Evaluation of the applications
The grant applicant submits an application to the foundation. What happens next?
After the application period has ended, the foundation checks that the application has been classified in the correct category. This ensures that the application will be reviewed by an expert in the appropriate field.
The applications are then forwarded to experts in each field, who evaluate the artistic, scientific, or societal value of the grant application.
Pictured is a detail from Johanna Etelävirta’s work 1 Sheet 3 Patient Records, part of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation collection. Photo: Anna Autio
The Evaluation Process
A peer review method is used in the evaluation of grant applications.
The experts engaged by the foundation have been deemd to have sufficient expertise and experience in the fields of science and art to assess the applications. The board of trustees allocates a budget for each expert, within which they must make their recommendations for grant recipients. The identities of the experts reviewing the applications are not disclosed publicly, in order to safeguard their ability to work in peace.
Once they have made their decisions, the experts send their recommendations to the foundation’s executive director, who presents the year’s proposed grant allocations to the board. The board meets twice in the autumn to review the proposals and make the final decisions on grant recipients. To ensure fairness and impartiality, the foundation’s board, staff, and experts all comply with the fund’s conflict-of-interest rules.
Applicants who have provided their email address are notified of the decision at the turn of September and October. In addition, successful applicants receive a grant award letter in October. Grants from the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation are officially awarded on October 9, after which the list of grant recipients is published on the foundation’s website.
The Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation does not provide individual justifications for grant decisions.
On what criteria is the evaluation based?
The evaluation of applications and funding decisions are based, among other things, on the following factors:
- Based on the application, the CV, and other attachments, the applicant’s ability to carry out the proposed project successfully is assessed.
- The work or research plan is evaluated for its scientific or artistic merit, feasibility, relevance, and novelty.
- A statement from the applicant’s supervisor (or another person well acquainted with the work) is particularly important, especially for doctoral researchers.
- In addition to the work plan, CV, attachments, and statements, the overall evaluation also considers the context formed by all the applications within the field: applications are also assessed in relation to one another.