Helsinki University weighs court appeal over rejected research funding

Helsinki University is considering appealing to an administrative court after Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman rejected funding for nine social work research projects, Yle reports.

The universities that were denied funding submitted requests for reconsideration to the ministry, but those requests were rejected. The next step would be an appeal to the administrative court.

Anne Portaankorva, the university’s vice-rector responsible for research funding, said the university was still reviewing the decision with the researcher and faculty leadership. A decision on possible further action will be made no earlier than next week.

Portaankorva said the university was also contacting other universities that received rejection decisions. Joint action could be considered.

Concerns over peer review

Portaankorva described the decision as highly unusual and said it was regrettable that applications and projects assessed as scientifically strong had not received funding.

She said funding decisions should be based on peer review, with the decision-making process and its rules known to applicants in advance. Changing the rules during the process should be avoided, she said.

Portaankorva also considered it highly unusual that funding already included in the budget had been cut. If the amount of funding needs to be reduced, she said, the applications should be returned to those preparing the decisions and final decisions should be made through peer review.

According to Portaankorva, Rydman’s decision undermines confidence in the importance of scientific assessment and peer review, which the academic community has relied on for decades.

Research in Finland is financed mainly with public funds. The Academy of Finland, for example, operates under the Ministry of Education and Culture, while ministries can also provide funding directly.

Portaankorva said it was positive that there were several funding channels. Ministry funding can help research be used to develop social welfare and healthcare services, and research can be carried out directly in social welfare and healthcare organisations.

She added that foundation funding alone was not enough to safeguard expertise and reliable research conducted in Finland.