The Finnish Research Impact Foundation
The Finnish Research Impact Foundation works to promote industry-academia cooperation from the vantage-point of academic research interests and considerations. FRIF’s role is to facilitate joint research projects that not only bring commercial success but also strengthen Finnish expertise and research excellence.
The Finnish Research Impact Foundation was created by the Finnish government in 2019.
The organizations represented on the Foundation’s board of directors are Confederation of Finnish Industries (Elinkeinoelämän keskusliitto), Federation of Finnish Enterprises (Suomen Yrittäjät), The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia ry), the Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities (UNIFI ry), and the cooperation body of state research institutions Tulanet.

This is how we promote industry-academia cooperation in practice:
- FRIF invests annually some two million euros to support research collaborations through its Tandem Industry Academia funding programme. The funding is mainly driven by research interests and objectives. The funding criteria are based on academic research considerations, with a view to achieving more effective practical application of research results.
- Projects funded by FRIF provide the opportunity to collect and produce information about research-driven industry cooperation and the conditions for its success.
- FRIF produces insights into the conditions for research-driven industry cooperation and contributes to the public discussion around the subject.
- FRIF facilitates meetings and exchange between Finnish industry and academia.
Board of directors

Petri Kalliokoski
Chairman of the Board

Leena Otsomaa
Board Member
Vice President, Global Medicine Design, Orion Corporation

Gyöngyi Kovács
Board Member
Vice Rector, Hanken Svenska handelshögskolan

Johanna Buchert
Board Member
President & CEO at Natural Resources Institute Finland

Anna Mauranen
Board Member
Professor, University of Helsinki

Maija Urponen
Board Member
Entrepreneur, CEO, Researcher, Kaupunkitutkimus TA Oy

Sampo Ahonen
Board Member
Partner, Helmet Capital
You can contact Board Members by email firstname@vaikuttavuussaatio.fi.
Contact information →
Former board members
Lauri Oksanen
Chairman of the Board 2019–2024
Virpi Muhonen
Board Member 2019–2024
Keijo Hämäläinen
Board Member 2022–2024
Juha Teperi
Board Member 2019–2021