Joint online services for government grant activities 

Processing of personal data

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment will gradually introduce joint online services for government grant activities developed and maintained by the State Treasury during 2024–2025. 

The joint online services for government grant activities include three services: Haeavustuksia.fi, Hallinnoiavustuksia.fi and Tutkiavustuksia.fi. More information on the online services is available on the State Treasury websiteLink to an external website.

Personal data is processed at different stages in the administration of government grant activities. The joint controllers of the data repository for government grant activities and the services related to it are the State Treasury and the state aid authority, which in this privacy policy refers to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Duties of controllers

The State Treasury is responsible for the technical functionality and usability of the data repository and the related services of government grant activities, the technical interface for storing information and for submitting, processing and granting access to the minimum information and for the integrity and retaining of information. The State Treasury is responsible for the official duties specified in section 13, subsections 2–5 and sections 14, 15 and 17 of the Act on Information Management in Public Administration (906/2019) and for other corresponding technical duties associated with information management. Among other things, the State Treasury is responsible for centralised data security audits concerning the system as well as impact assessments concerning data security.  

More information on the processing of personal data in government grant services is available on the State Treasury’s privacy policyLink to an external website.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is responsible for implementing the rights of the data subject as regards its own government grant activities. The Ministry also serves as a contact point for the data subject and is responsible for other duties of the controller. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment decides on the disclosure of information other than that published in the service for publishing and using government grant information (Tutkiavustuksia.fi service) referred to in section 32d of the Act on Discretionary Government Grants (688/2001). The State Treasury is responsible for all duties of the controller in the Tutkiavustuksia.fi service. 

More information on the responsibilities of the controllers and their division is available at the service description of government grant activities of the State TreasuryLink to an external website and the appendix to the service descriptionLink to an external website.

What information do we collect about you for the joint online services for government grant activities when you apply for a discretionary government grant and in connection with the processing of grant matters?

  1. Feedback providers: Information submitted by the provider of the feedback, generally an email address and name, possibly a telephone number. The State Treasury uses the information to respond to the feedback. The State Treasury is the controller and processor of the register. 
  2. Government grant authorities: Contact details of persons acting in different roles as government grant authorities. The State Treasury is the controller and processor of the register. 
  3. Parties applying for discretionary government grants: The following personal data on the parties applying for government grants is stored or used: 
  • name, personal identity code and contact details of the contact person and their role in the applicant organisation, 
  • contact person’s authority to act on behalf of different organisations and
  • data collected using the application forms and related appendices drawn up in connection with various calls for government grant applications. 

The data is in part obtained from the Business Information System (BIS) and the Suomi.fi service (identification and authorisation) and partly from the applicant itself.

4. User IP address: The user’s IP address is stored in the technical log data.

Personal data retention periods

  1. Feedback providers: The data is only stored for the period required to process the customer’s case. Unnecessary contact information is removed by the State Treasury every 6 months.
  2. Government grant authorities: The data is stored in the online services of government grants and in the CRM system, where the data is stored for as long as the State Treasury has the service in operation.
  3. Parties applying for discretionary government grants: The data storage period is determined in accordance with section 32e of the Act on Discretionary Government Grants. The storage period is 5 or 10 years. The state aid authority may also specify a longer storage period. After the storage period has ended, the documents are archived in accordance with the decision of the National Archives of Finland or destroyed in a way that ensures data protection.
  4. User IP address: The State Treasury stores the data for 90 days. 

What is our processing of data based on?

Processing is necessary in order to comply with the controller’s statutory obligation and to exercise the public authority vested in the controller.

Processing of personal data is based on the following: 

  • Act on Discretionary Government Transfers 
  • Government Decree on the minimum information to be stored in the data repository for government grant activities and on the datasets to be published in the service for publishing and using government grant information 
  • Act on the State Treasury 
  • Government Decree on the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment 
  • Government Rules of Procedure 
  • The Archives Act 
  • Act on Information Management in Public Administration 

Special legislation applicable to different discretionary government grants may also contain provisions on the processing of personal data. Any special legislation applicable to a discretionary government grant is stated in the call for applications at the Haeavustuksia.fi serviceLink to an external website and in the discretionary government grant decision. 

Disclosure and transfer of personal data

Provisions on access to and disclosure of information are laid down in chapter 6 of the Act on Discretionary Government Grants. Only personal data that is expressly provided for publication under section 32d of the Act on Discretionary Government Grants is published in the Tutkiavustuksia.fi service. 

Special legislation applicable to different discretionary government grants may also contain more detailed provisions on access to and disclosure of information. Any special legislation applicable to a discretionary government grant is stated in the call for applications at the Haeavustuksia.fi serviceLink to an external website and in the discretionary government grant decision. 

By virtue of the Act, we can disclose your information to the national authorities responsible for auditing and supervision and, in the case of discretionary government grants of EU origin, also to EU institutions, European Public Prosecutor's Office and the European Court of Auditors. 

No personal data is transferred outside the EU or the EEA. 

Your data protection rights

Did you know that under the GDPR you have rights related to how we process your personal data? Read more about your data protection rights at t he data protection website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.