Weave – Simplified funding procedures for projects across European borders

With Weave, researchers from two or three European countries can submit a research application to one of the participating funding organisations and it will then undergo a single evaluation. Each project partner is funded by its own country’s research funder.

Contents:

  1. What is Weave?
  2. Who is part of Weave?
  3. Who is Formas collaborating with now?
  4. How does Weave work?
  5. Formas acts as a Lead Agency
  6. Formas acts a Partner Agency and other organisations acts as Lead Agency
  7. Project duration
  8. Budget and costs
  9. Funding
  10. Language
  11. Submission deadlines
  12. Success rates
  13. Further information

1. What is Weave?

Weave is a bottom-up, cross-European initiative developed by European research funders to support excellent collaborative research projects across borders. It is supported by Science Europe External link., the European association of research funding and performing organisations. It is the first time that such a large number of funders develop an initiative to facilitate structured bilateral and trilateral scientific cooperation. It aims to simplify the submission and selection procedures of collaborative research proposals that involve researchers from up to three European countries or regions. It does this by making proposals go through a single evaluation procedure.

  • Within Weave, researchers from two or three European countries or regions are allowed to submit a collaborative research proposal to any of the participating funders. To submit a proposal, all participating researchers need to be eligible for funding at the involved Weave funding organisation.
  • Weave will enable bi- and trilateral scientific cooperation within Europe. Researchers will be able to collaborate with their peers in countries where there were previously no collaborative funding agreements.
  • It is a bottom-up mechanism, with no additional restrictions on the thematic focus or subject matter covered by the proposals than the ones provided for by the relevant national and regional calls.
  • Weave does not represent additional research funding. Proposals compete in the national and regional funding schemes opened to Weave. Funding allocated for collaborative research projects through Weave will be provided through national or regional funding programmes.

About Weave (weave-research.net) External link.

2. Who is part of Weave?

Weave comprises 12 national research funders from 11 European countries. Together, they commit to strengthening international research collaboration and helping to realise the European Research Area.

Weave research funding partners:

Weave will be rolled out progressively over the course of the next years. Not all configurations for collaboration will be possible under Weave immediately at launch. Participating funders will start by funding projects with the other funders they have standing agreements with and will enlarged incrementally. Weave will also open up and welcome new funders into the scheme once fully up and running.

The Weave tool shows the possible project combinations and the upcoming submission deadlines.

Weave tool (weave-research.net) External link.

3. Who is Formas collaborating with now?

Within Weave, Formas currently directly co-operates with the three following research funding organisations:

4. How does Weave work?

Weave was developed by European funders to support excellent research projects. It simplifies the submission of joint applications by centralising evaluation at a single agency. In the Weave funding scheme, researchers from two to three European countries submit a joint proposal to one of the funding organisations involved. Each applicant needs to meet the participation requirements and eligibility criteria defined by their funder. The main applicant must meet the requirements and eligibility criteria defined by their national funder (Lead Agency) and each co-applicant must meet the requirements and eligibility criteria defined by their own national funder (Partner Agency).

Formas is part of Weave through the Annual open call and the grant ‘Research projects’.

Weave is based on the Lead Agency Procedure

  1. The researchers appoint one person as the main applicant, whose role includes submitting the joint application to the funding agency of their country (Lead Agency).
  2. For administrative reasons, the co-applicants also need to make parallel submissions to the national funders of their countries (the Partner Agencies).
  3. The funder that receives the proposal (the Lead Agency) evaluates it according to its internal rules set out for its respective national or regional programme.
  4. If the application follows the rules of the call, the Lead Agency forwards the decision to its partner organisation(s) (the Partner Agencies)for approval and budgetary purposes. If the main applicant is not eligible or if the application does not follow the rules of the call the application will be rejected, and the Partner Agency(ies) will be informed.
  5. The partner organisation checks that their applicants meet the eligibility criteria set forth in call guidelines. If the co-applicants are eligible at the Partner Agency, the Partner Agency inform the Lead Agency and the application will continue to the review process of the call. If any of the co-applicants are not eligible at their Partner Agency, the complete application will be rejected.

5. Formas acts as a Lead Agency

The Lead Agency process allows researchers in Sweden and partner(s) country to submit a joint research proposal to either of the national funding organisations. The Weave projects are compared directly with the other projects submitted in the same funding scheme. Joint proposals submitted to Formas as the Lead Agency must be prepared in accordance with the Formas Annual open call Research Projects and its rules.

Important! When Formas acts as Lead Agency, the application has to be submitted to the Annual open call, but it only refers to grants for ‘Research projects’. The grant ‘Research projects for Early-Career researchers’ is not part of Weave.

Register your application in Prisma: as a Weave collaboration: Please not that you need to register your application as a Weave collaboration by an x in “Mark if this application is part of the Science Europe collaboration Weave where you act as a main applicant and Formas is the Lead Agency. “Followed by filling in what other countries are part of the application.

  • The project description must encompass the entire bi- or trilateral research project.
  • The distribution of work between the partners must be clearly described.
  • For the Lead Agency application, please enter the applicants based abroad as participating researcher (co-applicant) Prisma and follow the co-applicant guidelines for the call.
  • For administrative reasons, the co-applicants need to, within seven days, submit the application to be evaluated by Formas, as Lead Agency, to their respective funders (Partner agencies).
  • Financial aspects must include information on the Swedish and all other international project parts.
  • The budget for all partners (from Sweden and abroad) must be justified.
  • A Swedish main applicant cannot simultaneously submit any other applications as a main applicant to the Annual Open Call.
  • If Formas acts as Lead Agency, the application has to be submitted to the Annual open call, but it only refers to grants for ‘Research projects’.
  • You can only be the lead in one application submitted to Weave and/or to the Annual open call.
  • A Lead Agency application can be submitted provided there are no thematic overlaps with project grants that are already approved for funding.
  • The proposals must be submitted by the project leader, based at a Swedish administrative organisation, to Formas grant management system Prisma for the Annual open call no later than the deadline for the call.
  • All rules for the Annual Open Call Research Projects of the year of the application applies either as a Lead or a Partner in Weave.

6. Formas acts a Partner Agency and other organisations acts as Lead Agency

Proposals for which one of Formas Weave collaborations acts as Lead Agency must be prepared in accordance with the formal guidelines of the Lead Agency. Please follow the information and guidelines at the webpage of the Lead Agency and if you have any questions regarding their submission process contact them directly.

  • Applicants based in Sweden must fulfill the formals requirements of Formas Annual open call Research Projects and its rules, even as a co-applicant (Partner Agency).
  • When Formas is a Partner Agency, you as a co-applicant must submit an exact copy of the application submitted to the Lead Agency.
  • An application can be submitted provided that there are no thematic overlaps with grants for projects that the applicant has already approved for funding. Read the rules that apply to the Annual Open Call for ongoing projects.
  • All rules for the Annual Open Call Research Project, during the application year, apply to the applicant either when Formas is Lead or Partner in Weave.
  • There must be a clear budget and budget motivation for the Swedish project part as well as for the other applicants' budget in the application.
  • The budget for all partners (from Sweden and abroad) must be justified.
  • The project description must encompass the entire bi- or trilateral research project. There must be a detailed work plan for that research for both the main applicant and the co-applicant(s). The distribution of work between the partners must be clearly described.
  • Letter of intent from the Swedish administrating organisation. The applicant needs to submit a letter of intent from their Swedish administrating organisation. The confirmation must contain an assurance that the applicant and the project is approved by the Swedish administrating organisation.

Documents needed to be sent to Formas

  • An exact copy of the application submitted to the Lead Agency
  • Letter of intent from the Swedish administrating organisation

Application procedure when Formas is a Partner Agency

  • · If the application follows the rules of the call, the Lead Agency forwards the decision to its partner organisation(s) (the Partner Agencies) for approval and budgetary purposes. That is, the Lead Agency contacts Formas if they have a Weave application where Formas is a Partner Agency.
  • If the main applicant is not eligible or if the application does not follow the rules of the call the application will be rejected by the Lead Agency, and the Partner Agency(ies) will be informed.
  • The Swedish applicant sends an exact copy of the application that was submitted to the Lead Agency to Formas. No later than seven days after submission to the Lead Agency.
  • An exact copy of the main application is sent via email to the person responsible for Weave at Formas.
  • The letter of intent from the Swedish administrating organisation also needs to be sent to Formas by email within seven days after submission to the Lead Agency.
  • The Swedish partner's part of the application undergoes a formal control, according to the guidelines of the Annual Open Call Research projects.
  • If all the formalities are approved by Formas, the Lead Agency will be informed of this.
  • If other Partner Agency approve their formal controls of the application, it will be processed by the Lead Agency.
  • If a Partner Agency discovers that the applicant's or applicant's project part does not meet the requirements for their respective call, the entire application will be rejected.
  • If the entire application, ie both Lead Agency and Partner Agency approves their parts, the Swedish partner will need to register the application in Prisma.
  • The applicant will be invited by Formas to register in Prisma.
  • The administration organisation will need to sign and approve the application in Prisma when the application is registered in Prisma.
  • If the project receives funding from the Lead Agency, the Swedish part will receive funding from Formas (Partner Agency).

7. Project duration

The maximum duration that applicants can apply for depends on the research funding agency/agencies involved. If the joint proposal is submitted to Formas Annual open call, the Annual open guidelines apply, i.e., the maximum project duration is 36 months (only the grant form ‘Research projects’ apply for Weave). If submitted to an agency abroad, the maximum duration is depending on the Lead Agency. The maximum duration is defined either according to the rules of the call the project is submitted to or is set by the research funding organization which allows the shortest project duration. For applicants via Formas the maximum project time is 36 months. If in doubt, check with the Lead Agency or your own funding agency before submitting a proposal.

8. Budget and costs

The project parts will be financed separately by the respective national/regional funding agency in accordance with their standard rules. Applicants are advised to check with their respective funding agency. Swedish project parts follow those budget regulations of the Annual open call ‘Research projects’. This applies for both Sweden as a Lead Agency or a Partner Agency.

9. Funding

Weave makes use of existing funding programmes. When Formas is the Lead Agency; the Swedish part of the application, is integrated into the budget of the Annual open call. For funding when Formas is a Partner Agency a specific budget is allocated, it is not part of the Annual Open Calls budget. Other national funding agencies involved finance the sub-projects conducted in their country.

  • The rules of the relevant funding scheme apply, there are no additional conditions. Applicants are advised to check with their respective funding agency.
  • Costs are calculated on the basis of the relevant national guidelines for respective applicant. The Swedish partner needs to follow the national guidelines of Formas and other partners according to their national guidelines.
  • A Lead Agency application can be submitted provided there are no thematic overlaps with project funding grants that are already under way. See all regulations for the national call.

10. Language

It is advised to write the application in English since the review panel mostly consists of international reviewers and partner, and the Partner Agency or Lead Agency is in another country than Sweden.

11. Submission deadlines

Submission deadlines vary depending on the Lead Agency, please consult the respective country pages. If Formas is the Lead Agency, the deadline follows that of the Annual open call.

12. Success rates

Within Weave, all bottom up calls have different success rates and therefore the success rate at a Lead Agency varies. When Formas is Lead Agency the application competes with other applications in the Annual open call Research projects that year.

13. Further information

Applications received within the framework of the Weave collaboration are handled according to a special procedure. This in order to follow jointly agreed practices between the international funders.

Contact

Updated:29 January 2024
Page manager: Åsa Frisk