Business Finland Research to Business

Research to Business Grant

Supports Finnish public research organizations converting laboratory outcomes into commercial products and services.

Research to Business (R2B) supports Finnish public research organizations in preparing the commercialization of research-based product or service solutions and conducting applied research guided by commercialization preparation. Business Finland funds 80 percent of eligible project costs; the research organization funds the remaining 20 percent. Total project budgets typically range from EUR 500,000 to EUR 800,000 and projects run 1 to 2 years.

At least 40 percent of project costs must be allocated to commercialization preparation activities — prior art and freedom-to-operate analyses, customer-value definition, market research, competitor analysis, financing-model and business-model exploration, IP protection (excluding maintenance fees), commercialization training, and customer/investor communication. The remainder of project costs may fund applied research supporting commercialization.

R2B is public research funding. Funding may not be used for business-plan preparation, marketing material acquisition, brand creation, product development not directly tied to commercialization preparation, contract research, or basic research.

Funding calls are organized twice yearly, in spring and autumn, with funding decisions targeted by end of June and end of December. R2B applications must be coordinated with the applicant institution's innovation/commercialization services unit. The actual product development and full business operations happen after the project, in a new company to be established or as a new business activity within an existing company.

The utilization aim is to commercialize results as new business. Results are public after project completion (subject to confidentiality protection for IP-sensitive items). If a startup is established to commercialize the solution during the project, the project's objectives are considered achieved and the R2B funding is terminated.