to promoting sustainability transformation and securing natural systems
- The applicant’s (individual or group) know-how and operating environment related to the implementation of the project
- Societal relevance and scalability of the project
- Originality and novelty value of the project
- Collaboration and interaction with key stakeholders in the project
How do I apply?
For more detailed instructions on how to apply for funding, see the Instructions for making an application.
Where can I get more information about the autumn 2023 call?
In June, we organised virtual info sessions on the autumn 2023 call in English and in Finnish. Recordings of these sessions are available below.
Call us during specific service hours – we will not answer email inquiries
We will not answer questions via email. Instead, during August and September, you can call our grant coordinator Kristiina Takkinen on specific service hours: on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 15:00–16:00. You can also call on Wednesday 6.9. between 15:00–16:00.
Grant coordinator Kristiina Takkinen: +358 50 502 7537
Check out the projects we have funded in the past
If you are wondering if your project would be suitable for funding by the Nessling Foundation, we recommend browsing the projects we have funded in the past. You can filter the list by funding year or search projects by keyword. Many of the projects we have funded have also been featured on our blog.
Book a personal sparring session
We offer personal advice from mid-August until the end of the application period. You can book a sparring time starting 14.8.2023. The sparring sessions are always held by phone, with the Nessling Foundation staff calling the applicant. As session times are limited, please cancel your reservation if you are unable to use it. Also read the instructions for making an application in advance.
You can reserve a sparring time for the following purposes:
- you want to discuss the project in general and its suitability for funding by the Nessling Foundation
- you want to discuss the project budget and other technical and administrative issues
- you want to discuss the communications and interaction plan of the project, which is to be attached to your application.
When booking a sparring session, decide in advance which of the above themes you would like to be advised on. One applicant can book one sparring session during the application period.
Book your sparring session here
When will the funding decisions be published?
The governing board of the Nessling Foundation decides on the awarding of grants on the basis of an expert committee’s proposal. We explain our entire evaluation process in the article How does Nessling Foundation select projects for funding?
We will publish the 2023 grant recipients on our website on 16 November. Applicants will also be notified of the decision by e-mail.
We do not provide written feedback on the application decisions, but we offer feedback by phone in separately booked sessions after the decisions have been published. We open the booking calendar for feedback sessions on our website at the same time as we publish the projects that will receive funding.