Sustainable Development Goals Collaborative Funding Call

WHAT CAN YOU APPLY FOR?

Projects that aim to enhance impact of existing knowledge through innovative approaches towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.

WHO CAN APPLY?

The Swedish main applicant must have a PhD and be affiliated to a Swedish higher education institution, research institute, or government agency with a research assignment. The Swedish applicant must be the PI of an ongoing or completed Formas grant with the duration of no less than 3 years and completed 2017 or later.

HOW MUCH CAN YOU APPLY FOR?

The Swedish project participants can apply for projects of 2 to 4 years with a total budget of 3 MSEK.

Given decision: 2023-12-27 15:00

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

Sustainable Development Goals Collaborative Funding Call 2023

Registration number

Applicant First Name

Applicant Second Name

Administrating organisation

Project Title

Funded amount, SEK

2023-02132

Christian

Lindh

Trade-offs between food safety and food security and its impacts towards the SDGs for children in South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland

Lunds universitet

2 971 096

2023-02135

Kenneth

Persson

Safeguard Water Security towards Sustainable Development Goals in Aquatic Ecosystems

Lunds universitet

2 988 200

2023-02136

Mattias

Hallquist

From air quality data to actions for clean air for vulnerable populations in African developing countries

Göteborgs universitet

2 937 944

2023-02152

Erik

Alexandersson

Advancement and adaptation of agricultural biologicals to meet sub-Saharan Africa smallholderfarmers´ needs and build sustainable food systems

Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

2 998 350

2023-02155

Magdalena

Kuchler

Harvesting Energy from Natural and Anthropogenic Vibrations

Uppsala universitet

2 703 613

2023-02160

Magnus

Karlsson

Development of microbial consortia as a biocontrol agent for safe quality tomato fruit

Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

3 000 000

Formas is participating in a pilot call together with 10 funding agencies from four continents. The call is aimed at accelerating achievement of the SDGs by implementing results of ongoing or recently finalised research and projects.

If the timeframe set by the UN to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, by 2030 is to be realized, there will need to be unrivalled international collaboration within the political, scientific, and societal realms. A concerted effort internationally is needed to develop practical strategies and implementation plans, these then must be actioned at national, regional and global scales.

This initiative is endorsed by the Global Research Council, GRC, a virtual organisation comprising heads of science and engineering funding agencies dedicated to the promotion and sharing of data and best practices for high-quality collaboration among funding agencies worldwide. With this pilot call GRC is committed to taking concrete steps towards achieving the SDGs through innovative research and innovation actions.

Projects should consider the pledge of ‘Leave No One Behind’, and where appropriate the outcomes of the funded projects should benefit those most vulnerable. Proposals for this call should consider one or two of the following challenges:

  • Human well-being and capabilities
  • Sustainable and just economies
  • Food systems and nutrition patterns
  • Energy decarbonization with universal access
  • Urban and peri-urban development
  • Global environmental commons

Formas fund projects within the areas of environment, agricultural sciences and spatial planning.

Projects will be funded through transdisciplinary consortia of three to six partners where researchers and practice partners from different countries work towards common goals. Applicants must form project consortia with eligible partner organisations from at least three different countries funding the call. Consortia must be based on research and innovation projects that have been completed or are nearing completion. The research and outcomes of the funded projects are expected to benefit society and improve the livelihoods of people on the ground.

Formas will cover the project costs of Swedish partners. The duration of the projects is 2-4 years. The maximum amount allocated per project is 3 million SEK. The call secretariat is managed by South Africa’s National Research Fund, NRF. Concept notes must be submitted using the provided template by the deadline of 31 August 2022.

Timeline

  • 31 August 2022 Deadline for Concept Note submission.
  • 10 May 2023 Deadline for full proposals, NRF South Africa.
  • December 2023 Funder’s decision and announcement of successful projects.
  • January 2024 Earliest formal start of projects.

Webinar and matchmaking event

Our partnering research agency in the Netherlands is organizing a webinar and matchmaking event on the 28th of June from 10:00 to 12:00 CEST. You are welcome to join for the webinar and the matchmaking event!

 

Find all relevant info here:

How do I apply to this call?

This is an international call that is being handled by the National Research Foundation South Africa (NRF). All documents (concept note, project description, CVs etc) have to be sent via NRF. The first step is to send a concept note to NRF call secretariat by the deadline of 31th of August. If your concept note is deemed eligible, you will be invited to send in a full proposal by January 20th 2023. For details on where and how to send in; see the full call for proposals: https://www.nrf.ac.za/sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-collaborative-funding-call/ External link.

How do I know if my project is eligible?

It has to have been previously funded by Formas. It must be completed January 1st 2017 or later. It has to have lasted for a minimum of two years in order to be eligible (started no later than Jan 2020). The Swedish main applicant must have a PhD and be affiliated to a Swedish higher education institution, research institute, or government agency with a research assignment.

Do I have to send a concept note and full proposal to Formas also?

No, all documents relating to the proposal have to be sent to the NRF. If your project is funded, then you will be asked to send in a proposal via Prisma. You only need to send one concept note and eventually one full proposal per consortia. You must use the provided template for the concept note found on the NRF website. If your consortia is eligible to apply, you will be asked to submit a full proposal.

It says that one or more previously funded projects is a prerequisite to apply. Does the project have to build on the earlier Formas financed project?

To be eligible the Swedish main applicant needs to have a previously funded or ongoing Formas project. It must be completed before January 1st, 2017. It must have lasted for a minimum of two years to be eligible (started no later than 2020). The Swedish main applicant must have a PhD and be affiliated to a Swedish higher education institution, research institute, or government agency with a research assignment.

Is this just a good way to get more funding for an old project?

No. The call is meant to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, through the implementation of results from ongoing or recently finalised research and innovation projects to advance knowledge-based achievement of the SDGs, from local to regional scale. The call is about finding concrete and implementable solutions to achieving the SDGs. The research and outcomes of the projects funded should lead to impact on society and improve the livelihoods of people on the ground.

How do I put together the right consortia?

You must have minimum 3 partners from the countries funding the call and these should be a mix of countries from the global North and the global South. You also have to include stakeholders outside of the research sector in the consortium (such as local authorities, communities, NGOs, i.e., relevant actors and stakeholders) that are a part of the consortium and are actively engaged in the project. Each country funding the call, has its own requirements listed in the national annex posted on the NRF website. Remember that the consortia have to be based on equitable partnership(s).

Let’s say we have consortia with 4 countries and one of the members does not pass admissibility check. In this case, can we maintain the consortia if the minimum numbers of members required (3 countries) is met?

As long as the minimum requirements (3 countries) are met, we’d just have to confirm with the consortium involved.

What does it mean when it says each funding agency will provide funds directly to their eligible applicants per consortia?

If your project is funded, then each member of the consortia will receive funding from its own country's research agency. Standard Formas rules for project budgets applies. You can apply for maximum SEK 3 million. However, the funds may partly be used to finance expenses for Swedish stakeholders or consortium partners outside Sweden. If funds is to be transferred from the administrating organisation to another organisation or be used to purchases services, it must be done in accordance with the administrating organisation´s guidelines.

How do I know if my project fits the topics for this call?

Please read the full call text carefully. Pay special attention to the Global Sustainable Development report “The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development“. Formas supports projects that fall within any of the six key "entry points" (challenges) described in the report within Formas arears of responsibility (environment, agricultural sciences and spatial planning).

I am a researcher from another country and am interested in finding partners in Sweden. How can I do that?

You can find all funded projects in the national database Swecris External link.. Formas is not allowed to give out contact information to project managers, but by using our project databank you will find the names of institutions and project managers. Note that all projects in the database are not eligible for this call.

Are you organizing any webinars in relations to this call?

Since this is a collaborative call, our partnering research agency in the Netherlands is organizing a webinar and matchmaking event on the 28th of June External link. from 10:00 to 12:00 CEST. You are welcome to join for the webinar and the matchmaking event!

Contact information

For question about the content of the call:

Updated:27 December 2023