Guidelines for grantees

General instructions

• The research grant can only be used for costs indicated in the application. Any changes to the intended use should be agreed in writing with the Secretary General of the Cancer Foundation.
• The official grant letters are sent to the grantees a few days after the funding decisions have been made.

Payment of grants

All grants are paid to the bank accounts of the universities or research organisations concerned. Only travel grants and dissertation grants can be paid to the grantee’s own bank account.

In the grant letter, you will receive instructions on how to provide the Cancer Foundation with the necessary personal details, your personal identity code (social security number), the bank account information and the payment reference. You should also indicate whether you are affiliated with or a related party to the Cancer Foundation.

The grants will be paid in equal instalments: the first instalment in January and subsequent instalments automatically every six months (in June and January). Sites of research may charge overhead costs of up to 15% on research grants exceeding 10,000 euros.

If you do not provide the necessary payment information within one year of the funding decision, the grant will be returned to the Cancer Foundation, unless otherwise agreed.

Notifying the Tax Administration

In line with the Finnish Tax Administration’s instructions, the Cancer Foundation notifies the Tax Administration of all grants equal to or exceeding 1,000 euros and provides details on the grantees. In order to make this notification we need your personal identity code.

The notification sent by the Cancer Foundation only concerns the grantee, the principal investigator of the project. It is the responsibility of the research team to notify the Tax Administration of grants/scholarships awarded to members of the team from the Cancer Foundation’s grants. More information on tax issues is available on the Tax Administration’s website www.vero.fi/en.

Social security and notification obligation

The insurance obligation under Finnish law applies to all grantees covered by the Finnish social security system who have received a Finnish personal grant for at least four months of scientific work in Finland amounting to 4,131 euros per year (in 2022).

The Cancer Foundation will submit the necessary grantee notification to the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution (Mela), which also handles the affairs of grant recipients. You must contact Mela to take out any necessary insurances. More information is available on Mela’s website www.mela.fi/en.

Reporting

There are two ways to report on the results obtained with the grant:

1. When applying for a new grant, you must report on the results obtained with previous grants and on the progress of the research in the relevant section of the application form.
2. You must report on your results annually in Researchfish, based on a request sent by the The Cancer Foundation. Grantees are provided with separate instructions on reporting. The first report is requested approximately one year after the first instalment has been paid. The Cancer Foundation uses the Researchfish system to monitor the results and impact of research it has supported through grants.

Dissertation grantees shall send the Cancer Foundation information on the date of the public examination of their dissertation and, where possible, a permanent link to the online version of the dissertation. No other reporting or accounts are required.

Settlement of accounts

The final accounts concerning the use of the grant may be presented to the Cancer Foundation as soon as the grant period ends but no later than 14 months after the end of the period.

If there is unused grant money at the end of the funding period, you may use the money one calendar year after the end of the period. If there is still money left over after one year, the Cancer Foundation may for justified reasons extend your grant period based on a written application addressed to the Secretary General.

The accounts statement on the use of the grant is provided using a separate form (see bottom of the page) in which you specify how the grant has been used. The financial reports appended to the final accounts shall cover the entire grant that was paid.

You must also include a receipt of the overheads. We will not accept unspecified facility costs.

In the accounts settlement you confirm with your signature that the grant was used appropriately and according to the original budget. If necessary, the Cancer Foundation may request additional information.

The Cancer Foundation may require a grant to be returned if you fail to provide a final accounts statement. Failure to account for the use of an awarded grant within the given deadlines may prevent you from being paid grants in the future.

Settlement of accounts does not apply to dissertation grants, as they are personal grants.

Travel grants

Travel grants awarded by the Cancer Foundation may not be used for daily allowances (per diem). The travel grants are paid in a single instalment on the basis of a hotel bill, a conference fee or an equivalent original receipt. Make sure that the original documents display the currency. Please send your payment form no later than 6 months after traveling.

Please include all your expenses to your invoice, even if the final sum exceeds the granted amount. Also indicate on the invoice if any other institution pays parts of your expenses.

If the grant does not cover all travel expenses, we can provide a breakdown of the costs reimbursed by the Cancer Foundation upon request.

Communication guidelines

When referring to the grant in your communications, we hope that you will take into account the following:

The grant has been awarded by Cancer Foundation Finland sr (in Finnish Syöpäsäätiö sr, in Swedish Cancerstiftelsen sr).

On occasion, you should also acknowledge the specific fund from which the grant has been awarded, for example the ‘Juhlatoimikunta’. You should also acknowledge the party that has donated the grant money to the Cancer Foundation, if the party wants their name to be mentioned.

We hope that you will also notify any interesting research findings to the Cancer Foundation’s Communications Department at [email protected].