Academy of Finland (AKA)

The Academy of Finland (AKA) is Finland’s leading source of funding for scientific research, operating within the administrative sector of the Ministry of Education and Culture and funded through the state budget. It is an umbrella organisation of the four Finnish Research Councils. The Academy of Finland is an active and major force in the Finnish science and innovation system and a strong voice in influencing international science policy. Its operation covers the full spectrum of scientific disciplines.
The Academy of Finland is committed to promoting high-quality and ethically sustainable research; supporting the renewal of research, multi-disciplinarity, new approaches and potential scientific breakthroughs; and reinforcing the role of science in resolving the grand challenges faced by society. The Academy has funding opportunities that provide support for the different stages of the research career as well as for research projects, research programmes, Centres of Excellence in research, foreign visiting professors’ work in Finland, international networking. Our funding for research amounts to 310 million Euros in 2014. Each year, our funding contributes to some 8,000 people’s work at universities and research institutes in Finland.
The Academy of Finland is committed to promoting the internationalisation of Finnish science and research. We work closely with key funding agencies in Europe and elsewhere with a view to ensuring that researchers in Finland are in the best possible position to carry out high-quality cooperation with colleagues abroad.
Website: www.aka.fi/en

Laura RAASKA
Function	Director, Biosciences and Environment Research Unit
Division	Research Council for Biosciences and Environment
Email	laura.raaska@aka.fi
Phone	+358 50 563 8006
Areas of exepertise	Research funding, research policy, ERA activities, water research, bioeconomy research, food microbiology.
Role in Water JPI activities	Governing Board representative - voting member Participation in supporting projects: WaterWorks2014, WaterWorks2015, WaterWorks2017, and the CSA IC4Water, and National contact point in the Pilot Call, 2015 Joint Call, and 2016 Joint Call. National stakeholder group for Water JPI

Kata-Riina VALOSAARI
Function	Science Adviser
Division	Research Council for Biosciences and Environment
Email	kata-riina.valosaari@aka.fi
Phone	+358 295 33 5128
Areas of expertise	Plant and forest sciences, climate change, research funding, ERA-NET activities, joint calls.
Role in Water JPI activities	Governing Board representative –Technical Advisor Participation in supporting projects: WaterWorks2014, WaterWorks2015, WaterWorks2017, and the CSA IC4Water, and National contact point in the Pilot Call, 2015 Joint Call, and 2016 Joint Call. Leading Pilot Joint Activities: Pilot Call modalities and process development, call launch and coordination, project follow-up and review as the Pilot Call Secretary Participating in SRIA development: leading Public consultation development Participating in Mapping exercise Impact Assessment: Task co-leader