Crowdfunding program for science & academic research 2015

Mesenaatti.me crowdfunding service runs a Kone Foundation funded crowdfunding project for science and research during the year 2015. We orientate people who work in, or with, science, on crowdfunding in a series of lectures and workshops; and we choose, on the basis of applications, 6-10 science projects whose crowdfunding campaigns we co-produce, helping in designing, publishing and running the campaigns.

Apply with your science or academic research project now. Deadline March 31.

Read through this page for information about the project, and if you become excited and feel like you might just have a suitable project for this, send your application! Fill in the form underneath, informally, and with no stress, but make sure you are brief and clear.

Application form

Announcement of the selected projects and discussion 16.4.2015

9-11 a.m. at Tiedekulma, Yliopistonkatu 3, Helsinki

Presentation of the projects selected for the program. Discussion. Free entry. Welcome!

What is this Crwowdfunding program for science & academic research 2015?

Crowdfunding services, or platforms, are forums that are open for anyone to present their projects to the audience, and invite people to fund them. It is also a possibility for all of us to fund projects that we find meaningful and important, even with small sums of money.

The premises of this Crowdfundig program is to add a new, agile, funding instrument for science and research, along with the existing selection of funding tools. For those creating crowdfunding campaigns for science, this means formation of a closer relationship with the audience. Science moves closer to the people.

Mesenaatti.me is Finland's first and largest reward based crowdfunding platform. In the first two years approximately 200 projects have raised circa 700 000 euros funding with Mesenaatti.me. So far, the majority of the projects has been culture.

Our bisness model is based on a provision (7% inc. VAT 24%) charged from succesfully crowdfunded campaigns, which is relatively small and necessitates a high volume of campaigns. Although we do provide customer service and help each customer when needed, the model does not enable significant resources to be put in helping individual campaigns do better (of course, depending on the campaigns size and other campaign features). In year 2014 we were able to concentrate on art especially, with the help of a grant from Kone Foundation.

This year we are again focusing on a particular field, science, with the help of Kone Foundation. The goal is to learn from experience, and form guidelines on how to do crowdfunding campaigns for science & academic research.

Program content

1. Lectures & workshops

During the spring of 2015 we arrange six free and open lectures on crowdfunding, in different parts of Finland.

NOTICE that you can attend lecture, workshop or both

HELSINKI, March 6, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Think Company, Vuorikatu 5

TURKU, March 20, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Luonnontieteiden talo 1, Lecture room XI

OULU March 23, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., University of Oulun, Linnanmaa campus, Ympäristötietotalo, lecture room IT113, Paavo Havaksen tie 3 (CANCELLED DUE TO SMALL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANT REGISTRATIONS)

JOENSUU, March 30, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., Aurora building, room AU102 (video connection to Savonlinna campus)

KUOPIO, March 31, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., Kuopio campus, Tietoteknia building, room 1039

Register by e-mail to [email protected]

Part 1: Lecture. Background and idea of crowdfunding, global view, law and taxes, rewards; designing, running and marketing of crowdfunding campaigns. Examples of science crowdfunding.

Lunch

Part 2: Workshop. Participants share their science projects and design crowdfunding campaigns for them in small groups. Feedback from Mesenaatti lecturer.

2. Call for science projects to co-production of their campaigns

We are looking for any interesting science and research projects in which a crowdfunding angle can be found. The projects can be research, but they can also be related to science some other way. They can be of all sizes and fields of science. The selection is made by a work group with members from Kone Foundation and Mesenaatti. If needed, other experts are consulted.

The selected 6 to 10 projects are offered more information about crowdfunding, and their campaigns are designed, published and marketed in cooperation with Mesenaatti team.

3.Guidelines for crowdfunding science

After the program for 2015 is finished, a presentation about what was leart is published in the form of guidelines.

Science and research projects are always welcome to Mesenaatti

Whilte this program permits a special direction of resources to guiding science campaigns, they are always anyway welcome to do a regurlar Mesenaatti crowdfunding campaign, which also includes customers service.