Join the Nessling crew in building an ecologically sustainable future – our grant call opens in august!

Emma Thomasin maalaus, jossa palava puu, lentäviä joutsenia ja itkevä vuori

If you are an environmental researcher or another party interested in building an ecologically sustainable future with your work, you are just the person we are looking for! This year, the Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation’s general grant call is open from 16 August to 17 September, with a total of 2.2 million euros awarded in grants. At the end of the article, you can find a registration link to the online information session to be organised on 16 June at 3–4 p.m.

We have no time to lose. Research can change the world but a loud voice and keen ears are also needed. We need scientists from different disciplines who are able to understand the ecological crisis and express it in words, not only in research but also in society as a whole. Are you the one we are looking for?

If you recognise yourself from the description above, submit your application and join the Nessling crew in building an ecologically sustainable future!

Who can apply for a grant from us this year?

This year, we will award funding as follows:

  • Personal grants for doctoral thesis researchers (a grant of a maximum of four years)
  • Personal grants for young post-doc researchers who have obtained their degree no longer than five years ago (a grant of a maximum of two years)
  • Grants for implementation projects where researched information is put into practical use through cooperation between the producers and users of information (a grant of a maximum of one year)

With the autumn’s call, we will award a total of 2.2 million euros in grants. Our main focus is on research grants. As in previous years, grants can be applied for projects that address one or more of the phenomena mentioned below.

  • Climate change
  • Biodiversity loss
  • Sustainability of the use of natural resources
  • Water risks
  • Chemicalization and pollution

What does a systemic solution mean?

The Foundation’s mission is to seek systemic solutions for an ecologically sustainable future.

The multidisciplinary approach is at the heart of a systemic solution. It helps to understand simultaneously many or even all of the environmental issues listed by the Foundation and contributes to the creation of scalable solutions and change.

In systemic change, society as a whole and all its areas – politics, people, nature, city and countryside, ways of thinking – undergo transition. We are turning to research to find solutions that enable or support systemic change – solutions that take into account the diverse and multidisciplinary nature of environmental issues and/or society.

This does not mean that researchers should have all the answers when it comes to adapting to new things. Rather, researchers need to understand how their research contributes to finding and understanding systemic solutions.  Therefore, a basic research project may also be eligible for funding from our Foundation, provided that the researcher understands the role of their research project in solving environmental challenges as well as the social relevance of the project and is also able to express this in words.

To emphasise the systemic approach, the Foundation especially supports projects that promote cooperation between different disciplines or sectors and the transfer of information to its users through communications and cooperation.

On June 16th we will organize an online information session in Finnish. You can watch the session here.

Psst! Starting from August, you use our booking calendar to book grant application sparring times with us.

Emma Thomasin maalaus, jossa palava puu, lentäviä joutsenia ja itkevä vuori
Emma Thomas: Crying Mountain (2020)