Publishing and international activities of scientific societies

The Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV) distributes subsidies granted by the Ministry of Education and Culture to scientific societies for their publishing and international activities. Subsidies may also be granted to general scientific societies and science policy associations to cover the costs of high-quality publishing activities. The subsidies are granted for one year at a time.

The annual application period is 1–30 September. Applications submitted after this period will not be processed. 

Applications are submitted on an online form. The online form requires registration for the service when the service is used for the first time. If a society was registered last year and the password is lost, a new password can be set on the application form page. If a society uses a general e-mail address, we recommend using it for registration. Application forms may be supplemented and edited throughout the application period.

The recipient of a subsidy agrees to submit an accounting statement of the activities for which the subsidy is granted by 15 April of the year following the subsidy. State subsidies are intended as support for publication series that do not generate enough income to cover their expenses. For this reason, part of the subsidy will have to be returned if the difference between the subsidized activity’s income and expenses is more than 10 euros. An invoice for any returns will be sent as soon as possible after the accounting statement has been audited. 

An extension to the period of use of a subsidy can be applied for from the Executive Director by 31 October if the completion of the subsidized publications is delayed for a weighty reason. 

When deciding on publishing subsidies, the following matters are considered

(More detailed guidelines can be found in the application instructions, which we recommend reading when submitting an application.)

  • the subsidy is for a regular scientific publication series

  • the editors’ salaries and remuneration are reasonable relative to the circulation and printing expenses 

  • the series has sales income or other support so that the state subsidy does not cover the majority of overall expenses. Subscription prices included in membership fees are recorded as income for the series

  • in the case of open access publishing, it is also required that the society support the online publication in some other way (e.g. a share of membership fees)

  • the editing of the series is of high quality

  • the series has an open manuscript submission policy and its scientific content is peer reviewed

  • printing is submitted to competitive bidding

  • the income and expenses from publishing activities are separate from other activities in the society’s financial statements. If the society has several publication series, the sales and other income as well as other direct expenses from each publication series must be itemized under separate cost centres. Alternatively, the auditor of the society may issue a separate statement on the use of the subsidy, which must be submitted as an appendix to the application and the accounting statement. 

  • the need for the subsidy for both the publication and the publishing society (publisher)

  • in the case of a jointly financed series, the role of the partner in the publishing of the series is clearly visible 

  • the publisher commits to promoting open access to scientific texts in the manner it deems suitable. The method of open access may vary from allowing delayed green open access (i.e. with an embargo) to providing full and immediate open access to the entire publication. Please note: the latest criteria are found in the application instructions.

The recipient of the subsidy is requested to state on, for example, its website or publication that its activities have received a state subsidy from the Ministry of Education and Culture. For instance: This publication/journal/book has received a subsidy for scientific publishing granted by the Ministry of Education and Culture and distributed by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies.

Subsidies for international activities are granted for

  • the membership fees of international scientific organizations. Membership should be stated in the operating review and the membership fees must be recognized on the income statement.

  • travel expenses from trips to the meetings of international scientific organizations when a representative of the society is a member of the board of an international scientific organization. The travel expenses must be recognized on the society’s income statement.

  • travel expenses from trips to the meetings of the editorial teams of international scientific publications when a representative of the society is a member of the editorial team of an international scientific publication. The travel expenses must be recognized on the society’s income statement.

No subsidies are given for trips to conferences or for TSV’s membership fee. The subsidies only cover travel expenses and accommodation expenses for 1–2 nights, as needed for the conference. Per diems are not covered. 

Further information

Subsidies for publishing and international activities: Science Secretary Kirsi Siitonen, tel.  +358 9 228 69 269, kirsi.siitonen(at)tsv.fi

 

Updated 4.10.2023 13.50