The Estonian Research Council (ETAG) manages different competitive R&D funding instruments.
The largest funding instrument is personal research funding.
As separate activities, ETAG finances the mobility of researchers, the aim of which is to support the career of (young) researchers, offering support in gaining international experience, but also the arrival of new researchers to Estonia, thus bringing new skills and knowledge here. ETAG supports postdoctoral studies of young researchers from abroad coming to Estonia and young researchers from Estonia going abroad. We also support the recruitment of foreign researchers to Estonian research and development institutions via adaptation grants.
ETAG also supports research projects and activities that are based on the need to make smart choices and consolidate activities and funding to areas and research topics that would best help create solutions to societal challenges with the support of research results and the cooperation of various participants. For this, ETAG has the following measures:
- Thematic research and development programs (TemTA) support research projects arising from the needs of companies and public sector institutions in the fields of digital solutions, health, valorization of local resources, energy, and cooperation between researchers, companies and public sector institutions.
- Through the programs of the Viable Estonian Society, Language, and Cultural Space RDIE focus area, the development of language, culture, education and social processes sectors are supported.
ETAG compiles and regularly updates the Estonian Research Infrastructures Roadmap, which includes a list of new and already established nationally important research infrastructure units. In addition, ETAG finances and monitors the activities of the research infrastructures included in the roadmap every year, and participates as a national representative in international research infrastructures that Estonia has joined.
International cooperation projects are funded by the Estonian Research Council in the framework of either bilateral (the PARROT programme with France, cooperation with MOST Taiwan and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) or pan-European initiatives (ERA-NET, EMBO).
International cooperation programmes provide various options for funding research cooperation. For example, the Parrot programme offers travel grants for cooperating with French researchers; post-doctoral grants are provided by the Japanese Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS). ERA-NET Cofund programme funds pan-European cooperation and Baltic research programme fosters cooperation between researchers in Baltic countries and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.