Updated 24 April 2020

Research.fi is a service offered by the Ministry of Education and Culture that collects and shares information on research conducted in Finland. The service improves the location of information and experts on research and increases the visibility and societal impact of Finnish research.

The service was launched in June 2020 and will be developed in phases. At the moment, the service contains information on the Finnish research system, publications by Finnish organizations, projects funded by public and private research funders, information on researchers operating in Finland and their research activities, and statistical information on the development of research resources and impact.

In the future, the service will improve, for example, the coverage of information and it will be expanded with new datasets. Search based on a topic or a theme will be improved and more sources will be added to the service. In addition to the current content, more information will be added to the service later more broadly information on the Finnish research and innovation system. The search features of the service will be improved and functionalities for viewing the data in a graphic format will be added to it.

Commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Culture, the service was launched by CSC - IT Center for Science in cooperation with higher education institutions, other research organizations and research funders.

Updated 4 February 2025

The service automatically updates information already found in the systems of universities, universities of applied sciences, research institutes, university hospitals, and research funders.

Because information is not entered in the service manually, it does not increase researchers’ reporting or other administrative work. The service contains descriptive information that makes it easy to find, for example, open access publications and research data.

The comprehensiveness and timeliness of the information depends on the organizations providing the information, and each organization is responsible for the accuracy of its own information. Submitting information is mainly voluntary. Only the submission of publication information is mandatory for higher education institutions.

Read more on how to provide information to Research.fi (in Finnish)

Publications

Publication information consists of information submitted by Finnish universities, universities of applied sciences, research institutes and university hospitals in the data collection of the Ministry of Education and Culture. 

The data is collected through the national VIRTA publication information service VIRTA-julkaisutietopalvelun, and the data is used, for example, as calculation criteria for the basic funding of higher education institutions (see OKM/2018/116 and OKM/2018/119).  Research.fi also offers the option to inspect the search results and publication volumes with a visualization tool.

The submission of publication information to the Ministry of Education and Culture has been mandatory for universities and universities of applied sciences since 2011. Some organizations have also submitted older publications, even as far back as the 1970s, but their information may be incomplete.

For organizations other than universities and universities of applied sciences, the Ministry of Education and Culture collects publication information on a voluntary basis. University hospitals have also been submitting their information since 2011, and research institutes have joined the data collection gradually since 2014.

See list of organizations submitting publication information.

Granted funding

Research.fi collects information on grants funded by public and private research funders. The funding providers transfer information on their funding decisions from their own funding systems to the research information hub on a timetable of their own choosing.

The service contains funding information from The Research Council of Finland from the beginning of 2020, as well as funding granted by Business Finland and several private research funding foundations from the moment of joining. New foundations will be joining. All funding received by research operators from the European Union's Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe framework programs is in the service. The funding granted for research actors from the Structural Funds (ERDF, ESF) is from the previous program period.

Funding decision information only includes the amount granted in the funding decision of funders, not the total costs of the project. 

See the list of funding organizations submitting information on grants.

The service uses unsupervised machine learning methods (topic modeling) to automatically group text materials into different topics. This enables better discoverability of granted funding and offers new perspectives on the Finnish research field. The results of the topic modeling of the projects can be viewed and utilized with the "Identified topic" filter in Research.fi's Granted funding section.

See more information on topic modeling in Research.fi

Infrastructures

Research infrastructures are key national research instruments, equipment, materials and services that enable and support research, researcher education, and teaching as well as develop research and innovation capacity. Research.fi promotes the joint use and openness of research infrastructures by describing and presenting research infrastructures and their services in a uniform manner.

A research infrastructure can be a large national or international entity jointly managed by several organizations. It can also be managed by one organization and only used by its own research group. Research infrastructure may also have, for example, services aimed at companies.

The submission of information on research infrastructures and the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the information are the responsibility of the organizations and bodies managing the infrastructures.

See list of organizations submitting infrastructure information.

Organizations

The service contains more detailed information on research and funding organizations which are submitting information to the service. Organization information is automatically compiled from the following sources:

• Business Information System
• Finto - Finnish Thesaurus and Ontology Service: Finnish community names
• Vipunen - Education Statistics Finland

Science and research news

The latest science and research news is automatically updated from RSS feeds provided by research organizations. Each organization decides what news are in the service.

See list of organizations submitting news.

Funding calls

The service displays past, current and upcoming funding calls by finnish, private funders. The information is obtained directly from the funders either through their system providers or if the funder does not use a system provider, the funding calls are provided using a separate form. More information about providing funding calls (in Finnish).

The front page shows funding calls ending soon. Calls can be filtered in detail on their own search page. The link to more detailed information about funder exists if it supplies also grant information into Research.fi.

The development of new features continue.

Researchers

A service feature is being developed in which the researcher can give permission to transfer their existing data from the ORCID service or from their home organization to be published on the research.fi service. Researcher information includes contact information, affiliations, training and qualifications, description of your own research, and other research activities.

The researcher is able to create a profile for the service and select the information to be presented in it. Researchers can also connect publications, research data, projects, etc. already included in research.fi to their profile.

See the list of organisations submitting researcher information.

Research data 

The service uses national Fairdata services as a source of information for research data. Fairdata services contain information on Finnish research data, including metadata saved by researchers themselves as well as transferred from research organisations.

Information on the research data is currently retrieved from only a few sources. In the future, the aim is to compile metadata for research data stored by Finnish organisations in their own systems as widely as possible.

See the list of organizations submitting research data.

Projects

The service will contain information on research organizations' projects. The information from the Projectnet database will be added first. 

At a later stage, it is possible to collect information about research projects in the database also from, for example, the systems of universities and other research organisations.

More information about projects (in Finnish).

Updated 24 November 2022

In the service, you can browse and search for information as well as share individual pages or records, for example, on social media.

You can use the Researcher's Profile Tool to create a public profile in the Research.fi service. You log in to the Researcher's Profile Tool with Suomi.fi identification and on the first login you also import your ORCID data. Create a profile here: https://research.fi/en/mydata

At a later stage, the goal is to make it possible to also download information in the service to a file or retrieve it through a machine-readable API interface.

The service is constantly being developed. You can give feedback if you encounter problems with the service, if you have any suggestions for improving the service or if you find errors in the information.

What information is being collected about me as a user of Research.fi service?
What information about me is collected as a user of the Researcher's Profile Tool?
Is the service accessible?
Give feedback

Updated 10 July 2023

See the service Privacy Notice and Cookie Policies.

See the service Processing of personal data.

Updated 24 May 2023

See the Service Accessibility Statement

What is the Research.fi service and who is responsible for it?

Research.fi is a service provided by the Ministry of Education and Culture that collects and disseminates information on research conducted in Finland. CSC - IT Center for Science is responsible for the implementation of the service on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Culture in collaboration with Finnish higher education institutions, research institutes and other research organizations as well as research funders.

What is the difference between the Research Information Hub and Research.fi?

The National Research Information Hub collects, collates and provides descriptive information on research. It aims, for example, to simplify the process researchers use to submit reports to funding providers. Research.fi, on the other hand, is the external service of the Research Information Hub that provides easy access to the information.

The National Research Information Hub project was initiated in 2017, and the related Research.fi service was launched in June 2020. The development of the National Research Information Hub and Research.fi is ongoing.

How is personal data processed in the National Research Information Hub and on Research.fi?

According to the General Data Protection Regulation, personal data is all data that can be linked to a person. This means that the Research Information Hub also stores personal data. Currently, the service collects the personal data of, for example, the authors of publications and research data or recipients of funding decisions, including their names, organizations and ORCID identifiers. For more information, see the service’s privacy policy and cookie policy.

How accessible is Research.fi?

The accessibility requirements for the online service are based on the Act on the Provision of Digital Services (306/2019). Research.fi meets the level AA critical accessibility requirements defined in WCAG 2.1. Only the statistical contents of the portal’s “Figures on science and research” section can be problematic for users of screen readers. For more information, see the service’s accessibility statement.

How can I give feedback on the service?

You can use the feedback form on the Research.fi service to, for example, provide feedback on the portal’s functionalities or visual identity and report any errors or problems. Alternatively, you can send your feedback vie email to tiedejatutkimus@csc.fi.

What information does the service contain?

Currently, the service contains information from e.g. the Finnish research system, publications by Finnish organizations, projects funded by public and private research funders, as well as statistical information on the development of research staff and funding figures and the impact of scientific publications.

The service contains metadata that describes the research. Therefore, any actual research data or publications are not stored in the service. However, the metadata often includes a permanent address from which the publication or data can be downloaded.

Who is responsible for the accuracy of the information?

Each organization providing information is responsible for the accuracy, quality, completeness and up-to-dateness of its information.

Is the provision of information mandatory?

In general, the submission of information is voluntary for organizations. Only the submission of publication information to the Ministry of Education and Culture has been mandatory for universities and universities of applied sciences since 2012. For organizations other than universities and universities of applied sciences, the Ministry of Education and Culture collects publication information on a voluntary basis. For more information, see the instructions on submitting information to the National Research Information Hub (available in Finnish).

Can I limit my searches in the service to the sub-units of organizations?

Limiting your search by sub-unit will be included in a later update to the service. Currently, users cannot limit their queries by sub-unit.

What information does the service contain about researchers?

The service contains information on researchers and experts who have created a profile and given permission to publish it on the Research.fi service. For instance, the service makes it easier to find experts in a specific field in Finland.

Profiles are created in the Researcher's Profile Tool, in which users can combine information from a number of sources, such as their home organization and ORCID profile. Creating a profile is voluntary for researchers and experts, and you can choose the information that is displayed in your profile. Researcher information includes contact information, affiliations, education and qualifications, fields of research, a description of their own research and various expert positions. Users can also attach publications, datasets, projects, etc. already in the Research.fi service to their profiles.

How is my information entered into Research.fi and Researcher's Profile Tool?

In the Researcher's Profile Tool, the user consents to their information being imported from their ORCID profile. The information from the home organization has been transferred to the Finnish Research Information Hub by the home organization. Users can manage the visibility of imported information in the Research.fi service.

The details of researchers’ publications, datasets and projects are collected from source systems maintained by higher education institutions and research institutes. Details of the funding decisions are supplied by the research funding agencies. The Finnish Research Information Hub and the owners of the source systems have jointly determined which information will be stored in the Research Information Hub.

See the Act on the Finnish Research Information Hub for the foundations for data transfer (available in Finnish and Swedish).

How do I edit my information?

The information is edited in the source systems, from where they are retrieved to Research.fi service and Researher's Profile Tool. You cannot edit the information in the Researcher's Profile Tool. All entries indicate the source where the necessary changes can be made. Changed information is automatically updated in the profile.

What is an ORCID identifier and why is it useful in Research.fi?

The international ORCID iD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) provides a persistent identifier distinguishing you from every other researcher. The ORCID iD is globally the most widely recognised and used instrument for identifying researchers. 

ORCID is an open, public, international and community-based register of permanent digital researcher identifiers. ORCID is an independent non-profit organisation. Anyone can create an ORCID iD.

The ORCID service serves as an identification method in the Research.fi Researcher's Profile Tool, and the user can use the identifier to link research outputs to their profile. 

For more information on the ORCID iD, visit tutkijatunniste.fi or the international ORCID website.

Is an ORCID iD necessary for a researcher?

No, but several international academic publishers and some funders require that researchers have an ORCID iD. It is not possible to use the Researcher's Profile Tool of the Research.fi service without an ORCID iD.

Why is strong identification required to create a profile?

Identification to Researcher's Profile Tool is always done with strong Suomi.fi identification.

Logging in to Researcher's Profile Tool and managing your own data are at the centre of the service, and the Suomi.fi identification guarantees users reliable and long-term access to their own data. The HAKA login and similar login options offered by employers do not allow identification, for example, for scholarship researchers or people who change affiliations frequently.

Strong identification also reduces the possibility of abuse and assists in sorting out abusive situations.

Other identification options cannot be enabled at the moment alongside Suomi.fi identification, as Suomi.fi identification is the only strong form of identification that is in use in Finland.

Research.fi actively monitors the development of identification tools and aims to introduce new login options when they become available.

How does the servic determine which organisation the user belongs to? Who can create a profile?

Universities, universities of applied sciences, research institutes and university hospitals submit information on their own users and determine who belongs to their organization. When creating a researcher profile, a researcher can also import their affiliation data from their ORCID profile. 

Any researcher or expert with an ORCID iD can create a profile in the service. Users must agree to the terms of use of the service.

How can I hide my profile if I want?

You can hide your public profile from Research.fi at any time. Hiding your profile means that your public profile will not appear on the Research.fi service, but the information you have selected will remain in the Researcher's Profile Tool. The profile can be hidden by logging in to the tool and changing the settings on the Account Settings page.

Hiding your profile does not affect the sharing choices you have made; the information you have chosen will continue to be shared with those actors you have selected. You can edit sharing options even when the profile is hidden.

You cannot change the selections you made on your public profile while the profile is hidden. The information is only saved when the profile is published. You can log into the profile at any time and republish it.

Can a research group create a profile in the service?

Only individuals can create a public profile in the Research.fi service. It is not possible to present as a research group, but it is possible to select information on membership in different groups in your own profile if it is available from the source systems.

Research groups are defined by the home organizations. The service also strives to consider non-official organizational structures, if the information is available from the source systems.

Can one enter their own information into the National Research Information Hub

No information is entered manually into the service, as all relevant details are retrieved automatically from the systems used by e.g. universities, universities of applied sciences, research institutes, university hospitals and research funders. Currently, there are no plans for the introduction of a user interface for data entry purposes. For more information, see the instructions on submitting information to the National Research Information Hub (available in Finnish).

Can the National Research Information Hub be used to store research data or publications?

The National Research Information Hub contains only metadata that describes the research. This metadata includes publications references and research data descriptions. No actual research data or publications are stored in the National Research Information Hub. However, the metadata often includes a permanent address from which the publication or data can be downloaded.

What should be taken into account to ensure that the publications of your organization are included in the service?

Currently, all publication information is retrieved from the systems used by public organizations, such universities, universities of applied sciences, research institutes and university hospitals. If a publication is not stored in one of the systems, it cannot be included in the Research.fi service.

However, the aim of the service is to comprehensively increase the visibility of all research conducted in Finland, so the inclusion of other information providers, such as companies and third sector organizations, has also been discussed during the project.

How can funders participate in the National Research Information Hub, and what information must they provide?

The funding provider must support research with at least a portion of the funding it has granted. Otherwise, funding providers are not required to provide much information, which makes it easier for them to join the service. Funding providers can also provide more information than the required minimum. See more information on the National Research Funding Database. In addition, funding providers can discuss the particulars of joining the service by sending an email at hanketietovaranto@csc.fi.

How often is the information from different source systems updated to the service?

Each information provider can decide on the frequency of its updates. Most publication information is updated daily. The information on funding decisions is usually updated whenever a funder publishes its latest decisions.

What should I do if there is an error in my information?

The organizations that supply the information are responsible for the accuracy of the information, and any corrections must always be carried at the supplying organization’s end. If there are any errors in your information, we kindly ask that you contact the parties responsible for collecting information in your organization.

Can I export my search results from the service, for example to an Excel file?

Unfortunately the data cannot be downloaded from the service as of yet. In 2022, an API will be developed and piloted to retrieve data from the research information hub in JSON format. Research actors may apply for reading access from MinEdu to the public information of the research information hub and authorised information on researcher profile data. Organisations that are not included in research actors may apply for reading access to authorised researcher profile data from MinEdu. The Act on Research Information Hub enables the development of the API and defines research actors.

Learn more about the development of API's and participating in piloting (in Finnish).

What are the benefits of the portal for businesses and companies?

Business and corporate representatives have participated in the service-oriented design of the project, and this process has been used to survey what information they need in particular from the new service. 

Their responses highlighted the necessity of finding experts as one of the most important use cases. Their other needs included utilizing research data to support their product development processes, and enhancing their collaboration with research organizations, for example in new research projects. Some companies also mentioned the better availability of e.g. infrastructures as an important use factor.

Will the National Research Information Hub increase the number of reports that need to be submitted to the authorities and the rate in which research activities are evaluated?

The main objective of the National Research Information Hub is to facilitate the transfer of data between separate systems, reduce the manual and multiple entry of data, and improve the accessibility of research data. It is not intended to expand the collection of data by the authorities. 

Of the information collected in the National Research Information Hub, the publication data is already included in the annual data collected by the Ministry of Education and Culture from higher education institutions. The information used in the evaluations of research activities depends on the party conducting the evaluation.

Will the implementation of the National Research Information Hub involve overlapping work, since the information has already been collected into other systems?

The aim of the service is to automatically transfer copies of the information from other source systems to the National Research Information Hub. The National Research Information Hub collects information from a number of different source systems and forwards this information to any other parties that need it. This solution eliminates the need for each system to build its own connection to every other system.

How is the Research Information Hub project progressing?

In 2020, the Research Information Hub’s external Research.fi portal and the following sections were published: publications, projects (funding decisions), infrastructures, organizations, scientific news, the research and innovation system, and science and research in figures. 

During 2021, information on research data was added to the service. In 2022, the service was expanded to also cover the profile data of researchers and experts. In 2023, data from the research data repository was opened for use by research actors through an API.

What will be added to the service?

In the future, the service will be expanded with new data sets and information, and the coverage of the data and information will be improved. The service’s topic-related search function and information source list will be improved. In addition, at a later stage, the API of Research Information Hub will be improved and the importing data through the interface will be made possible. The Research Information Hub's vision describes future plans and goals (in Finnish).