The Academy of Finland’s mission is to fund high-quality scientific research, provide expertise in science and science policy, and strengthen the position of science and research. It is an agency within the administrative branch of the Finnish Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

AKA works to contribute to the renewal, diversification and increasing internationalisation of Finnish research. Activities cover the full spectrum of scientific disciplines.

AKA supports and facilitate researcher training and research careers, internationalisation and the utilisation of research results. AKA is also keen to emphasise the importance of research impact and breakthrough research. AKA therefore encourages researchers to submit boundary-crossing applications that involve risks but also offer promise and potential for scientifically significant breakthroughs.

In 2017, the funding for research amounts to 437 million euros. Each year, funding contributes to some 2,700 people’s work (FTEs) at universities and research institutes.

Part of the funds come from proceeds of Finland’s national gaming company Veikkaus. In 2017, these proceeds account for 70.7 million euros of our total funding for scientific research.

The Academy of Finland,

• Grants competition-based funding for scientific research, researcher training and the development of framework conditions for research.
• Provides science policy expertise.
• Promotes scientific research and its application.
• Develops international scientific cooperation.
• Performs any other science policy expert roles assigned.

The Academy of Finland does it by,

• Receiving funding applications from researchers (some 4,000 applications each year).
• Assembling panels of international experts to review the applications.
• Members of the research councils, the Strategic Research Council, the Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee or the Academy Board make the funding decisions based on the panels' reviews.
• The success rates in key funding opportunities are around 10–20 per cent.
• Grant funding for 3–6 years, in most cases for four or five years.