The dates of the call are preliminary and may be revised. The call description will continue to be revised and made more precise until the call opens for applications.
In Explore – Formas' open call for research projects, you are invited to freely formulate a research question within Formas’ areas of responsibility. The call supports innovative research of the highest scientific quality and societal relevance.
The overarching purpose of Explore – Formas’ open call for research projects, is to support innovative research of the highest scientific quality and societal relevance, within Formas’ areas of responsibility. Innovative research is distinguished from other research in that is seeks to substantially advance or challenge the state of knowledge and state of the art.
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 also aims to support a continuous and long-term development of knowledge, with a diversity of disciplines and perspectives. Moreover, the call aims to promote internationally successful researchers and research environments.
The call only funds project where the main aim and contribution is to develop new scientific knowledge within Formas’ areas of responsibility – the environment, agricultural sciences, and spatial planning, and their intersections. The call welcomes basic research as well as needs-driven research in all disciplines or combination of disciplines.
Technical solutions for sustainable energy
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, for energy efficiency, 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, models, and control and regulation systems for such solutions. This also includes biobased and nature-based technical solutions.
Implementation projects
Projects that primarily aims at implementing research results are not funded through this call. This includes, for example, feasibility studies, pilot plants and facilities, and demonstration projects. Projects that do not aim at developing new scientific knowledge, or where this comprises a limited part of the project, are not funded in this call.
This call is aimed at researchers with a doctorate, at Swedish higher education institutions, research institutes and government agencies with a research mission.
In the call, the following requirements are made on the administering organisation, the main applicant, and project participants:
Administering organisation
- The administering organisation must be a Swedish higher education institution, research institute, or a government agency with a research mission.
Main applicant
- The main applicant must have a minimum career age of four 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.
- The main applicant must have an activity level of at least 20 percent in the project. This can be funded through the grant applied for, through other sources, or through a combination of this.
- A person may only be main applicant for one application to Explore 2025.
- A person may not be main applicant in Explore 2025 if they are the project leader for an on-going grant from any of the following calls: Explore, Career grant for early career researchers, the Annual open call, or the Mobility grant.
Participating researchers and other project participants
- No more than four participating researcher may be included in the application.
- Participating researchers must have obtained their doctorate by the close of the call.
- Other project participants do not need to have a doctorate.
- People employed at companies or other types of organisations engaged solely in economic activity cannot be funded through the grant you apply for.
- International project participants can be funded to a limited extent through the grant you apply for. More details on this will be published as soon as possible.
You may apply for funding for both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include, for example, costs for salaries, equipment, travel, and purchased services. 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.
New terms and conditions for indirect costs
In the call, the following requirements are made on the grant amount and project duration:
- You must apply for at least SEK 5 million and no more than SEK 6 million.
- The project duration is four years (48 months). You cannot apply for shorter or loner projects. The project must have planned activities and costs during all 48 months.
- The project start in Prisma is set to September 1, 2026. This date is preset and cannot be changed.
Formas continues its collaboration within the European initiative Weave – Research Funding Without Borders. Formas currently collaborates with three research funders in three countries: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds, SNSF, in Switzerland, Luxembourg National Research Fund, FNR, in Luxembourg, and Research Foundation Flanders, FWO, in Belgium. Within Weave, researchers from two to three European countries can submit a collaborative research proposal to any of the participating funders.
To apply for a Weave-project through Explore, you need to be the main applicant for the joint research proposal. Through submitting the proposal to Formas, Formas becomes Lead Agency.
Weave – Simplified funding procedures for projects across European borders
Contact information
The easiest way to reach us with questions about the call is by email to: explore@formas.se
