Information To Funding Recipients

Grants and research funding are reserved for the recipient for one year from the date on which the applicant received confirmation of the grant/research funding awarded. At the end of the first year, the recipient can apply for a further deferment of no more than one year.

The time period for utilising a grant may be extended due to military service, maternity/paternity leave or care leave (for a  maximum of two years), protracted illness, or another valid reason.

A request for extension of the time period is submitted in the application system ansokan.sls.fi or to forskning@sls.fi .

The recipient of a grant is required to notify SLS if they are not going to utilise their grant or are only going to use part of it. SLS determines whether any repayment is required.

From April 2023 onwards SLS requires double signing by organisations that have been awarded a grant of at least €5,000.

Double signing is not required if the grant is awarded to an individual. Double signature or co-signature means that two people within the organisation sign the requisition. It is no longer sufficient for only one person in the organisation to sign the requisition.

It is important for SLS to know that the grants are used for the right purpose. We trust our beneficiaries and always assume that the grants are used for the purpose for which we award them. At the same time, we must do everything we can to ensure that there is no misuse and that the funds are used according to the wishes of our donors.

In this way, we want to ensure that at least two people in the organisation know the purpose of the grant and the account to which the grant is paid.

STEP 1: REQUEST FOR PAYMENT

To request the grant, please use the link provided in the email informing you that your grant has been awarded. Log in to our application system via the link and request payment.

Enter the contact details of the person who will co-sign the payment request. You can also write a message to the co-signer. The co-signer will see the account number, the purpose of the grant and any conditions attached to the grant.

Remember to inform the person in advance about the double signing.

Check that all information is correct before forwarding the request. The co-signer cannot edit the request.

Click “Spara och fortsätt”.

The co-signer will continue the process.

STEP 2: CO-SIGNER

The co-signer receives an automatic email from our application system containing a link to the signature. The co-signer uses their personal online banking codes or Mobile ID to sign.

The co-signer can only authorise the request. If an error is found, the person who originally made the payment request must correct the information.

STEP 3: COMPLETE THE PAYMENT REQUEST

Once the co-signature is done, the initiator of the payment request will receive an email. You can then log in to our application system again to finalise the payment request.

Do you have questions about the double signature? Contact us at  forskning@sls.fi .

The grants are tax-free up to the limit set by the tax authorities (EUR 24 761,09, 2022). If the recipient’s total amount of grant for the fiscal year exceeds the maximum tax-free limit, the recipient will be taxed on the amount that exceeds this limit. Grants and research funding are to be specified in the recipient’s income tax return. SLS notifies the tax authorities of all grants and research funding awarded.

Pursuant to the Finnish Act requiring pension and accident insurance for grant holders, recipients of grants must take out pension and accident insurance with the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution (Mela). This insurance is compulsory and applies to people resident in Finland. The premium to be paid is approximately 14 per cent of the total grant awarded. The recipient takes out the insurance. SLS informs Mela of the grants and funding awarded.

All recipients of grants shall submit a report on the use of the grant within 14 months of payment of the grant.

Reminders are sent out twice after the reporting deadline. The reminder is sent to the email address given on the application form by the recipient of the grant or the contact person. If the email address changes, notify forskning@sls.fi of the new email address.

If you have not provided a report on the use of the grant within the deadline, it may affect the chances of receiving new grants.

Link to the report: https://ansokan.sls.fi/ 

For the funding granted by SLS to be paid out, the university must confirm that it is accepting the researcher.

For the post-doctoral research positions that SLS chooses to finance, employment agreements are entered into between the university, SLS and the researcher.

One copy of both printed and digital humanities and social science monographs must be sent to Grant Coordinator Kajsa Rytikoski ( kajsa.rytikoski@sls.fi or PB 158, 00171 Helsinki).

The publication is placed in SLS library, which is a specialized scientific library with a focus on Swedish culture in Finland and emphasis on humanities and social science literature.

Instructions for the data management plan

The plan will be made ahead of starting the project together with SLS’ Research and Archives Department.

Structure of the data management plan

You need to attach a separate data management plan to your application. In it, describe how research data and research materials will be handled while the project is in progress and how the project data will be made available once the project is completed.

Submit the plan even if the project does not create research data or gather material. Provide brief and concise answers to the questions. The data management plan complements the research plan by providing a description of the technical management and archiving of the project data and establishing the rights to the project data.

Either write a free-form plan or use the generic model for data management plans in DMPTuuli. Please note that the list below contains some questions that have not been specified in DMPTuuli.

Questions that your data management plan must answer

General description of data and material

What type of research data (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, measurement data) does the project collect or use in analogue and digital form?

What kinds of data and materials does the project use?

 A) data gathered for the project

 B) data arising/created in the research process

C) existing data collected previously which is reused in this project

Briefly describe the types of analogue or digital data and materials that will be collected or produced. This may be text, numerical data, images, photographs, audio and video recordings, for example. State the kinds of existing data that will be used.

What file formats does the material use? State the file formats for all digital data. The file format is of central importance for future availability and reusability of data.

Quality assurance

How will the consistency and quality of the data material be checked? Describe how the methods used to collect, analyse, and process data might affect the quality of your project’s data and how the risks are minimised.

Quality control ensures that the data is not changed by mistake and that quality is retained throughout its lifecycle. Quality problems may arise in connection with technical data management or data transfer or when processing and analysing the content.

How legislation and ethical principles will be taken into account

It is of the utmost importance that legislation on data protection and intellectual property and the rules on research ethics are complied with when research data is managed, archived and made available.

In line with its policy of open access to science and cultural heritage, SLS aims to promote as free access to research data as possible, although restrictions may be imposed by legislation and ethical considerations.

Does the project research data include personal data on living persons as defined in the EU’s Data Protection Regulation? If this is the case, how will you comply with the personal data processing requirements set by the Regulation?

Describe how copyright and rights of ownership to the material will be handled. Has consent been obtained under copyright law and agreements drawn up so as to ensure that the material can be gathered, used, published, archived and reused in subsequent research? Agreements on copyright and ownership of the research material are to be drawn up with informants and with other external partners as well as members of research projects.

In their research and management of the research material, the researchers must follow the regulations of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (Link: https://www.tenk.fi/en/).

Draw up plans and take the necessary steps to resolve any ethical or legal questions in conjunction with disseminating the material. Details of ethical issues and statements from the ethics committee must be set out in the research plan. The data management plan only needs to detail ethical issues related to data management.

How will any ethical issues be taken into account when storing data (e.g. sensitive data linked to personal data, other people’s access to the material)?

If the ethics review board provides a statement on the research, the data management plan must state how the board’s instructions will be followed (e.g. how the identity of the participants will be protected by removing sensitive or personal information from data before making it accessible).

Documentation and metadata

In what way will data and materials be documented and systematised so that they are searchable, accessible, interoperable and reusable? Which identification data and metadata will be used?

Data and materials produced or used in the project must be able to be found, identified, and located using metadata.

Metadata is necessary information, e.g. about where, when, why and how data and materials have been gathered, processed and interpreted. Metadata can also include data on analytical methods and the research environment.

Find out whether there is a specific metadata schema or a metadata standard in your discipline/research community or at the archive where you intend to locate your data material.

Storage and backup during the project period

How will the data be stored and backed up and how will it be protected from unauthorised access while the project is in progress? Describe how secure and reliable storage of the research material will be ensured.

Think about who will be responsible for backing up the material and restoring it if necessary.

It is extremely important to ensure data security, especially if the data material contains sensitive personal information. State who has access to your data material, what they are entitled to do with it, and how it will be ensured that data is transferred to partners or other researchers securely.

Open, publish and archive data once the research project is completed

The assumption is that research material produced using SLS funding will be openly accessible.

Describe and specify how and in which archive the research material will be archived once the project is complete. Materials arising in research and projects funded by SLS are to be offered to SLS’ archive in the first instance. If research data cannot be made openly available for continued use, explain how and where metadata for the material will be made accessible.

Briefly describe how the project will document its own activities and how this documentation will be archived.

When the project has started, a plan for how the project communicates its research and its findings will be made together with SLS' project manager.