Mobility grants for early-career researchers

WHAT CAN YOU APPLY FOR?

Research projects for which you formulate your own question based on identified societal needs in the fields of environment, agricultural sciences or spatial planning.

WHO CAN APPLY?

You must have a doctoral degree that was awarded between 1 January 2019 and 30 April 2023.

HOW MUCH CAN YOU APPLY FOR?

You can apply for funds to cover your own salary, overhead and premises expenses. The project can last 24 to 48 months.

Given decision: 2023-06-14 14:00

Fund­ed pro­jects

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

When researchers move between different research environments, they disseminate their knowledge while learning new tools and methods, discovering new directions for their research and expanding their networks. For early-career researchers, such experiences are especially valuable. On an overall level, researcher mobility contributes to the creation of dynamic research environments that carry out high-quality research.

Formas’ mobility grants are targeted to individuals who have obtained their PhD (diploma issued) no earlier than 1 January 2019 and no later than 30 April 2023. Deductible time, as parental leave, sick leave, military service, political duties or other similar circumstances, may be cause for granting exceptions to the time rule.

The call welcomes research projects in which researchers formulate their own research questions. It covers all of Formas’ areas – environment, agricultural sciences and spatial planning – including transdisciplinary projects. The research we fund should be of the highest scientific quality and can be basic research or needs-driven research for the ecological, economical and socially sustainable development of society. The call covers both national and international researcher mobility.

The annual mobility grant for researchers early in their career is scheduled to open for applications the 8th of November 2022.

Chat with us

Ask us questions via chat. On December 14 we will answer your questions about the call. You will find the chat here on the website.


When: Wednesday, December 14 at 10.00–12.00 CET


Formas funds research within the fields of environment, agricultural sciences and spatial planning. The research funded should be of the highest scientific quality, can be either basic or needs-driven research and should be relevant for environmentally, economically and socially sustainable development. In this call, “Mobility grants for early-career researchers”, Formas gives researchers early in their careers more opportunities to obtain funding and thus continue their research careers while bolstering the quality of Swedish academic research.

The purpose of the call is to (1) enable researchers to formulate their own research questions based on identified societal challenges that fall within Formas’ areas of responsibility, (2) encourage researchers who have recently completed their doctorates to visit new research environments, and (3) contribute to the dissemination and internationalisation of Swedish research. In the new research environment, you as an early-career researcher can spread your knowledge while learning other tools and methods, gaining inspiration to find new directions for your research, and expanding your networks. The call is for both national and international researcher mobility, and you can apply for funding only if you are an individual researcher.

Formas’ mobility grants are targeted to individual researchers early in their careers. You must have a doctoral degree that was awarded between 1 January 2019 and 30 April 2023. Only a main applicant can be included in an application, so no one else can be invited via Prisma to apply. As the applicant, you will also be the project manager in this call.

Before you apply

Any changes to the call text will be listed below Revision history.

Sustainable energy is a central part of sustainable development. However, within the call Mobility grants for early-career researchers, certain delimitations are made regarding this topic, with reference to the three areas of responsibility. The call does not include research projects that aims to/at:

  • develop methods or materials for carbon capture and storage (CCS) or the carbon capture and utilization (CCU)
  • develop methods for energy conversion or energy storage
  • develop new or improved fuels and other energy carriers
  • energy efficiency of processes with no clear or close connection to any of Formas’ three areas of responsibility
  • energy efficiency in the transport sector

Please note that an assessment of whether an application is within the scope of the call or not can only be made based on a full proposal. Therefore, assessments will only be made once the call has closed.

Date of your doctoral degree

To be eligible to apply for a mobility grant, you must have a doctoral degree that was awarded between 1 January 2019 and 30 April 2023. The degree award date is the date when you have fulfilled all the requirements for a completed degree, such as compulsory courses, dissertation and approved doctoral thesis, and have received an official certificate of doctoral degree completion. This date should be stated on the doctorate diploma issued by your university, which is typically stamped. Note that a licentiate degree or other research expertise equivalent to a doctoral degree does not count as a doctoral degree. Formas does not accept other proof, such as the date of completion of your dissertation or a certificate from your supervisor that you have completed all requirements.

If you have a doctoral degree that was issued before the call closes, you should upload it in Prisma as an attachment to your application (Appendix 3).

Doctoral degree awarded after the call closes

If you have not obtained your doctoral degree before the call closes, you must state in the application the time when you expect your degree to be awarded. If you obtained your doctoral degree after the call has closed, it is your responsibility as an applicant to ensure that your diploma is available to our research officer no later than 30 April 2023. Preferably mail a copy of your diploma to Formas’ research officer. Your application will be rejected if you do not meet the requirement for a doctoral degree within the set time or have not provided it to Formas according to these guidelines.

If you do not have a doctoral degree at the time of application, you should create a PDF file containing information about the date of your expected doctoral degree and upload it as an attachment (see Appendix 3).

Doctoral degree from a country other than Sweden

Your doctoral degree does not need to be awarded in Sweden for you to be eligible to apply in the call.

Time gap in research

In some cases, your doctoral degree can be approved for the call even if it was awarded earlier than 1 January 2019. This applies only if you were not able to do research during the period immediately following your doctoral degree for an approved reason for deductible time. In your application, you should invoke this time gap and specify the approved reason and time period in your CV. The time gap should not be indicated as a lump sum, but rather as one or more dates and as a percentage absence from research activities. Acceptable reasons for the gap in research (deductible time) can include parental leave, sick leave, military service, political duties or other similar circumstances. Please note that we do not approve other employment, unemployment or holidays as an acceptable time gap.

Formas checks the eligibility of registered applications only after the call closes. You as an applicant are responsible for calculating your time gap and ensuring that the date of your doctoral degree falls within the approved time range before applying. Your application will be rejected if your requested time gap exception does not meet the requirements or causes you to not meet the approved time range requirements for a doctorate for this call.

The home organisation – your administrating organisation

During a mobility project, you as project manager must be employed by a home organisation. The home organisation becomes the administrating organisation for the mobility grant and pays your salary from these funds throughout the duration of the project. Mobility grants for early-career researchers may only be administered by a Swedish higher education institution or other Swedish public-sector organisation that meets Formas’ criteria for administrating organisations. The conditions for being employed by a Swedish higher education institution or other Swedish public organisation and for the form of employment must be discussed with your intended home organisation. Read more about employment outside Sweden at the Swedish Agency for Government Employers.

Personal utomlands (In Swedish, arbetsgivarverket.se) External link.

You do not need to be an employee at a home organisation at the time you apply for funding, but you must have an agreement that you will be employed if you are awarded funding. In its role as the administrating organisation, the home organisation attests to this by signing the application in Prisma after it is registered. The administrating organisation must digitally sign your application no later than seven calendar days from the call’s closing date. It is also mandatory to attach an invitation from the home organisation to your application (see information for Appendix 2).

Who can become an administrating organisation? External link.

Host organisation(s)

The call is based on the premise that you should be an active researcher in new research environments where you can spread your knowledge while learning other tools and methods, finding new directions for your research, and expanding your networks. This can take place at both the home and the host organisations, but primarily at the host organisation. Your home organisation can be the same one where you defended your thesis or a different one.

In your application, you must name at least one host organisation in the project plan. There is no upper limit on the number of host organisations. Approved host organisations are higher education institutions or research institutes, either within or outside Sweden. At least one-third of the total time you intend the grant to cover should be spent at a home organisation, and at least one-third of the total time should be spent at one or more host organisations. In your application, clearly state the country or countries and the higher education institutions where you intend to spend your time. Clearly indicate, in number of months, how much time you will spend at each host institution. Each individual stay must be at least three consecutive months.

You must have one invitation from each host organisation that you include in your application. The invitations should include a statement on the planned research and an assurance that the necessary facilities and resources will be made available (see information for Appendix 2). The host organisations should not charge any fees for premises or the like. You should combine all invitations from the host organisations into one file as an attachment to your application.

Number of applications and previous grants

  • You may only have one application submitted and registered in the call “Mobility grant for early-career researchers” when it closes.
  • You are allowed to apply to both the mobility grant call and the annual open call. However, grants will not be disbursed for two similar projects.
  • You are allowed to apply for project funding in the mobility call even if you have ongoing project grants from one of Formas’ other calls.
  • Note that the total activity level in the project must not exceed 100 percent of full-time employment.

When you apply for a grant for a mobility project, you can apply for funding for your salary and for indirect costs as well as for direct premises costs in accordance with the administrating organisation’s practices.

Grant amount

There is no specific minimum or maximum amount required when applying under this call.

Salary costs

The salary must be at the level of your current salary or the corresponding starting salary at the administrating home organisation. You can, but do not have to, apply for 100 percent of a full-time position. Note that the total salary amount received must not exceed 100 percent of full-time employment. This means that additional salary funding cannot be granted to researchers who already receive grants or contributions with full salary funding. You cannot include participating researchers (co-applicants) in your project application or seek funding for other researchers or staff.

Indirect costs

You can seek funding for both indirect costs and direct costs for premises in accordance with the administrating organisation’s practices. Indirect costs are costs that are shared with others in your organisation, such as for administration, IT and renting of premises. Indirect costs are sometimes called overhead. You should ask your administrating organisation for help calculating these costs.

Lump sum amounts for awarded projects

Travel and additional expenses at the host organisations

Formas covers travel expenses and additional accommodation costs for residency at one or more host organisations for the applicant and accompanying family members who are stated in the application. The amount granted is a lump sum whose size depends on (1) the host country’s cost of living level and (2) the number of accompanying family members stated in the application. This lump sum is based on current data from the Swedish Agency for Government Employers regarding the maximum amount for additional costs and supplements for accompanying family members. You should not seek funding to cover these costs. If you are awarded a grant, Formas will calculate the additional costs based on the information provided in the application and add them to the amount awarded. It is not possible to make changes, such adding an accompanying family member or receiving funding for additional costs for changed destinations, after your application has been registered as final and the call is closed. The home organisation is the administrating organisation of the received lump-sum payments for travel expenses and additional costs at the host organisations.

Högstbelopp för merkostnadstillagg och medfoljandetillagg för 2022, från och med 2022-07-01 (arbetsgivarverket.se) External link.

Project costs

You cannot apply for funding to cover project costs in your application. For projects that are awarded a grant, Formas adds a lump sum of SEK 100,000 per year specifically for project-related expenses and adds the total to the amount awarded. Project costs are expenses incurred within the context of your project that are associated with interviews, analyses, fieldwork, open-access publication in journals and databases, participation in conferences or similar. Read more about eligible costs in Formas’ general terms and conditions External link. for research and innovation grants. The home organisation is the administrating organisation for the lump-sum payments that are received for project costs.

Project duration

  • A mobility project must run for a minimum of 24 months and a maximum of 48 months. The project duration must be 24, 36 or 48 months (meaning two, three or four years).
  • At least one-third of the total time for which funding is sought must be spent at a home organisation, and at least one-third of the total time must be spent at one or more host organisations.
  • For the host organisations, the total duration of all stays there must reach at least one-third of the total project duration.
  • This means that a researcher can spend from 8 to 32 months at the host organisations, depending on the total project duration.
  • Stays with a host organisation or home organisation can be divided into several periods, but each individual period must not be less than three consecutive months.
    • Example: You are applying for funding for 36 months. You must spend at least 12 months at your home organisation (the combined time should be at least 12 months and each individual period must not be less than three consecutive months) and at least 12 months at your host organisations (their combined time should be at least 12 months, and each individual period must not be less than three consecutive months). You can divide up the other 12 months in a way that provides the best quality and is most impactful for your research project and networking.
  • Remember to verify in your application that you have met the various time requirements for the home organisation and the host organisation.
  • Projects must start on 1 August 2023. The project start date is predefined in Prisma and cannot be changed. Formas’ decision contains information about the period during which project funds will be paid out (payout period) and how long the funds can be used after the project is completed (grant availability period).

You should write your application in English, since the review panel that will assess your application is international. If you do write your application in Swedish, a professional translator will translate into English only the section describing the research programme. You will not be able to change the translation before the application proceeds to assessment. However, the popular science description must be written in Swedish, while the abstract should be in both Swedish and English. Your budget specification and CV will not be translated. So, please write these in English, even if you write the other sections in Swedish and submit your application in the Swedish version of our application system.

According to Swedish law, your application and its appendices are considered as general public documents after they have been submitted to Formas. This means that anyone can request and read your application. Before we disclose any applications we always conduct a confidentiality assessment, but we can only hide information as legislated for in the Public Access and Secrecy Act (2009:400).

The popular science description and project abstracts in Swedish and English will, if the project is granted funding, be published in open-access project databases without a confidentiality review. Therefore, the contents of these fields should not contain sensitive information.

We at Formas are eager to fund projects that maximise positive and minimise negative impacts on the environment and climate. We therefore encourage grant applicants to design their projects so that any necessary travel takes place in a climate-smart way. We also suggest that you include measures that minimise energy use and other resource consumption, emissions and waste in project planning. However, this will not be part of the assessment of your application at this time.

Formas’ own sustainability work External link.

Formas is tasked with helping to advance society in a more sustainable direction. Crucial to such a development are equal opportunities and inclusion. We therefore encourage applicants to think as much as possible about designing the project so that it can provide knowledge that reflects and is relevant to different groups in society. We also encourage you to consider gender balance in the project team and including participants with different backgrounds and experiences. However, this will not be part of the assessment of your application at this time.

How to apply

You apply in Prisma

You apply for a grant in our application system, Prisma. In Prisma, you must create a personal account where you will add the information you need for your application. We recommend that you create an account and an application as early as possible and contact Formas with any questions in good time.

In order to register an application, the home organisation where the main applicant will be active at during the project must also be an approved administrating organisation for all types of calls.

Become an administrating organisation for all types of calls External link.

All limits for the maximum number of characters refer to characters including spaces. We recommend that you choose the Arial font in font size 12 for the information you enter in all text boxes. Note that if you write your application in word processing software and then paste it into Prisma, the formatting might disappear. So, tables and figures that contain advanced formatting or formulas should be uploaded as an attachment in order to prevent the loss of valuable information.

Your application must include a clear description of the project under the following sections:

Basic information

  • Number of years for which the application applies.
  • Project title in Swedish (max. 200 characters including spaces).
  • Project title in English (max. 200 characters including spaces).
  • Popular science description in Swedish (max. 4,500 characters including spaces).
  • Abstract in Swedish (max. 1,500 characters including spaces).
  • Abstract in English (max. 1,500 characters including spaces).

The popular science description and project abstracts for awarded projects will be published in open-access project databases without a confidentiality review. Therefore, the contents of these fields should not contain sensitive information.

Research programme

  • Goals and objectives of the project, and a background description containing an overview of the research area (max. 7,000 characters including spaces).
  • Project description, including structure, theory, method and implementation as well as a specific and realistic plan for publication in a scientific journal and communication of results (max. 15,000 characters including spaces).
    Include the following points if they are considered relevant to the project:
    • Brief description of existing and future need for new basic equipment
    • Brief description of national and international partnerships
    • Confirmation that international agreements and rules are being complied with
  • Description of the project’s societal value and planned communication, including stakeholders/users (maximum 8,000 characters including spaces) Briefly describe the real-world impact of the research, how the project can contribute in the short or long term to sustainable development, how stakeholders or users’ needs have been taken into account when designing the project, and how the research and its results will be communicated and benefit stakeholders and users.
    Support for addressing the grounds of assessment for societal benefits and communication (pdf) External link.
  • References included in-line under the points above should be entered in a separate field (5,000 characters including spaces).

Budget

You report the project budget in Prisma. Note that you should write the budget and budget specification in English; any Swedish budget specification will not be translated but will instead be assessed as is by the international review panel. In Prisma, write out the total amount you are applying for in kronor using digits. For example, 1 million kronor should be written as: 1 000 000 kronor.

The budget should include the following:

  • Salaries, including social security contributions for the applicant. It is only possible to apply for a salary for the individual researcher in this call. The amount you can seek for this salary must never exceed 100 percent of full-time employment. If you already have full salary funding from any financier, you cannot receive additional salary funding.
  • Percent of salary refers to the percentage of the applicant’s full-time salary that corresponds to their salary in the project.
  • Activity level in the project refers to the percentage of a full-time position that the applicant will work.
  • Premises. You can apply for funding for the cost of premises if this is not already included as overhead in the project’s budget. Specify premises costs in accordance with the applicable practices at the administrating organisation.
  • Total amount sought/Subtotal refers to costs already entered in the previous budget tables, which will be automatically transferred to these items.
  • Indirect costs refer to overhead costs. When you specify overhead costs in the application, you should do so in accordance with the administrating organisation’s practices. Explain and report the different overhead costs in the budget specification. The total overhead for the project must be entered in the budget table. Formas does not grant funding for overhead costs that you write off for premises.
  • Total cost refers to a budget summary.

The budget specification explains the budget in words. Specify how the grant amount you are applying for will be distributed each year. Provide a brief justification for the salary expenses. A description of the total project budget, including funding from other sources, should also be included. The budget specification is part of the application assessment. If you are writing in Swedish, please note that a budget specification in Swedish will not be translated and that it will be part of the international review panel’s assessment documentation.

Ethical considerations

You should specify whether or not there are specific ethical concerns in your project. If so, state what these ethical concerns are and how you plan to manage them. Examples include research that uses personal data or research involving experiments on humans or animals. If you are conducting research on people, human tissue or are processing sensitive personal data, you must obtain ethical approval from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. If you are conducting an animal experiment, you also need to obtain ethical approval. You can apply for approval through the Swedish Board of Agriculture’s online service. You should state in your application whether or not you have obtained ethical approval. If you have not yet are awarded a grant, you must obtain it before the described studies begin. Even if you do not expect your research to involve ethical concerns, you should state that this is the case in your application and explain why.

Classifications

Formas uses project classifications in analyses and supporting documentation on an overall level. The classifications are made when the applicant states the subject area, SCB codes and at least one sustainable development goal the project can contribute to.

  • Subject area: Select at least one and maximum of three subject areas and add a subheading.
  • SCB code (research subject): Select at least one and a maximum of three research subjects and two sub-levels that together form the entire code.
  • Keywords: Enter at least one and a maximum of three keywords describing the project.
  • Sustainable development goals: Select a minimum of one and a maximum of three sustainable development goals (SDGs) that best fit your project. When selecting more than one SDG, specify them in priority order. The goal that is most relevant to the project should be stated in the first box. As the meaning of the goals is sometimes narrower than what the title indicates, we encourage you to follow the link and read in more detail about the goals you intend to specify to ensure that the intended research contributes towards achieving that particular goal. Read more information about the meaning of the goals. External link.

Administrating organisation – the organisation receiving the grant

The administrating organisation, in this case the home organisation, is the organisation that receives the grant from Formas. In this call, only applicants who have an approved administrating organisation for all types of calls can submit an application. Prisma contains a default list of approved administrating organisations. From this dropdown list, select:

  • Your administrating organisation
  • Project site

CVs

As a project manager, you retrieve the information from your personal account in Prisma. Applicants should review in good time that their CV in Prisma is complete and up-to-date.

The following CV information should be added to the application.

Education. Postgraduate, undergraduate and graduate level.

Employment history. Current employment and major relevant prior positions, postdoctoral stays or postgraduate exchanges that are relevant for the proposed research. Include any significant gaps in research (such as parental leave, illness, military service or political duties). If you will invoke a time gap in your research, it should not be indicated as a lump sum but rather as one or more dates and as a percentage absence from research activities. Read more in the “Time gap in research” section.

Qualifications and merits:

  • Supervised students: PhD students, postdocs, graduate thesis students; add either as an individual person or as a group. When adding a group, enter the total number for each category. When adding an individual person, name the most relevant ones (max. 10).
  • Grants received in competition: Specify the most relevant ones (max. 10).
  • Awards and distinctions: Specify the most relevant ones (max. 10).
  • Intellectual property: For example, patents and open source software that you have developed (max. 10).
  • Other qualifications, including summary of publications: Here, the applicant should provide a brief summary of their publications during the past five years as well as the total number of publications if the applicant’s active research period exceeds five years (max. 800 characters including spaces). This summary should include the following:
    • The number of publications of various types, such as articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, books and other monographs, conference papers and popular science contributions.
    • Any citation metrics should be given, excluding self-citations, and the database they are retrieved from.
    • The summary should not contain information about the H-index, the journal impact factor, or any other type of metric used to rank publishers or journals.
    • Under “Other qualifications,” you can list other qualifications that are relevant to the application, such as any popular science publications or proven experience of collaboration and research communication (max. 10).

List of publications

Here, you can specify up to ten of your most relevant publications. Note that the publications should be linked from your personal profile. This is time-consuming and should be done at an early stage when the call opens, not towards the end of the call. You must present the publication summary in Prisma under “Other qualifications”.

Applications must contain three mandatory attachments: Appendix 1, Appendix 2 and Appendix 3. You can also upload an optional attachment (Appendix 4) if it is relevant to the application. All appendices must be written in English.

Appendix 1. Applicant’s development as a researcher, added value of the research environments and travel itinerary for the project

In this appendix, you should describe how the project and the research environment at the home and host organisations will contribute to your development as a researcher, as well as an itinerary.

Template for Appendix 1 , 901.1 kB.

Fill in the following information in the template:

Applicant’s name

  • Name of the applicant.

Accompanying family members

  • Number of accompanying family members (partner, spouse and number of children).

Information about home and host organisation(s)

  • Name of the home organisations. Name, email address and telephone number of the head of department or equivalent at the home organisation. Contact person at the home organisation (name, email address and telephone number).
  • Name of each host organisation. Name, email address and telephone number of the head of department or equivalent at the host organisation. Contact person at the host organisation (name, email address and telephone number). Fill in the details for each host organisation.

Travel itinerary, with periods of stay at the host organisations

  • Name of the host organisation. The start and end dates of each stay. Total number of months at the host organisations. Remember that each individual stay must be at least three consecutive months.

Explanation of how the research project fulfils the purposes of the call

  • The purpose of the call is to (1) enable researchers to formulate their own questions based on identified societal needs that fall within Formas’ areas of responsibility, (2) encourage researchers who have recently completed their doctoral degrees to visit new research environments, and (3) contribute to the dissemination and internationalisation of Swedish research. In the new research environment, you as an early-career researcher can spread knowledge while learning other tools and methods, finding new directions for your research and expanding your networks.
  • A description of how your research project fulfils the purpose of Formas’ mobility grant and how the focus of your research differs from the research during your previous doctoral project (max. 2,000 characters).

Added value of the research at the home organisation

  • An explanation of your choice of home organisation and how research at the home organisation will contribute to the development of your research career (max. 2,000 characters).
  • Read the call’s specific assessment basis for added value of the research environments.

Added value of the research at the host organisation

  • An explanation of your choice of host organisation(s) and how research at the host organisation(s) will contribute to the development of your research career and to Swedish research, as well as what role you will have at the host organisation(s). Describe what the added value is for you, the hosts(s) and home organisations, and Swedish research (max. 2,000 characters).

Read the call’s specific assessment basis for added value of the research environments.

Appendix 2. Invitation from home organisation and host organisation

A. Invitation from the home organisation (administrating organisation)

The invitation should include a statement about the planned research and an assurance that the necessary facilities and resources will be made available to the applicant. The invitation from the home organisation must meet the following criteria:

  • The invitation from the Swedish administrating organisation (home organisation) contains a commitment to approve your application and to administer the project funds.
  • It states the applicant’s form of employment and that you can conduct your planned research with the administrating organisation over the course of the project. It is up to you to discuss and agree on the terms of your employment with your home organisation.
  • Statement on how the administrating organisation will meet any needs for premises, equipment and other infrastructure needed for the project.
  • The invitation is addressed to you, the applicant, and applies to the project period referred to in this call.
  • After the application is received and registered and the call is closed, the administrating organisation will confirm its commitment by signing the application in Prisma. This must be done within seven business days after the call closes.
  • The sender of the invitation must be the head of department or equivalent for the home organisation where the research will be conducted.
  • A maximum of one appendix (PDF) of 4 MB can be uploaded.

B. Invitation from the host organisation

The invitation should include a statement about the planned research and an assurance that the necessary facilities and resources will be made available to the applicant. The invitation from the host organisation must meet the following criteria:

  • It contains a description that you are welcome to conduct your planned research there and that they will be your host organisation.
  • The sender of the invitation must be the head of department or equivalent for the host organisation where the research will be conducted.
  • It contains the name and contact details of the person who prepared the document (first name, last name, telephone number and e-mail address). The host organisation’s faculty and postal address must also be stated.
  • The invitation must apply to the project period referred to in this call.
  • It contains a statement on the planned research and how it fits into the research and expertise of the research group or department concerned.
  • It includes an assurance that the necessary facilities and resources will be made available to the applicant.
  • It describes how the research environment will support the development of the applicant’s scientific merits, networks and expertise.

If you have more than one host organisation, all invitations from the hosts must be merged into a single PDF document for this appendix. A maximum of one appendix (PDF) of 4 MB can be uploaded.

Appendix 3. Copy of diploma or proof of completed doctoral degree

To be eligible to apply for a mobility grant, you must have a doctoral degree that was awarded between 1 January 2019 and 30 April 2023. The degree award date is the date when you have fulfilled all the requirements for a completed degree, such as compulsory courses, dissertation and approved doctoral thesis, and have received the final proof of doctoral degree completion. This date should be stated on the doctorate diploma issued by your university, which is typically stamped.

Note that a licentiate degree or other research expertise equivalent to a doctoral degree does not count as a doctoral degree. Formas does not accept other proof, such as the date of completion of your dissertation or a certificate from your supervisor that you have completed all requirements.

Your application will be rejected if you do not meet the requirements and assessment criteria for a doctoral degree within the allotted time according to the guidelines of the call or if Formas has not received it within the required time.

  • Upload a copy of your proof of doctoral degree/diploma, maximum 4 MB.
  • If you have not yet obtained your doctoral degree before the call closes, you must state in the application the time when you expect your degree to be awarded. Write it down in a file and upload it under Appendix 3.
  • If you obtained your doctoral degree after the call has closed, it is your job as an applicant to ensure that your diploma is available to Formas’ research officers no later than 30 April 2023. Preferably mail a copy of your diploma to Formas’ call officers.

The following appendix is optional and can be uploaded if relevant for the application.

Appendix 4. Illustrations.

If you need figures, tables or images to describe the project, you can upload them in Appendix 4. You cannot upload your CV or other documents in Appendix 4. A maximum of one appendix (PDF) of 4 MB can be uploaded.

After submitting your application

You can make changes to your registered application, de-register it and register it again up until the call closes at 14:00 CET on Tuesday, 20 December 2022. After that, the status of your application will change from “registered” to “completed”. No changes can be made to a completed application unless errors due to Prisma occurred. You cannot make any additions by other means, like by email or phone. Your application will be assessed as is.

Your completed application is automatically sent to the administrating organisation after the call is closed. The administrating organisation then has seven calender days to digitally sign the application in Prisma.

After the call closes, Formas will first verify whether your application falls within the scope of the call. If it does, it will proceed to assessment by the review panel. If it does not, it will be rejected and will not proceed to assessment.

An application is rejected in any of the following cases:

  • The area of the application does not fall within Formas' areas of responsibility.
  • You do not meet the requirement for a doctoral degree within the set timeframe or have not provided it to Formas according to the guidelines in the call description.
  • Your application contains procedural errors or is incomplete, meaning that it lacks the necessary information in the application form or the appendices.
  • It has not been signed within seven calender days or has been rejected by the administrating organisation.
  • The main applicant has not submitted a required final project report in any of Formas’ other calls.
  • Your application lacks any mandatory information if you claim a time gap in research.

Each application is assessed based on its contents by a dedicated review panel for this call. It is therefore important to write the application as clearly as possible and include all important and relevant information.

The application assessment process External link.

The review panel is problem-oriented and broadly selected in order to cover Formas’ different areas of responsibility. The panel includes both active researchers and users of research results who are qualified to assess the potential real-world impact. The majority of the panel members are researchers. The panel as a whole has the expertise required to assess applications within the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, health sciences and engineering sciences within Formas’ areas of responsibility, and can also review multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research.

Applications are assessed with respect to scientific quality and societal relevance. For this call, this includes the following five assessment criteria.

Ground of assessment for scientific quality

Scientific research question

  • Scientific relevance of the purpose.
  • Originality and novelty of purpose, theory and hypotheses.
  • Possibility of scientifically significant results.

Methods and implementation

  • Feasibility and suitability of the scientific methods.
  • The work plan is well-defined and realistic
  • Appropriateness of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, if these are chosen
  • Whether the proposed research requires ethical considerations, and if so how the applicant plans to address them
  • The budget is reasonable in relation to the project’s implementation.

Scientific excellence

  • Scientific quality of publications.
  • Ability to carry out the project according to the project plan.
  • Project management experience.
  • National and international activities, including projects, networks, assignments, honorary assignments, and participation in or arranging workshops or conferences.
  • Interest, experience and ability to communicate the research and research results with stakeholders and users.
  • Strength and competitiveness of the research team.

Added value of research environments

The research environments contribute to the applicant’s development as a researcher

  • The importance of the research environments in the development of the applicant’s independence, scientific qualifications and research career.
  • Opportunities to expand current expertise with, for example, new perspectives, tools, methods and techniques.
  • Opportunity for the applicant to build networks in new or complementary fields, or expand their existing network
  • Potential for synergies and future collaboration between the applicant and selected research environments.

Relevance of the research environments for the project

  • The suitability of the research environments for the applicant’s research and the project’s implementation
  • The effectiveness of the research environments for the project’s ability to promote the national dissemination or internationalisation of Swedish research.

Ground of assessment for societal relevance and communication:

Real-world impact of the topic and communication of results

  • The research question addresses important issues in society or a sector, nationally, internationally or both, and is within Formas’ areas.
  • The project has the potential to help achieve sustainable development in the short or long term, and nationally, internationally or both.
  • In the project’s design, applicants consider the needs of stakeholders and/or users.
  • The plan for scientific publication and communication of results with stakeholders and/or users during the project is specific and realistic relative to the project’s focus.

All five grounds of assessment must be addressed in the application, and applicants are encouraged to clearly relate the application to these criteria. We also strongly advise applicants to clearly and accurately organise and formulate their applications, as the review is based solely on the information contained in the application.

Formas is expected to reach a preliminary decision in June 2023 concerning which projects are awarded funding. Decisions will be announced the following day at the latest on Formas’ website, and information that a decision has been taken is later sent via email from Prisma. Decisions are available in Prisma. Grant award decisions cannot be appealed.

All awarded projects must submit a report to Formas containing financial and project results within three months of the end of the grant availability period. A financial statement must be submitted to Formas annually. All reports are submitted in Prisma.

How to report expenses and results External link.

Formas might require you to participate in meetings, evaluations, and similar events in order to create synergies and platforms for learning and knowledge sharing.

Results of research funded by Formas must be published using open access.

Open access to research results and data External link.

If you receive funding from us, you must have a data management plan for the data produced in the project. This plan does not need to be submitted to Formas, but should be presented on request. We recommend that you follow the proposal developed by Science Europe on what a data management plan should contain. For more information about the proposal, see the Practical Guide to the International Alignment of Research Data Management External link..

SweCRIS

Formas shares information about awarded grants to SweCRIS, a national database of grant-funded research that was instituted by request of the government.

Revision history

14 December 2022 CET 11.00 Clarification regarding that the application must be signed within seven calender days by the administrating organization.

15 November 2022 CET 15.00 Changes to the call’s grant availability period. Formas’ decision contains information on how long the funds can be used after the project is completed (grant availability period).

8 November 2022 CET 11.00 Addition on the call's delimitations, see Delimitations under Before you apply.

Contact information

Updated:14 June 2023
Page manager: Josefin Thoresson