From research to implementation for a sustainable society

WHAT CAN YOU APPLY FOR?

Projects that translate research results, knowledge and proven experience into an implementable solution that can contribute to a sustainable society. The solution can be commercial or non-commercial. Projects should fall within one or more of the themes and perspectives highlighted in the national research programmes for sustainable spatial planning, food, climate, and oceans and water.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Research practitioners and employees at public organisations, companies (not sole proprietorships) and other organisations that meet Formas’ requirements for administrating organisations External link.. At least one researcher from an academic party participating in the project must have a doctoral degree. Only multi-party applications, with participation from both industry or public organisations and academia, can receive funding.

HOW MUCH CAN YOU APPLY FOR?

You can apply for a grant of up to SEK 2 million per year for a project that runs 1-2 years.

Given decision: 2021-10-26 14:10

Funded projects

Preliminary decisions. Please note that only decisions published in Prisma is a guarantee of granted funding.


Sweden faces major challenges in its transition to socially, environmentally and economically sustainable communities. A key in this transition is multi-stakeholder collaboration that enables research results, together with knowledge and proven experience among end users, to be translated into solutions that help achieve the transition.

The purpose of the call is to stimulate utilisation of research so that it is translated into a solution for the intended target group and contribute to increased sustainability throughout society. The solution can be either commercial or non-commercial and should be a result of co-creation between researchers and stakeholders. Formas therefore requires that there are at least two applying parties, at least one from academia and at least one outside academia, such as the public sector or business sector.

Projects should fall within one or more of the themes and perspectives highlighted in the national research programmes for sustainable spatial planning, food, climate, and oceans and water. The national research programme for oceans and water started on 1 January 2021, and the agenda will be developed in 2021.

Funding can be sought for projects that run 1-2 years (12-24 months) and for a maximum of 2 million SEK per 12-month period, so a total maximum amount of 4 million SEK. No co-funding is required in the projects, but private companies and other organisations engaged in economic activity wishing to apply for grants from Formas are subject to EU state aid rules.

Formas has allocated 80 million SEK under the call for the period 2021–2022.

We face major challenges that must be solved as we transition towards giving up fossil fuels, adapting to climate change, and creating the conditions for socially, environmentally and economically sustainable communities.

The national research programmes for sustainable spatial planning, food, climate, and oceans and water have been initiated by the government with the aim of taking a comprehensive approach for a better overview and coordination of each research area. The programmes run for 10 years and are expected to create the conditions for interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral collaboration. A clear aim of the national research programmes is to contribute to the transition to a sustainable society, for which the utilisation of research results is central. Each programme has a strategic research agenda that serves as the basis for the actions the programme chooses to implement. The appendix contains brief descriptions of the themes and perspectives that the programmes have chosen to prioritise.

Research is an important means for enabling the transition to a sustainable society, but the challenges that need to be solved lie in our communities. Hence, stakeholders and citizens have important knowledge and experience to bring to the process of developing applicable solutions.

With this call, Formas wishes to lay the groundwork for value creation, whether commercial or non-commercial. In partnership with other stakeholders, researchers should utilise the research results and other knowledge and experiences to develop solutions that can be applied and contribute to a sustainable society. A key prerequisite for the success of such a process is a joint commitment on the part of researchers and other stakeholders, such as citizens, municipalities or industry players. All project participants must understand the contexts and systems in which the research results will be applied. This can involve needs, requirements and obstacles that must be understood and addressed in order to develop impactful solutions that enable long-term sustainable development.

The purpose of this call is to translate research results, knowledge and the proven experience of both researchers and other stakeholders into real-world use by the intended target groups and help to achieve a sustainable society in the long term. Therefore, the call places great emphasis on multi-stakeholder collaboration between academia and other stakeholders so they can develop relevant solutions with a focus on increased sustainability.

The call focuses on the areas described in the strategic agendas of the national research programmes. In the projects, research practitioners and stakeholders should use a common process to significantly develop the research results into implementable solutions. The projects should contribute to solving global challenges related to the themes and perspectives described in the appendix and in the agendas of the national research programmes.

The participants’ complementary skills and levels of involvement in a specific project must be based on that project’s needs. It is vital for participants to have both a systems understanding of the context in which the solution will be applied and a shared interest in the expected outcome. The project activities must be designed in relation to the specific maturity level and challenges of each individual project.

The project’s proposed solution must (where relevant) be, or have the potential to become, scalable and disseminated to relevant stakeholders in order to make a lasting contribution to the national research programme objectives. A scalable solution is one that can be scaled up for implementation and use in society, and if possible, used in the same type or similar applications nationally or internationally.

The project should be able to clearly demonstrate that the solution meets the needs of stakeholders and contributes to the transition. The composition of the project team and the participants’ activities should provide the project with the best conditions for developing the described solution and potential for its implementation.

The overall research that underpins the solution should be of high quality. This means that the proposed solution´s potential to contribute to the development of a sustainable society rests on a solid scientific foundation. Furthermore, the solution must have a novelty value, being highly innovative, and fill a gap for solutions within or outside Sweden.

Results from funded projects must, as far as possible, comply with the FAIR- principles External link. around open access to publications and research data.

The call is aimed at individuals who work in academia, the public sector, non-profit associations, the business sector and other organisations. Participants from at least two parties must be part of the application: at least one from academia (including research institutes and other organisations that primarily engage in research) and at least one from outside academia. The project manager can come from a private company, public-sector organisation, a higher education institution or a research institute. Any application where a sole proprietorship is a party will be rejected.

For organisations engaged in economic activity, such as municipal companies, private companies and other organisations, Formas applies EU state aid rules. See “State aid rules for companies and other organisations engaged in economic activity” in the call text.

It is not permissible to be the main applicant for more than one application in this call.

Before you apply

Everything you need to know when applying. For example what the application shall contain, how the application is registered in the application system Prisma, information about administrating organizations, evaluation criteria and the assessment process.

2021-05-07:

The following paragraph has been added to the section “Costs that qualify for funding”:

Grants from Formas can be partly used to fund researchers in academia or research institutes outside Sweden, although the project must be initiated and managed from Sweden. The administrating organisation must be located in Sweden and approved by Formas and is responsible for hiring any foreign staff or paying for activities or services outside Sweden in accordance with the administrating organisation’s own guidelines.

Apply

A digital application is submitted in the Prisma application system External link.. Guidelines and information about what your application should contain can be found in the call text.

Contacts

For questions about the content of the call

For administrative questions and questions about Prisma

For questions on budgeting, funding and de minimis aid

Updated:26 October 2021