New call for research projects (previously annual open call)

To address complex societal challenges, researchers need to work on challenging research questions, new methods and in other ways take relevant risks in their research. The new call for research project aims to support innovative research of the highest scientific quality and societal relevance, within Formas’ areas of responsibility.

The more long-term aim of the call is to promote a clear shift in the state of knowledge that contributes to solving societal challenges in areas of great relevance to sustainable development. The call should support a continuous and long-term development of knowledge, with a diversity of disciplines and perspectives. The call also aims to promote internationally successful researchers and research environments.

The call welcomes basic research as well as challenge-driven research in all disciplines or combination of disciplines.

The research granted by Formas must belong to at least one of of Formas’ areas of responsibility: Environment, Agricultural sciences, and Spatial Planning. These areas are further described under three separate headings below, but should not be considered as three separate areas.

In your application, you will need to explain how your project falls within Formas’ areas of responsibility. Research projects that, based on the provided explanation, are deemed to be outside these areas cannot be granted funding, and will be rejected before being reviewed. For a project to be regarded as falling within the Formas areas of responsibility, it must clearly relate to the environment, agricultural sciences, and/or spatial planning, or in intersections between these areas. The project goals and research questions are central to this assessment.

Environment

The area of responsibility Environment deals with the interaction between people and the environment and the promotion of sustainable societies and viable ecosystems. This includes issues relating to climate, the environment, biodiversity, ecosystem services, resource efficiency, and a chemical-safe future. The area also includes issues relating to the Earth system and soil, air, and water processes. Climate includes, for example, the climate system and changes to it, measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and improved understanding of the effects of climate change and/or climate adaptations. Environment also includes issues relating to more environmentally friendly and socio-economically sustainable ways of utilising existing resources as well as sustainable products, materials, and consumption. The area also includes issues relating to how people relate to nature and its values, and how these changes over time, as well as society’s ability to value and manage issues such as environmental pollution, climate risks, and environmental changes.

Agricultural Sciences

The area of responsibility Agricultural Sciences deals with forestry, agriculture, soil and land use, food, animal health, and animal welfare from a multitude of perspectives. This includes issues relating to the different uses and values of forests, and synergies and trade-offs between them. Issues relating to agriculture and food includes the entire food system, with production, processing, distribution, preparing, and consumption of food, and taking care of residues. This also includes the access of different societal groups to safe, nutritious, healthy, and tasty food. Animal health and animal welfare include sporting- and companion animals, laboratory animals, farm animals on land and in water, and their health and wellbeing. This includes the spread of disease between animals, and between humans and animals. The area Agricultural Sciences also includes issues relating to land use, soil health and land issues related to the extraction of strategic minerals and raw materials.

Spatial Planning

The area of responsibility Spatial Planning deals with urban, rural and regional planning, design, and construction of the built environment, as well as the use, management, recycling, and demolition of buildings, homes, places, landscapes, and infrastructures. It also deals with the relationships between places, buildings, and social functions, how they are used, and how people move from one place to another. Spatial Planning includes both cultural and natural environments and how communities and the built environment can be made inclusive, safe, and adapted to future challenges. Spatial Planning includes all aspects of sustainable development with a focus on meeting the need for good living environments for everyone, now and in the future. This includes balancing different interests and goal conflicts about which values should be decisive when planning and building sustainable societies for people and the environment.

Overarching issues

Formas’ areas of responsibility should not be considered as three separate areas. Knowledge needs often involve complex issues that are at the intersection of the environment, agricultural sciences, and spatial planning. This could include issues relating to policy instruments, regulations, and political decisions, but also about norms, values, and behaviours – in the past, present and future. It could also include issues relating to norms, practices and values at individual, group, or system levels. Overarching issues could also include issues relating to policy instruments, regulations, and political decisions.

In this call, you cannot apply for funds for projects with the primary purpose of developing technical solutions for extraction, transformation, transmission and/or storage of energy, as well as for capture and storage of carbon dioxide, CCS, or capture and utilization of carbon dioxide, CCU. Technical solutions also include components, materials and control and regulation systems for such solutions.

You cannot apply for development projects. Development defined as using research results and scientific knowledge to produce new goods, services, processes, system and methods or improvements of such already existing.

Additional delimitations may be added later.

The call for research projects is aimed at researchers with a doctorate degree that are based at Swedish higher education institutions or research institutes. Researchers based or employed at other types of organisations, such as companies or other economic enterprises, cannot be invited as participating researchers (co-applicants).

The main applicant must have a minimum career age of 4 years. Career age is here defined as the time passed from when a person has their doctorate issued to the date when the call closes.

Any participating researchers (co-applicants) must have obtained a doctoral degree by the close of the call, at the latest. The doctorate degree can have been awarded in Sweden or in another country.

Other staff that participate in the project does not have to have obtained a doctorate degree, but cannot be included as participating researchers (co-applicants).

You can apply for funds for project-related salaries for researchers, PhD students and other staff. Formas grants funds for annual salary increases.

You may also apply for funds for project-related operating costs, depreciation costs for equipment and premises costs. Operating costs can include, for example, consumables, purchase of services, equipment, travel, conferences, or open access publication in peer-reviewed journals and databases. The maximum amount allowed for equipment and depreciation costs is a total of 500 000 SEK for both costs.

Grants from Formas can be used to fund research that is partly conducted outside Sweden, although the research must be initiated and managed from Sweden. The administrating organisation must be situated 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 guidelines.

You can apply for at most SEK 1.5 million per year on average over the years that apply to the application.

The project duration cannot exceed 4 years (48 months).

The total project budget cannot exceed SEK 6 million.

A person can only be main applicant for one application to the new call for research projects.

It is not permitted to submit the same application with different main applicants.

You may not be the main applicant in the new call for research projects if you are the project manager for an ongoing project granted in one of Formas open calls, that has a grant period that includes 2025.

Formas open calls include Mobility grant for early-career researchers, the Annual open call (both Research projects and Research projects for early-career researchers), the Career grant for early-career researchers, and the new call for research projects.

A project is considered ongoing during the years when funds are being paid out from Formas. In Formas’ decision you find which calendar years the project funds will be paid out and how long the funds are available.

It is permitted to apply for funds in the call if the project's grant period, that is its payment period, has passed but the availability period still runs during 2025. You may also apply for project funding in the new call for research projects if you are the project manager for or participate in ongoing project grants granted in one of Formas’ other calls.

Formas can however not fund a researcher more than 100 percent of a full-time position.