Discretionary government grants

Discretionary government transfers are discretionary funding granted from State funds that is used to support projects and activities deemed socially necessary. 

In the administrative branch of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, discretionary government grants are awarded in accordance with the Government Programme for projects and activities that promote economically, socially and ecologically sustainable growth, employment and integration. 

Primarily, government agencies and other state aid authorities have been tasked with the granting of discretionary government grants in the Ministry’s administrative branch. ELY Centres, Energy Authority, Innovation Funding Agency Business Finland, regional councils, TE Offices and Nuclear Waste Management Fund grant discretionary government grants in the administrative branch. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment performs the duties of a state aid authority itself only in certain limited cases in accordance with legislation and the budget. 

The budget determines the purposes for which discretionary government grants may be awarded. Discretionary government grants may be awarded upon application only and they are discretionary. The calls for applications for discretionary government grants always include more specific conditions, which the applicant must fulfil. The use of discretionary government grants is monitored and audited. 

The calls for grant applications of all state aid authorities are available in the State Treasury’s online service.

Improving government grant activities

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment participates in the development work on government grant activities led by the Ministry of Finance and the State Treasury. As a result of this work, the central government will gradually adopt a common operating model for government grant activities and introduce common online services to support them. 

Discretionary government grants – Ministry of Finance (vm.fi)

The government grant activities include three online services:

• Applyforgrants.fi for applicants and beneficiaries of grants,
• Exploregrants.fi for state aid authorities for the administration and processing of government grants; and
• Managegrants.fi for all those interested in knowing how much, to whom and for what purposes discretionary government grants have been awarded.

The use of services will be introduced gradually based on the type of grant. We will provide information when the online services are launched for the applications for discretionary government grants awarded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

The development of government grant activities and the new operating model aim to 

• improve the effectiveness of government grant activities,
• increase the openness and transparency of government grant activities,
• ease the application for and awarding of discretionary government grants and make the process more efficient, and
• harmonise the practices for discretionary government grant activities

The online services for discretionary government grants are developed and maintained by the State Treasury, which is also responsible for the technical support of the service. As before, the state aid authorities are responsible for the conditions of the grant applications and the awarding of grants.

Government grant services | State Treasury

Inquiries:

Questions concerning a specific call for grant applications:

• contact person mentioned in the call for applications

Questions concerning a specific grant:

• presenting officer/provider of additional information mentioned in the grant decision

Development of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment’s government grant activities:

• Jenni Hyvärinen, Ministerial Adviser, Project Manager for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment’s project to develop and launch government grant activities, Steering Unit, tel. +358 295 049 288, [email protected]