Juho Vainio Foundation Health Research Grants

The Juho Vainio Foundation awards grants for scientific research and activities that promote public health and healthy lifestyles, especially health-promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition, prevention of health hazards caused by smoking and the use of alcohol, and the promotion of mental health and environmental health.

The grants awarded annually are approximately 1.500.000 euros.

The grants that the Foundation distributes are personal grants, post doc grants, project grants and grants for health-promoting activities. The latter can only be awarded a grant if there is a scientific research involved and/or an evaluation of the effects and benefits of the project. The Foundation may also award one or more large grant amounting to about EUR 100 000 annually. The amount of this grant is decided on separately by the Board of the Foundation each year. The large grant is meant for significant and broad research or other health-promoting project that lasts one or more years. The descriptions and definitions of the personal grant, project grant and large grant can be found in the general application instructions and terms available on the Juho Vainio Foundation website.

The grants can be applied for once a year for the following calendar year. The application period is September.

The Foundation has an electronic grant application and management system. The new system has been in operation since the application period for 2012 grants. Please note that also those grant receivers who have not submitted their application through the electronic system are required to submit their final reports through the system, which can be accessed here or on the Foundation’s website at Grants > Grant System.

The Foundation publishes the central results and conclusions of the studies and projects funded by its grants on its website in the “Research Results”-section after the final reports of the grant receivers have been approved.

GRANT APPLICATIONS

The application period for the grants is yearly during 1.9. – 30.9. ending at midnight.

The application announcement concerning grants for the following year is published on this website in May-June every year.  The application period for all the grants awarded for the following calendar year is September every year.  The grant application instructions can be found on the Foundation’s website at www.juhovainionsaatio.fi. All applications must be submitted through the grant system, which can be found on the Foundation’s website.

Apart from grants referred to in the above application announcement, the Juho Vainio Foundation awards grants to Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences students completing their Bachelor’s Theses. Applications for these grants are not submitted through the Juho Vaino Foundation Grant System. The applications are processed and decisions are made by the Metropolia Fund in cooperation with the Juho Vainio Foundation. These grants are meant for Bachelor’s Theses that support students’ professional development and promote the elimination of health hazards in the construction of new buildings and in the renovation of existing buildings.

INSTRUCTIONS AND CONDITIONS

The Juho Vainio Foundation awards grants for scientific research and activities that promote public health and healthy lifestyles. In the announcement for grants, the foundation specifies yearly a focus area of studies or projects to which the grants will especially be awarded. Other targets for funding are, for example health-promoting physical activities and nutrition, prevention of health hazards caused by smoking and the use of alcohol and other intoxicants, as well as the promotion of mental health and environmental health (including prevention of health hazards in buildings).
The grants are not awarded for Bachelor’s/ Master’s Theses.

The grants that the Foundation awards are 1) personal grants, 2) post-doc researcher grants, 3) project grants to research/working groups, 4) grants for health promotion activities. 5) The Foundation may also award one or more large grants annually.

The Juho Vainio Foundation grants funding for the same research project for a maximum of three years, i.e. the applicant can submit a maximum of two continuation applications.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The grants can be applied for once a year. The application period for grants awarded for the following calendar year is September every year.  A grant application announcement will be published on the Foundation’s website towards the end of May or early June and in the Helsingin Sanomat Newspaper in August. The grant application must be submitted through the electronic grant system of the Foundation. In the grant system, the application and its appendices are transferred to the Foundation in an electronic format. The entire application or a part of it may also be filled out in English. The Foundation does not request references or recommendations to support grant applications.

An application for ongoing research or other project for which the applicant has already received a grant from the Juho Vainio Foundation is considered a continuation application. The applicant should attach a progress report to the application. The progress report is the prerequisite for further funding. The Juho Vainio Foundation grants funding for the same research project for a maximum of three years, i.e. the applicant can submit a maximum of two continuation applications.

If the applicant has received a grant from the Juho Vainio Foundation for a research or other project before, he/she must submit the final report on the previous project or a progress report on the ongoing project to the Foundation before the new application can be considered.

GRANT DECISIONS

The decisions on the grants for the following year are made in November-December of the application year.

RESEARCH PLAN / PROJECT PLAN

A research/project plan is a required part of the grant application for the first time in the 2016 application round. You will find the research/project plan page under the second tab of the application in our grant system. The questions in front of each “box” to be filled in will help you give the required information. By answering the questions, the contents of the plan will meet the requirements set by the Academy of Finland for research plans. The number of characters in each box is limited, which means that the plan cannot be more than seven pages.

A project plan is typically related to a grant application for health-promoting activities. The applicant should fill in the required information where applicable, paying special attention to the requirement concerning the scientific research section and/or assessment of the impacts and benefits of the project.

The research/project plan should consist of the following:

Background

• Importance of the research/project both nationally and internationally
• A brief description of previous research on the same subject and how the research in question relates to it
• How far has the work progressed and how much, and what should still be done

Objective / goal

• The objective of the study/project
• Hypotheses and research questions
• Research methods and material

Available research methods / Description of the scientific studies related to the project

• The research material, how it is collected and how it is used
• Ethical aspects and possible ethical statements and materials related to research methods.

Results

• Expected results and their scientific and social significance
• Possible application and usage of research results / Evaluation of the project effectiveness and benefits
• Publication of the results and the collected material and other dissemination

GRANT AMOUNTS

Estimated amounts of the various grants awarded by the Juho Vaino Foundation:

• A typical personal grant is EUR 11,250 meant for a 6-month work period or EUR 22,500 meant for a one-year work period.
• The maximum amount of a post-doc researcher grant is EUR 25,000 without a predetermined work period.
• Generally, the maximum amount of a project grant awarded to a research/working group is EUR 30,000 without a predetermined work period.
• Based on the discretion of the Foundation, the amount of a grant awarded for health promotion activities may be EUR 5,000 – 20,000 without a predetermined work period.
• The amount of a large grant is EUR 100,000 without a predetermined work period.

SCHEDULE

The annual decision-making, information distribution and payment schedule of the grants is as follows:

• The application period for grants awarded for the following calendar year is September (1.9.-30.9.).
• The Foundation Board makes decisions on the distribution of the grants for the following year towards the end of November or by the end of December at the latest.
• The names of the grant receivers are published on the Foundation website www.juhovainionsaatio.fi immediately after the Board’s decisions.
• The grant awarding ceremony takes place in Helsinki the next January following the Board meeting. The invitation to the grant receivers is sent by email.
• The payment of the grants to the grant receivers who have submitted their payment schedules starts at the beginning of the year.