Information about the 2020 grant call: Get ready to propose a bold initiative!

Our grant application call will be held from 1–15 September, after the summer holiday season. In addition to the general grant call, we will organise a thematic funding call called Sustainable Development, Russia, and Finland. The call is part of the programme The Changing Neighbournesses of Finland. Finnish art and research organisations who wish to invite a colleague from abroad to work with them can also apply for residencies at Lauttasaari Manor.

Kone Foundation awards annual grants for research and the arts, as well as projects combining the two. The Foundation seeks bold initiatives, by which we mean the ability to view current concepts from a different perspective – and to challenge them. We believe this will add to our collective understanding of the world. Our perception of boldness includes experimentation, incompleteness and non-predetermination.

Watch the grant info

On the video, Director of Research Funding Kalle Korhonen and Grants Coordinator Maija Karasvaara give you an introduction to Kone Foundation’s grant call as well as their tips for writing a successful application.

Thematic grant call: Sustainable Development, Russia, and Finland

As part of the programme The Changing Neighbournesses of Finland, 2020’s thematic grant call will focus on Russia and the relations between Finland and Russia from the angle of the environment and sustainable development. The funding call will be organised in connection with the Kone Foundation annual grant call, held from 1–15 Sept. 2020.

Within the thematic call, the Foundation can fund research and research-based work on sustainable development and environmental issues in the broad sense. The funded projects can focus on, for example: environmental co-operation between Finland and Russia; Russian environmental issues in a local, European, or global context; historical and political changes; the societal or economic aspects of sustainable development; environmental movements; or different kinds of discourses concerning the environment (rhetoric, literature or journalism).

Cross-border cooperation within the projects is emphasised: it is required that there are partners based both in Finland and Russia. The applicants (project leaders) are individual academics, but the administration of the projects must take place in Finnish research organisations.

The residence at Lauttasaari Manor makes international collaboration possible for Finnish organisations operating in the academic and artistic spheres

Finnish organisations in the fields of art and research that wish to invite a foreign expert in art or research to Finland for a cooperative project are welcome to apply for a residency at Lauttasaari Manor on behalf of their guest. The residency includes an apartment in the Red Villa (in the manor’s courtyard), a work space and a work grant, as well as a grant to cover the organisation’s expenses related to the visit, if necessary. The applicant is responsible for organising their residency’s programme.

The purpose of the Lauttasaari Manor’s residence activities is to foster true collaboration between local and international professionals in the fields of art and research. The residency promotes working, networking and international collaboration among professionals by making it possible for foreign art and academic research experts to live and work in Finland.

Applications for Lauttasaari Manor residencies are accepted for a period of 1 to 4 months. Please include your desired duration and dates of the residency in your application.

Grant info & advice

Grant info sessions

Grant info sessions offer an opportunity to learn about the grant application process and hear about our grantees’ experiences.

Grant info session on Thursday, 28 May, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Will be streamed on Kone Foundation’s Facebook page
No need to register beforehand
The event will be held partly in Finnish, partly in English.

Grant info session on Wednesday, 19 August, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. (in Finnish) and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (in English)

If the coronavirus pandemic allows, the events will be held at Lauttasaari Manor.
The events will have room for roughly the first 70 visitors, and there is no need to register beforehand.
The events will be streamed on Kone Foundation’s Facebook page.

Personal grant advice

Grant advice sessions are personal, 20-minutes’ appointments where you can discuss your project idea with the staff of Kone Grant advice sessions are one-on-one 20-minute appointments, during which you can discuss your project idea with Kone Foundation staff.

You can book an appointment with Kone Foundation’s Executive Director Anna Talasniemi (grants for arts and culture), Director of Research Funding Kalle Korhonen (grants for research, artistic research and popularising research; appointments from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) or Grant Coordinator Maija Karasvaara or Silja Pasila (general questions related to grants).

The dates and times of these advice sessions are:

Wednesday, 10 June from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; sign up here
Wednesday, 12 August from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Wednesday, 26 August from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Wednesday, 2 September from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thursday, 10 September from 10.a.m. to 1 p.m.

Registration for autumn’s grant advice sessions will be opened on Kone Foundation’s website in early August.

Grant workshop in September

We will arrange a grant workshop at Lauttasaari Manor on Wednesday, 2 September, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. At the event, grant applicants will have the opportunity to receive peer support for processing their applications. We will provide more information about the event in August.

Further information:

Kone Foundation website: instructions for grant applicants

koneensaatio@koneensaatio.fi, +358 9 260 0617 (Mon–Thu 11 a.m.–3 p.m., and Mon–Fri 11 a.m.–3 p.m. on 1–15 September)