The aim of the Foundation for Economic Education is, through the grants it awards, to promote Finland’s economic growth and the competitiveness of its business sector. The Foundation has supported research and education in business studies with grants since 1919.
For 106 years, Liikesivistysrahasto (Foundation for Economic Education) has influenced the development of Finnish society by grants for research and education, particularly in the field of business administration. Promoting the economic growth and competitiveness of Finland are overarching goals of projects supported by the Fund. The majority of the grants are targeted towards researchers in their doctoral and post-doctoral stages. The grant recipient’s background may be from disciplines other than business economics, embracing fresh interdisciplinary approaches. Within the framework of the special funds’ regulations, support is also granted to particular applicant groups designated by donors.
The Foundation for Economic Education provides stability for long-term research by awarding multi-year grants to Research groups. Under the leadership of the Principal Investigator (PI), these pioneering 1–3-year projects involve doctoral and postdoctoral researchers. By 2024, a total of 78 projects have received support amounting to €6.9 million.
The Foundation for Economic Education’s thematic special initiative Innovations, Commercialization, and Growth is a key area of development for Finland’s competitiveness during 2024–2026. Through the grants awarded under this special initiative, the Foundation aims to encourage high-quality research in the field of business economics on the selected theme.
The grants from the Foundation for Economic Education include support for conferences, and research visits which also encompass long-term research abroad in the Foundations’ post doc pool, the Researchers Abroad (Tutkijat maailmalle) program, and the SCANCOR program. The Foundation for Economic Education is a member in the PoDoCo pool (Post Docs in Companies program) supporting researchers’ employment and collaboration with companies.
In 2024, a total of 5.45 million euros were awarded in grants and awards. The portion allocated to research groups was 1.0 million euros. The amount awarded within the thematic special project Innovations, Commercialization and Growth was 636,000 euros.
Grant Focus Areas 2026
The focus areas of the Foundation for Economic Education’s grant activities form a long-term framework for supporting business, entrepreneurship, and Finland’s economic growth. They reflect the continuous evolution of the operating environment, constitute a coherent whole, and are unified by a cross-cutting emphasis on forward-looking research and education.
Thematic Special Project:
INNOVATIONS, COMMERCIALIZATION AND GROWTH
The Foundation for Economic Education’s thematic special project for 2024–2026 focuses on areas essential to enhancing Finland’s competitiveness. In the context of improving the competitiveness of Finnish companies, commercialization is often linked to:
- successful scaling of business operations, innovation management, manufacturing, services, and business concepts in international markets
- effective utilization of digital channels and concepts
- successful pricing strategies
With the special project we aim to encourage high-quality research in the field of business economics on the selected theme.
GRANT ROUND 2025
The Foundation for Economic Education’s grant application round is from June 1 to August 15. The application round is announced annually on the foundation’s website and in major daily newspapers at the end of May.
The awarded grants are published on the Foundation’s website in late November or early December. The grant recipients will be informed via e-mail.
