The Urban Research Programme supports research collaboration in line with the programme, mainly through annual open calls for research held in the autumn. In addition, the Urban Research Programme directly commissions projects and funds small-scale targeted surveys.
How to apply for research funding from the Urban Research Programme?
What is funding awarded for?
The Urban Research Programme funds research projects focusing on social and spatial change in cities and the possibilities of a city to influence this change alone or together with other actors.
- We are currently updating the urban research program to reflect the themes of the new mayor's program for 2025–2029. However, The Urban Research Program for 2022–2025 at the moment still refers to the themes of the previous mayor's program for 2021–2025. During the transition period, we ask applicants to familiarize themselves with the general principles of the Turku Urban Research Program for 2022–2025 and the themes of the new Mayor's programme 2025–2029 instead of the previous mayor's program. The themes should be taken into account when selecting the research topic, defining the research questions, and outlining the scope of the research.
- When evaluating applications, we will pay attention to the scientific merit, feasibility, applicability, topicality, and originality of the research plan.
- The Urban Research Programme funds academic research that is expected to generate applicable information relevant to the city’s development, including opportunities to influence its growth and bring about change.
- Research funded by the programme does not necessarily have to involve empirical research on Turku. It can also focus on broader changes related to specific phenomena and their impact on urban development. The research may also focus on other cities if the information gathered is relevant to the development of Turku.
The call for applications is funded by the City of Turku, Länsi-Suomen yleishyödyllinen asuntosäätiö, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University.
How is the funding distributed?
A maximum of EUR 600,000 in funding will be granted for the projects. The goal is to finance four initiatives, allocating EUR 150,000 to each one. At least one of the funded projects must focus on housing research. The projects need to be multidisciplinary.
The projects must start in 2026 and finish by the end of 2027. The City of Turku will appoint a steering group for each selected project.
Research groups that include scholars from the University of Turku and/or Åbo Akademi University can apply for the funding. In addition, consortia that feature researchers from additional universities, research institutes or universities of applied sciences in Finland or abroad are also eligible to submit their applications. The project management must, however, be based at the University of Turku or Åbo Akademi University, and their share of the project budget to be funded must be at least 50%.
When to apply for funding?
The application process takes place in two stages. In 2025, the applications for the first round had to be submitted by 14:00 on 31st October 2025. Detailed applications for the second round had to submitted by 14:00 on 4th December 2025.
The funding decisions will be made by 31st December 2025.
The work of a professor (etc.) leading a project or sub-project is considered a part of the university's (or other implementing body's) self-financing, which is not reimbursed, but for which a work time calculation does not need to be submitted. The expenses of the researchers hired for the project are reimbursed in full, calculated by the employer's actual expenses (30%, not according to the coefficients of the general cost model). A fixed 18% overhead surcharge is accepted for the financed portion of the project. In addition to salary costs, the funding can be used for grants and research material and travel costs.
How to apply for funding
The call for applications for research funding in the Urban Research Programme consists of two application rounds.
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1First round of applications: submit an application
The application consists of a summary page and a research plan of no more than six pages. Submit the application as a single PDF or Word file.
Summary (1 page):
- Title of the research project
- Director responsible for the research group or consortium, the research site, and the email address of the person in charge
- Research director’s personal details (address or date of birth), required for the official registration of the application
- Persons in charge of possible sub-projects and their respective locations
- An abstract (2,000 characters maximum)
- Justifications for how the research project matches the Turku Urban Research Programme 2022–2025 and Mayor’s Programme 2025–2029
Research plan (up to 6 pages):
- Background and objectives of the study, along with its connection to previous research
- A description of the project, its materials, and main research methods, with any sub-projects clearly separated
- Expected results, their academic novelty, and their relevance to the development of Turku
- A description of the research team, including added value generated by the potential consortium
- A description of any national or international cooperation
- Total funding requested, broken down by research location and salary costs per person (or by task if no person has been appointed)
- Research schedule
- Bibliography (main sources)
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2Send the application electronically to the City of Turku registry
- turun.kaupunki@turku.fi
- Title your message: Urban Research Programme call for projects
- We only take into account applications received by the deadline of 31 October, 14:00
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3Second round of applications: complete your application based on the instructions provided by the city
The City of Turku will contact the applicants by email with further instructions on any details that need to be specified or added to the application. The second round of applications is not expected to take significantly longer than the first.