Applied Research for a Competitive Food Sector and Sustainable Transitions

The project must be carried out by a minimum of three and a maximum of ten project partners. At least half of the partners must be from the food industry and at least one partner must be a research organisation.

A project partner is defined as an organisation that is registered as a partner in Prisma and that has a clearly defined role in the implementation of the project and its own budget section with associated costs. The project partner’s funding may consist of funds applied for from Formas, in-kind contributions, such as own working hours, or other types of co-funding. The type of co-funding must be specified in the budget specification in the application. It is not permitted for a partner to solely finance other partners without having any costs or responsibilities in the project.

Please note that even if a project partner does not apply for funding from Formas but contributes in-kind, the partner must still be specified as a separate section in the budget, where the partner’s costs must be stated. If any project partner does not report any costs in the project, the application will be formally rejected. More information is available under the heading “How to apply”.

At least one researcher participating in the project must have a doctoral degree. The project team must collectively have the expertise required to carry out the project and achieve the set goals. This expertise may be found among the parties or provided in some other way. It is up to the project to put together an appropriate project team, distribute tasks between the parties and draw up a reasonable budget allocation. These aspects will be taken into account in the assessment according to the criteria under the heading “How the assessment process works”.

All projects must have a responsible project manager and be carried out by the persons specified in the application.

The main applicant must be a Swedish organisation. This means that it must be a legal entity with a Swedish organisation number. Both business parties and research performers may be main applicants.

The main applicant organisation must also be the one that receives and manages the funds paid out by Formas, i.e. be the administrating organisation for the project. This means that only organisations that are, or can be approved as, administrating organisations can be main applicants in this call.

Formas distinguishes between administrating organisations that are approved for all calls and those that need to be approved for a specific project. Universities, colleges, authorities with research assignments and most research institutes are generally approved. Other public and private organisations need to apply to be approved as administrating organisations for the specific project. If your organisation already has an organisation account in Prisma, you only need to contact the call administrator to be linked to the call.

This is an organisational call. This means that the application must be submitted via the organisation's account External link. in Prisma and that it is the person responsible for the organisation's account who registers and signs the application.

Read more about administrating organisations under the heading "How to apply".

Sole proprietorships are not eligible to participate as project partners. Applications in which one of the partners is registered as a sole proprietorship will be rejected. Companies and other organisations engaged in economic activities that apply for funding from Formas are subject to the rules on state aid External link..

Project partners are permitted to mobilise third-party organisations with specific skills and knowledge that can contribute to the project’s objectives through purchased services. The involvement of third-party organisations must be limited, well defined and well justified in the project application. Please note, however, that purchased services may not exceed 20% of the amount applied for from Formas.

Academic actors at foreign universities, colleges and research institutes, as well as foreign companies and other organisations engaged in economic activities, may be parties to a project application, but are not eligible for Formas funding. Any participation by foreign actors must be limited, well defined and well justified in the project application.

Due to the war in Ukraine, it will not be possible to obtain funding for projects involving collaboration with state or federal research institutions in Russia and Belarus.

Business parties may apply for funding from Formas.

State aid rules apply when Formas awards grants to companies and others engaged in economic activity. The rules are in place to protect competition in the EU internal market.

For this call, the aid level is a maximum of 65 per cent of the party's eligible costs. This means that the party needs to contribute its own funding, either through participation with its own financial resources or through contributions of its own working time (so-called in-kind financing), for at least 35 per cent of its own costs, regardless of the size of the activity. Please note that public funds are not approved as co-financing.

In this call, Formas will primarily apply Article 25 of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER, EU Regulation No 651/2014). In this call, Formas assesses that the type of project will fall within the category of “industrial research”.

Support levels of up to 65 per cent may be applied, as Formas expects all funded projects to meet the requirements for extensive dissemination of results, for example through conferences, publications, open databases or open source software.

Depending on the party’s activities and the activities that the party will carry out in the project, Formas may decide on a different maximum support level than that applied for. Prior to making a decision, Formas conducts credit checks on companies and others engaged in economic activities that may be eligible for funding.

Each project party is responsible for ensuring that the grant received does not exceed the level of support permitted under the rules for state aid in the relevant basis for support.

Project partners who receive state aid for the implementation of projects, in the event that the project application is granted funding from Formas, need to be aware that the requirements for transparency reporting of state aid granted have been tightened in 2023. This means that state aid exceeding EUR 100,000 to a project partner in a project (or EUR 10,000 in the case of primary agricultural production or the fisheries and aquaculture sector) must be reported publicly within the EU. Formas is responsible for this transparency reporting. Anyone who submits an application is deemed to have understood this transparency reporting requirement and to have approved such public reporting above the applicable thresholds.

Rules for primary agricultural production

According to Article 25 of the GBER, aid may be granted for fundamental research, industrial research, experimental development and feasibility studies. Such aid may also apply to projects in primary agricultural production. For projects involving the processing or marketing of agricultural products, there are specific restrictions in Article 1.3(c). The aid may not be linked to the price or quantity of the products. For more information, see the full text of the GBER, in particular Article 25 and Article 1.3(b)-(c).

Here you can read more about the state aid rules that apply when Formas awards grants:

Rules for state aid External link.

Aid levels according to Formas’s aid scheme External link.

Organisations that conduct both economic and non-economic activities, such as research institutes, can apply for funding in the call and receive grants without state aid, provided that they intend to participate in their non-economic activities. An organisation that conducts both economic and non-economic activities shall be considered an undertaking only in relation to its economic activities.

If an organisation applying for funding conducts both economic and non-economic activities, it must keep these activities clearly separate through separate accounting. It is crucial that the costs and financing of the organisation’s various activities are kept separate and that the organisation, as a recipient of funding, does not use the results of activities carried out within the framework of its non-economic activities, with funding from Formas, in its economic activities. In summary, in order for Formas to be able to grant the organisation support in the form of funding within the framework of its non-economic activities, the applicant organisation must certify that its non-economic activities are kept clearly separate from any economic activities and that the project for which funding is sought will be carried out within the non-economic part of its activities.

For applicants that conduct both economic and non-economic activities, and that intend to participate in the non-economic part of their activities in the call, Formas therefore requires that a certificate of separate accounting External link., signed by an authorised representative of the organisation, be attached to the application. Formas may also request a certificate of separate accounting or subordinate economic activity for projects during the processing of the application if Formas deems it necessary.

When you apply for funding for a project, you can apply for funding for both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are costs that would not have been incurred if the project had not been carried out: personnel costs, costs for equipment, buildings and land, costs for consultants and licences, and other direct costs. Indirect costs are costs that do not arise as a direct result of the project but can still be related to it, such as administration and IT. Indirect costs are sometimes referred to as overhead costs or general expenses.

The funds must therefore be clearly linked to the project for which you are applying for funding and finance activities beyond your regular operations.

Here you can read more about the costs that Formas finances:

You can apply for funding for the following External link.

Costs that Formas funds through the support scheme (pdf) External link.

You can apply for up to 8 million Swedish kronor from Formas for projects lasting 36 months.

The project start date is set for December 2026 in Prisma and cannot be changed. In addition to the project period, a twelve-month disposition period is granted to complete project activities and cost reporting.

The budget in the application must show how the funds are to be used and allocated per calendar year based on expected costs. Please note that Formas may establish a different payment plan than the one specified in the application.

Provided that the conditions for the approved project are met, funds will be disbursed on a monthly basis, with the first payment in December 2026.

You should write your application in English. The review panel that will assess the application consists of both Swedish and international reviewers. If you write your application in Swedish, it will be machine translated using the DeepL service. You will not be able to see or change the translated text before the application is submitted for assessment. The popular science description must be written in Swedish, while the summaries must be in both Swedish and English. The budget specification and CV will not be translated.

Under Swedish law, your application (including attachments) is considered a public document once it has been submitted to us. This means that anyone can request and access your application. Information can only be concealed if it is covered by confidentiality under the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400).

Formas has limited opportunities to classify personal data as confidential. Therefore, the application should not contain personal data for anyone other than those participating in the application.

The popular science description and project summaries in Swedish and English will, if the project is granted funding, be published in open project databases without confidentiality assessment. The content of these fields should therefore not contain sensitive information.

At present, we see no problem with you as an applicant using AI as an aid when designing your application. However, it is important that you are aware that the responsibility for fulfilling the commitments you make in the application lies with you as the applicant. As an applicant, you are responsible for ensuring that the content of both the application and the project plan is correct and that the research is carried out as you have described. You certify this when you register your application. As an applicant, you must follow good research practice during the application process, which means that plagiarism, falsification or fabrication of content in the application is not permitted.

At Formas, we are very keen to ensure that the projects we fund are carried out in a way that maximises positive and minimises negative impacts on the environment and climate. We therefore encourage you, as an applicant, to design your project so that collaboration takes place primarily through digital meeting formats and that any necessary travel is carried out in the most climate-smart way possible. We also suggest that you include measures to minimise energy consumption and other resource consumption, emissions and waste in your project planning. However, this will not be part of the assessment of your application.

Read more about Formas' own sustainability work External link..

You submit your application to Formas in our application system, Prisma. There you enter the information needed for your application. The call is listed under the organisation account in Prisma External link..

Plan, complete and submit your application well in advance of the call closing date. Formas has very limited capacity to help applicants with questions about the application system in the final days before the call closes.

If mandatory fields are missing information when the application is submitted, it will not be possible to register the application External link.. It is possible to register an application, then withdraw it (unregister) and register it again an unlimited number of times before the call closes. We recommend that applicants test registering their application well in advance of the call closing to ensure that all mandatory fields are correctly filled in. This minimises the risk of technical problems that may prevent the final registration of the application on time. Please note that incorrect formatting, such as spaces in copied postcodes or other hidden characters, can cause problems during registration. Therefore, please check that all information is correctly filled in and formatted according to the instructions. Once the call for proposals has closed, it is not possible to submit or add information to the application.

The call closes on 28 April 2026 at 14:00. All applications must be registered before this deadline; no additions or late registrations are permitted (unless specifically requested by Formas).

Organisation account

This call is a so-called organisational call. Organisational calls are only visible when you log in to the organisation account. First click on the organisation account tab and then proceed to the link for organisational calls. See Prisma user support External link. for instructions on how to find the call in Prisma.

The organisation that will receive and manage the funds paid out by Formas if the project application is approved is referred to in Formas’ application system as the administrating organisation. The organisation must have an organisation account at the time of application.

Formas distinguishes between administrating organisations that can receive funds in all Formas calls and administrating organisations that can be approved to receive funds for a single project.

Applicants from administrating organisations approved for all Formas calls

Universities, colleges, most research institutes and authorities with research assignments are approved as administrating organisations for all Formas calls and already have an organisation account.

Applicants from administrating organisations that need to be individually approved

Most other public and private organisations need to be individually approved as administrating organisations in this call.

Organisational accounts for organisations that can become administrating organisations for an individual project

• If your organisation already has an account in Prisma, please contact the responsible research administrator Emma Stockvall Carlsson by email at stockvallcarlsson@formas.se so that your organisation can be added as a possible administrating organisation for this call. Please include your organisation number in your message. This also applies if your organisation has been approved as an administrating organisation for a project in one of Formas’ previous calls.
• If your organisation does not already have an account in Prisma, a suitable representative (organisation account manager) should apply for an organisation account on the Prisma website. In the application, state that you wish to apply for the call “Applied Research for a Competitive Food Sector and Sustainable Transitions”, the type of organisation involved and the organisation number. It is important that the main applicant applies for an organisation account for the intended coordinating project partner (fund manager) in good time if one does not already exist in Prisma, but no later than 7 April. Apply for an organisation account in Prisma. External link.
• If you do not know whether your organisation has an account in Prisma, please contact the responsible research administrator Emma Stockvall Carlsson by email at stockvallcarlsson@formas.se before applying for a new account. Please state your organisation number.

Project base – create a structure to describe the organisation

In order to register an application, a project base within the organisation must be specified. A project base can be, for example, an institution or a department. The person responsible for the organisation account must build a structure with units and sub-units (project bases) on two levels. If the organisation does not have departments, specify a sub-unit with the same name as the organisation. Information on how to do this can be found in Prisma's user support External link..

The following requirements will be checked in this call:

• That the administrating organisation has signed the application; this must be done within seven calendar days after the call has closed.
• That the application has not been rejected by the administrating organisation.
• The focus of the application falls within Formas’ areas of responsibility.
• That the focus of the application falls within the scope of the call.
• That the application complies with the framework of the call for proposals in terms of budget, project duration, type of project partners, composition of partners, etc.
• That the application is complete, i.e. that it contains all the mandatory information.
• That no other applications with the same content have been submitted.
• That the main applicant responsible for other projects or activities funded by Formas has submitted the requested reports within the specified time.
• That each project partner has its own budget item with associated costs.

All applications are assessed by an external review panel based on the information provided in the application. Each application is reviewed by several reviewers. The review panel is composed of representatives from academia and relevant actors in society. It is therefore important that the application is as clear as possible in its content and that all important and relevant information is included.

Applications are assessed based on the following criteria:

Relevance

• The project can significantly contribute to the call's purpose and orientation.
• The design of the project and its expected results have taken relevant account of the needs and conditions of different groups.
• The application clearly outlines the expected societal impact of the proposed solution.

Potential

• The project's problem formulation and purpose are clear, logical, and aligned with the call's purpose and orientation.
• The research underpinning the project is of high quality.
• The project's expected results and/or solution are at the forefront of its field and have significant news value or level of innovation.
• The project has substantial potential for scalability and/or dissemination.

Implementation

• Planned activities and methods are appropriate to achieve the expected results.
• The timeline and budget are realistic and suitable in relation to the project's purpose and goals.
• The plan for how the project's results will be utilized is well described and appropriate.
• Ethical considerations are well described, and the plan for how these will be managed is appropriate.
• Gender equality aspects are well integrated into the project's implementation.

Actors

• The project's organization and combined competence are appropriate for its implementation, including the utilization of its results.
• The project is carried out in collaboration with relevant stakeholders or users. The involvement of project participants is well described and appropriate for the project's objectives.
• The project group (key personnel) is well composed in terms of gender distribution and the balance of influence between women and men. Relevant when the project group consists of more than three people.

Read more about how the assessment process works: This is how the assessment process works. External link.

Our reviewers are currently not allowed to use AI tools to support the review of applications. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, there is a high risk that uploaded information will be disseminated further. There are also risks associated with confidentiality and the processing of personal data. Uploading an application or information from an application to any form of AI tool constitutes unauthorised dissemination of information. This applies not only to AI tools but also to many other services and tools for storing and sharing data.

Decisions on which projects will be awarded funding are expected to be made in October 2026. We will publish the decisions no later than the following day on the Formas website, and you will receive an email when you can view the decision in Prisma. Grant decisions cannot be appealed.

All approved projects must report back to Formas on finances and project results three months after the end of the allocation period. For projects lasting longer than 18 months, a financial status report must also be submitted to Formas annually. All reports are submitted in Prisma.

Financial reporting in Prisma External link..

Formas may impose requirements on how projects are to be reported in terms of content and results in order to enable dissemination and utilisation. This will be stated in the decision (with associated conditions) for the project in the event of funding. Formas may also impose requirements regarding participation in conferences and similar events in order to create synergies and platforms for learning and knowledge exchange.

Conditions for funding - Formas External link.

Results from research funded by Formas must be published with open access.

You must also have a data management plan for the data produced in the project. If you receive funding from us, you must draw up such a plan. The plan does not need to be submitted to us, but you must be able to present it on request. By signing our terms and conditions for funding, you certify that a data management plan will be in place before the research begins and that it will be maintained.

Open access to research results and External link. data