Kone Foundation’s strategy

Our vision is an ecologically sustainable and socially equal Finland, where free research and art flourish, and where minorities and young people also participate as equals in building society. Kone Foundation is a vigilant, bold and flexible organisation that cares about its grantees and works towards building a healthy work community.

OUR VALUES

Academic and artistic freedom

We foster academic and artistic freedom. Research and the arts must be allowed to grow and develop on their own terms. Free, responsible and diverse research and art are the prerequisites of civilisation and democracy.

Ecosocial awareness

Ecosocial awareness means the capability and willingness to act responsibly towards human communities, the environment and nature. We rely on the humanist quest to understand human beings, but see them as part of Earth’s ecosystem and biodiversity.

Perseverance

We appreciate persevering, unhurried and in-depth work. The aphorism “No hatching, no hatchling” by writer Jonimatti Joutsijärvi is an important metaphor for us, because it describes the time it takes for in-depth understanding to take root.

Diversity

We value diversity in and of itself and across various contexts such as in nature, language, society and people. We encourage multi-voiced discussions and listen to them carefully.

Boldness

For us, boldness means the courage to experiment, to question and to look at things differently. We value incompleteness, multidisciplinary approaches and combining perspectives to challenge our thinking. We encourage peacefully peaceful crossing of boundaries within and between disciplines, as well as across national borders. We equally value the courage to preserve what is worth maintaining. In our own work, we also want to push beyond the conventional: reach further, keep an open mind and take risks.

Sense of community

Boldness is powered by encounters, dialogue and a sense of community. This is expressed by the metaphor of the well as a place for sharing, listening and talking. A sense of community, hospitality and equality characterise our organisational culture.

Truth

Meaningful societal debate and development are built on facts, research evidence and open-minded thinking. Valuing truth means building our shared reality honestly and critically, fostering pluralism of voices and relying on research-based knowledge.

OUR OPERATIONS

The Foundation’s core operations include funding the work of researchers and artists. Alongside this, a new focus area is strengthening societal participation, especially for young people and minorities.

The Foundation supports free and multi-voiced research in the humanities, social sciences environmental sciences and artistic research, as well as artistic work. We also support multidisciplinary work that combines or draws on both research and art. Regardless of nationality, we support the work of researchers and artists in Finland and abroad, when the work has a connection to Finland.

In promoting societal participation, our aim is to increase the opportunities of underrepresented population groups to participate in and influence the building of society. At the same time, we aim to make public debate more multi-voiced, accessible and less polarised. We also strive to make scientific research knowledge available to as many people as possible.

The Foundation develops ways to identify interesting researchers and artists, as well as those building societal participation through means such as open calls and proactive foundation work. The Foundation acts not only as a sparring partner but also as a creator of connections and networks, for both applicants and grantees.

In addition, funding programmes and thematic grant calls are ways to direct attention to issues the Foundation considers important, and to increase understanding of them. In line with our strategy, we also focus on issues related to the carrying capacity of the biosphere.

The Saari Residence, an international artist residency maintained by Kone Foundation, provides artists and researchers with the opportunity to focus on their work and encounter one another. At the heart of its activities are, on the one hand, free art and research in line with the Foundation’s values, and on the other, interaction-based activities built around the Saari Well, a metaphor for the collective thinking that emerges through sharing. Those who gather at the well can encounter one another, gain insight, and leave their mark on each other’s work and on the Residence. The unique environment and the slowness of time give the Saari Residence’s activities their distinctive character.

The residency’s activities are guided by ecological sustainability, meaning the nurturing of the environment, social relationships, relationships with the local community, and mental well-being. The residence generates knowledge and understanding that enriches the Foundation’s work as a whole, as well as the international residency field.

In addition to funding, the Foundation supports its grantees in other ways too, including support for their expertise, resources and well-being, as well as their networking. This support is called Grants+. The metaphor of the well is also at the heart of this work: encounters and sharing carry real weight. The Grants+ programme is developed in interaction with grantees.

Making the work of our grantees visible is the most important task of the Foundation’s communications, but we also communicate about our own activities. We reinforce knowledge-based advocacy by bringing projects to the attention of decision-makers and influencers and making them available for their use. Our communication is interactive, dialogic, curious and alert.