This call for proposals concerns the interaction between humans and forests, focusing on the importance of forests for human health and well-being, as well as on how human motivations affect forests and how they are managed.
Forests cover nearly 70 per cent of Sweden’s land area and play a vital role for Sweden as a multifaceted natural resource, for the Swedish economy, for biodiversity, for climate benefits, and as a place for recreation, health and well-being. Almost half of Sweden’s productive forest land is owned by small-scale private forest owners, and their decisions and conditions are therefore crucial to how forests are developed, managed and used.
In recent years, the importance of forests for human health and well-being has received increasing attention. A growing body of evidence shows that spending time in forests and nature can reduce stress, promote physical activity and enhance mental well-being. However, the health and well-being benefits that forests can offer are influenced by how they are managed and governed, and there is still limited knowledge regarding how forest management and governance can be actively designed to support these benefits.
The small-scale private forest owners who, in practice, shape a large part of Sweden’s forests, operate in an increasingly complex reality. Sweden’s more than 300,000 small-scale private forest owners are a multifaceted group with large variation in circumstances, values and motivations. The group is also changing over time due to factors such as generational shifts, demographic changes and shifting societal expectations. Despite this, there are significant knowledge gaps regarding what influences their decisions about their forests and how policy instruments, advice and other tools work in practice.
To enable forest owners, authorities and other stakeholders who make decisions regarding forests to make well-informed choices and further increase the societal benefits from forests, a more robust knowledge base is needed on how forestry decisions affect people’s health and well-being, and on how people—particularly small-scale private forest owners—make the decisions that shape the forest.
In this call for proposals, we therefore seek research that deepens our understanding of forests, forestry, forest management and the forest sector from at least one of two central perspectives: (1) the importance of forests for human health and well-being and/or (2) the conditions and motivations of small-scale private forest owners. Under the first central perspective—around health and well-being—the call covers research projects that examine how forest management methods, forest governance or the forest sector as a whole affect and interact with forests’ different values for human health and well-being. In particular, this refers to the role of forest management, forest governance and the forest sector in actively contributing to increased benefits for human health and well-being, in conjunction with other societal goals. Under the second central perspective—around small-scale private forest owners—the call for proposals covers research projects that contribute to new insights into the circumstances and motivations of small-scale private forest owners that are relevant to how various societal goals linked to the forest can be realised in practice. In particular, this refers to how small-scale private forest owners’ circumstances, motivations and decisions affect the forest and how it is managed, and how this in turn affects the values that forests contribute to society.
There are limitations to what can be funded under this call. Projects must be clearly relevant to the Swedish context and have a clear and substantial focus on forest management, forest governance or on the forest sector as a whole. See the section Delimitations.
In this call, the main applicant and participating researchers must be researchers who hold a doctoral degree. The main applicant must be employed at a Swedish university, university college, research institute or a public authority with a research assignment that is an approved administrating organisation with Formas.
Formas also has another call for proposals focusing on health and well-being, which is open until 29 April 2026: The impact of climate change on public health in Sweden – risks, vulnerabilities, opportunities, and synergies.
Forests are among Sweden’s most important natural resources. In addition to underpinning a sizeable share of the country’s industry and exports, the forest contributes to a range of other values, such as biodiversity, climate benefits, clean water, recreation, cultural heritage and human health. How the forest is managed and governed affects all these values, thereby affecting large parts of society. For forest owners, public authorities, and other actors who make decisions about the forest to be able to make well-informed choices and further increase the societal benefits from the forest, a more robust knowledge base is needed on how forest-related decisions affect human health and well-being, and on how people, particularly small-scale private forest owners, make the decisions that shape the forest.
In this call for proposals, the focus lies on two central perspectives regarding the connections between forests and people, where the knowledge base needs to be strengthened.
The importance of forests for human health and well-being has gained increasing attention in recent years, particularly in light of public health challenges such as mental health problems, physical inactivity and stress. That health and well-being are central to society is reflected, for example, in the Sustainable Development Goal on good health and well-being (Goal 3), as well as in the Swedish national public health goal and the ten objectives for outdoor recreation policy, where, among other things, the fourth objective specifically concerns access to nature for outdoor recreation. In early 2025, the Swedish government also presented a National Policy to Reduce Suicide External link.. The EU’s Forest Strategy for 2030 explicitly highlights the contribution of forests to health and well-being, and the value of forests and other ecosystems for public health, outdoor recreation, quality of life and well-being is also noted in the strategy for Sweden’s National Forest Programme and in the Swedish Environmental Quality Objectives ‘Sustainable Forests’ and ‘A Rich Diversity of Plant and Animal Life’. In Sweden, several public authorities have also recently collaborated to produce the guidance material “Vardagsnära skog External link.” (close-to-home forests), focusing on the role of forests in areas such as health, recreation and cultural heritage.
There is a growing body of evidence that shows that spending time in forests and nature can reduce stress, promote physical activity and enhance mental well-being, and the interest in nature-based health initiatives is growing. However, the health and well-being benefits that forests can provide are influenced by how forests are used and managed. Decisions regarding, for example, forest management methods, tree species, nature conservation set-asides, accessibility and planning help to shape the forest – from which environments are available for recreation, to how the forest landscape is experienced by those who live, work or spend time there. At the same time, knowledge remains limited on how forest management and forestry can be actively designed to support the forests’ various values for health and well-being. Differences between groups in society, and the role of the forest and the forest sector in relation to social values such as cultural identity and Indigenous perspectives, have been even less studied, particularly in connection with how the forest is managed and governed. This means that decisions affecting forests and their various values seldom integrate aspects around human health and well-being. Further evidence and a strengthened knowledge base are needed so that forest owners, managers and other decision-makers can reliably link specific choices regarding the forest, forestry and the forest sector to expected effects on well-being in relation to other benefits and societal goals.
The conditions and motivations of small-scale private forest owners have a major influence on how forests are managed and governed, as they own almost half (48 per cent) of Sweden’s productive forest land. Small-scale private forest owners are a heterogeneous group with varying goals, knowledge, values and circumstances. The group is large, comprising just over 300,000 people, and also changes over time; generational shifts, urbanisation and demographic change mean that an increasing number of forest owners live far from their forest; new groups are entering ownership; and that the relationship between owners and managers looks different than before.
At the same time, there are expectations that forests should contribute to a wide range of societal goals, such as the production of forest raw materials, competitiveness and economic returns, as well as climate benefits, nature restoration and biodiversity, recreation, cultural values, preparedness for societal crises and thriving rural areas. This is reflected in a wide range of societal goals relating to forests and the forest sector, for example through the Swedish forest policy objectives, the EU's Forest Strategy, the Swedish Environmental Quality Objectives, the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as Sweden’s and the EU’s bioeconomy strategies. Forests and the forest sector also play a central role in fulfilling the Paris Agreement, the EU’s LULUCF Regulation, the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the EU’s Nature Restoration Law. These goals often entail conflicting demands, and how they are implemented in practice will in many cases depend on the decisions made by small-scale private forest owners.
The choices and decisions that small-scale private owners make regarding their forests have a substantial impact on forest development and for the broader capacity to reach various societal goals. Despite this, there are significant knowledge gaps regarding what influences small-scale private forest owners’ choices and how policy instruments, advice and other tools work in practice. There is therefore a need for in-depth knowledge, for example, on what motivates different types of forest owners, how they make decisions, what obstacles and opportunities they face, and how advice and support can be designed.
These two central perspectives are also partly interconnected. Small-scale private forest owners’ decisions shape the landscape in which people spend time, and society’s expectations of the forest – for example, in relation to health, recreation and well-being – place new types of demands on how forests are used, managed and governed.
The purpose of this call is to fund research that deepens the knowledge of forests, forestry, forest management and the forest sector from two central perspectives:
(1) the importance of forests for human health and well-being,
and/or
(2) the conditions and motivations of small-scale private forest owners.
The call is also expected to lead to increased collaboration between researchers from different disciplines.
Formas is looking for projects whose research results can clearly and significantly contribute to further societal benefits from forests and the forest sector. The projects funded under this call are expected to generate new knowledge that contributes to a diverse and robust knowledge base for sounder decision-making and improved practices.
The research projects may focus on one or both of the call’s two central perspectives. The application must specify which central perspective the project primarily focuses on.
Below are some examples of relevant areas that may be the focus of projects funded under this call. These examples should not be viewed as separate or exclusive: a research project may address several of these areas, as well as other areas that contribute to the call’s purpose.
- The importance of forests for human health and well-being
This call covers research projects that examine how forestry practices, forest governance or the forest sector as a whole affect and interact with the various values of forests for human health and well-being. This refers, in particular, to the role of forestry, forest management and the forest sector in actively influencing and steering towards increased benefits for human health and well-being, in conjunction with other societal goals.
This may, for example, concern the importance of forests, forestry and the forest sector for physical activity, mental health, experiences, recreation, recovery, outdoor life, hunting and tourism. It may concern the interaction between forests, forest management and the forest sector as a whole with social values, existential health, culture, identity, Indigenous perspectives, traditions, community, sense of safety, and integration, including the conditions, opportunities and barriers to access to forests for different groups. It may also encompass how the role of forests and the forest sector in health and well-being could change in response to various factors, such as climate change, forest disturbances, pandemics and shifts in where people live.
- The conditions and motivations of small-scale private forest owners
This call covers research projects that contribute to insights into the conditions and motivations of small-scale private forest owners that are relevant to how various societal goals related to forests can be realised in practice. This refers, in particular, to how small-scale private forest owners’ conditions, motivations and decisions affect the forest and how it is managed, and how this, in turn, affects the values that the forest contributes to society.
This may, for example, involve human factors that influence decision-making regarding forests among small-scale private forest owners, such as values, knowledge, incentives, traditions or expectations, but also aspects such as policy instruments, laws, advice, decision support, digitalisation or organisational aspects. It may concern the importance of small-scale private forest owners for rural areas, as well as the effects of, for example, generational change, urbanisation and demographic changes on ownership, ownership structure and forest management. The central perspective on small-scale private forest owners may also encompass links between forest ownership and culture, traditional forest use, and cultural-heritage aspects, as well as market mechanisms and opportunities for innovative or alternative income sources or business models for small-scale private forest owners. Connections between small-scale private forest owners and changes along the value chains and within the forest sector can also be included, for example regarding increased added value and different product mixes, as well as the role and scope for action of small-scale private forest owners in relation to other forest sector actors.
The knowledge produced must be clearly relevant to a Swedish context, but may include lessons from international examples. This call for proposals covers only projects relating to forests as they are defined by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations); the call therefore does not include projects focusing on trees in urban environments, gardens, or similar green spaces in towns and cities, nor small groups of trees (<0.5 ha), orchards, agroforestry systems or other plantations primarily intended for agricultural production. Small-scale private forest owners include only natural persons, estates of deceased persons, and companies that are not limited companies.
For projects focusing on the central perspective on the importance of forests in health and well-being, the projects funded must have a clear and significant focus on forestry, forest governance or the forest sector as a whole. The call therefore does not include projects that solely or primarily focus on health or well-being. Occupation health and safety, or animal health, fall outside the scope of this central perspective.
Research projects that are deemed to fall outside the Purpose and focus of the call cannot be granted funding and will be rejected prior to review. The assessment of whether an application falls within the scope of the call is only made on the basis of a complete application. Such assessments are therefore only made after the call has closed.
This call for proposals is aimed at researchers holding a doctoral degree who are employed at a Swedish university, university college, research institute, or public authority with a research assignment, that meets Formas’ requirements for administrating organisations. The main applicant and participating researchers must hold a doctoral degree by the closing date of the call. The same person may only be the main applicant in one application under this call, but it is permitted for the same person to be a co-applicant in several applications. State aid does not apply in this call.
Formas welcomes a wide range of disciplines and approaches to achieve a diversity of research perspectives and different types of knowledge. We therefore invite applications from all disciplines and, in this call, are seeking projects involving interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaborations. The longer project duration also enables for the funding of doctoral students where relevant. The projects are expected to include and engage stakeholders and/or decision-makers from the public sector, industry and civil society in the project work in a manner that is relevant and appropriate to the research question.
Before you apply
All information on what your application should contain, how to apply and the assessment process can be found in the text below.
Grants from this call may only be administered by a Swedish university, colleges, research institute, public authority with a research assignment, or other organisation whose main activity is research.
Who can be an administrating organisation? External link.
To be eligible to apply for a grant under this call:
- The project leader must hold a doctoral degree (no later than the closing date of the call).
- Participating researchers must hold a doctoral degree (no later than the closing date of the call). Other staff involved in the project do not need to have a doctoral degree.
- The project leader must be employed by the organisation acting as the administrating organisation.
- There is no upper age limit for project leaders and participating researchers, but researchers who are fully retired cannot receive funding for salaries.
- Project leaders may submit a maximum of one project application.
Grants from Formas may be used to fund research where certain parts are carried out by researchers or other project participants employed by a foreign higher education institution or research institute. The research must be initiated and led from Sweden. The administrating organisation must be based in Sweden and approved by Formas, and is responsible for employing foreign staff or paying for activities or services outside Sweden, where necessary, in accordance with the administrating organisation’s guidelines. Foreign participation must be limited, clearly defined and well justified in the project application.
When applying for funding for a project, you can apply for funding for both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include, for example, salaries, equipment and travel. Indirect costs are costs shared with others within the organisation, such as administration, IT and rent. Indirect costs are sometimes referred to as overheads.
Project costs that qualify for funding
State aid does not apply to this call, which is why organisations engaged in economic activities cannot apply for funding from Formas under this call.
Due to the war in Ukraine, it will not be possible to obtain funding for projects involving research collaboration with state or federal research institutions in Russia and Belarus.
Funding may be sought for a project lasting three or four years. Each project can have a budget of up to SEK 2.5 million per year on average. This means that a three-year project has a maximum budget of SEK 7.5 million and a four-year project has a maximum budget of SEK 10 million. Funding may be sought for the years 2027–2030, but all projects must start in 2027.
You should write your application in English, as the review panel assessing the application consists of both national and international reviewers. If you choose to write in Swedish, the application will be translated into English prior to assessment. Please note that you will not be able to view or make changes to the translated text before the application is sent to the review panel. The popular science description must be written in Swedish, whilst the abstract must be provided in both Swedish and English.
Under Swedish law, your application (including appendices) 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. Nor should the application contain sensitive personal data, unless it is clearly relevant to the project.
If the project is awarded funding, the popular science description and project summaries in Swedish and English will be published in open project databases without confidentiality assessment. Therefore, avoid writing sensitive information in these sections.
At present, we see no problem with you as an applicant using AI as an aid when preparing 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. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the content of both the application and the project plan is correct and that the research is carried out as described. You certify this when you submit 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 must not occur.
At Formas, we care about ensuring 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 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 use and other resource consumption, emissions and waste in your project planning. However, this will not be part of the assessment of your application.
How to apply
You submit your application to Formas via our application system, Prisma. There, you enter the information required for your application. To do this, you need a personal account.
All limits on the maximum number of characters refer to characters including spaces. Please use the default font for the information entered in the text boxes in Prisma. Please also use the default font size.
The application must include a clear description of the project under the following sections:
Basic information
- Number of years applied for.
- Project title in Swedish and English (200 characters including spaces)
- Popular science description in Swedish (4,500 characters including spaces). The popular science description will, if the project is granted funding, be published in open access project databases without a confidentiality review. Therefore, the contents of this field should not contain sensitive information.
- Abstract in Swedish and English (1,500 characters including spaces each). The abstract in Swedish and English will, if the project is granted funding, be published in open access project databases without a confidentiality review. Therefore, the contents of these fields should not contain sensitive information.
Indicate the central perspective
Funding for a project may only be applied for within one of the following two central perspectives:
1) the importance of forests for human health and well-being, or
2) the conditions and motivations of small-scale private forest owners.
Select the central perspective on which your project primarily focuses. If both are relevant, select the central perspective that best corresponds to the focus area of the project.
Project description
The application is assessed based on the information provided in the application, so the project description must clearly address all assessment criteria.
Scientific approach (10,000 characters including spaces)
- Describe the research questions and purpose of the project. Explain how the project relates to the purpose and focus of the call.
- Describe state of the art in the related research field. Explain how the project can develop, deepen or challenge state of the art.
- Describe and justify the theories and methods that will be used in the project.
- Describe how ethical considerations will be addressed in the project.
Societal relevance (10,000 characters including spaces)
- Describe how the project is relevant to society, and the societal benefits to which the results are expected to contribute.
- Describe how the project considers the needs and conditions of people from different parts of society.
- Describe how the project plans to communicate the results to relevant target groups.
- Describe how the project contributes to open science, for example through open access to publications, data, methods and collaboration with the surrounding community.
Implementation and competence (10,000 characters including spaces)
- Describe and justify the choice of project participants, what competences and experience they contribute, and in what parts of the project they contribute.
- Describe and justify the activity levels of the project participants.
- Describe planned implementation of the project, including timetable and budget and how the project results can be used. Describe the availability of infrastructure, materials and other resources required to implement the project.
- Identify any risks in the project and describe how they will be managed.
References included in the running text under the points above must be listed in a separate field (8,000 characters including spaces).
Budget
You report the project’s budget in Prisma. Please note that the budget and budget specification should be written in English; budgets written in Swedish will not be translated and will be assessed by the international review panel as is. In Prisma, the full amount applied for must be written out in numbers; for example, 1 million kronor should be written as: 1 000 000 kronor.
The budget is described in terms of:
Salaries, including social fees for each project participant. Salaries may be requested for researchers, doctoral students and other staff to the extent that they are working on the project. The amount you may be granted for the salary of an individual researcher, doctoral student or other staff member must never exceed one hundred per cent of a full-time position. This also means that someone who already receives full salary funding for the entire duration of the project cannot receive additional funding for their salary. Researchers who are fully retired cannot receive funding for their own salary.
Percentage of salary refers to what percentage of the applicant’s full-time salary corresponds to the salary in the project.
Activity level in the project refers to the percentage of a full-time position that the participant contributes with. It indicates whether the applicant contributes with in-kind or other funding to complete the project.
Running costs refer, for example, to consumables, travel and conferences. They may also refer to publication in journals and databases that apply open access. Formas only awards funding for certain author fees. Read more under the heading Publishing costs. Running costs may also refer to research services, technical expertise, consultancy services and similar services purchased or licensed from external parties on market terms and used exclusively for the project. Running costs may also include remuneration for services and travel expenses for individuals from civil society organisations, national authorities, county councils or similar bodies who have an advisory role during the project. This may also include costs for any collaborative activities during the project’s implementation, or participation in joint activities. Specify running costs in accordance with the administrating organisation’s standard practice.
Equipment and depreciation costs. Specify equipment and depreciation costs for equipment if relevant to the application.
Premises. You may apply for funding for premises costs, provided they are not already included in the overhead costs in the project budget. Specify premises costs in accordance with the practices of the administrating organisation.
Total applied for/Subtotal refers to costs already specified in the previous budget tables and which will be automatically transferred to these items.
Indirect costs refer to overheads.
Indirect costs are allocated across three levels:
- Universities and colleges may apply for indirect costs in accordance with the full-cost principle they apply. In their accounts, universities and colleges need only separately report eligible costs corresponding to the grant amount.
- The following organisations may, when participating in the project with non-economic activities, claim actual indirect costs up to a maximum of 45 per cent of their eligible salary costs:
2.1 research organisations that are
- limited liability companies or partnerships in which the State directly or indirectly exercises a legal controlling influence, or
- foundations in which the Government appoints one or more board members
2.2 government agencies (other than universities and colleges) which, according to their instructions, are required to conduct their own research,
The 45 per cent limit applies provided that the organisation receives funding by government decision to conduct independent research. If the organisation also carries out commercial activities, such as contract research, these activities must be reported separately. If the organisation participates in the project through commercial activities, the condition in 3) below applies.
- Other project partners may claim actual indirect costs, but not exceeding an amount corresponding to 30 per cent of their eligible salary costs.
If funds are to be transferred from the administrating organisation to another organisation participating in the project, the receiving organisation’s overhead costs may instead be applied to the funds being transferred. Explain and itemise the various overhead costs in the budget specification. The total overhead cost for the project must be stated in the budget table. Formas does not award funding for overheads on costs that you write off for equipment or premises.
Other costs refer to funds that are not applied for, but which are relevant to the completion of the project. An example is co-funding from partners or if the project receives funding from other sources.
Total cost refers to a budget summary.
Budget specification refers to explaining the budget in words. Indicate how the grant applied for is distributed in terms of amounts per year and total amounts per organisation if funds are to be transferred to another organisation. Here, a brief justification is provided for the salary costs stated in the budget. All other costs must be justified, such as participation in conferences, fees for open access to publications and data, and so on. A description of the project’s total budget, including funding from other sources, must also be included. The budget specification forms part of the assessment.
Ethics
You must indicate whether there are any particular ethical aspects to the project. If so, you must describe the ethical issues involved and how you plan to address them. This could, for example, involve research that uses personal data or research that involves experiments on humans or animals.
If you are conducting research on humans, human tissue or sensitive personal data, you must submit an application for ethical review to the Swedish Ethical Review Authority and obtain approval. If the research involves experiments on animals, you must also obtain approval from an animal ethics committee. You can apply for this via the Swedish Board of Agriculture’s e-service.
You must state in your application whether or not you have valid ethical approval. If you do not have ethical approval and your application is granted funding, you must obtain ethical approval before the described experiments begin.
If your research is not expected to involve anything that requires ethical approval, you must state this and explain how and why.
Classifications
Formas uses the project classifications in analyses and documentation at an overall level. The applicant makes the classifications by specifying the subject area, research field (SCB code), at least one global sustainable development goal to which the project can contribute, and keywords.
- Subject area
Select at least one and a maximum of three subject areas and add a subheading.
- Research field (SCB code)
Select at least one and a maximum of three research fields and two sub-levels that create the combined code.
- Global sustainable development goals
Enter at least one and up to three global sustainability goals that the project can contribute to, in order of priority according to degree of relevance.
More about the meaning of the goals. External link.
- Keywords
Enter at least one and up to three keywords that describe the project.
Administrating organisation – the organisation receiving the grant
In this call, only applicants from administrating organisation approved for all Formas calls may submit an application. Approved administrating organisation are listed as defaults in Prisma.
- Select your administrating organisation from the drop-down list.
- Select your project site from the drop-down list.
Participants
- Project leaders invite participants to join the application in Prisma.
- A participating researcher is a researcher with a PhD who is considered a co-applicant for the project.
- It is also possible to have contributing administrators; they are not involved in the project, but are people who help you to complete the application form. Contributing administrators cannot submit the application; this must be done by the project leader.
- All participants must have created their own personal account in Prisma.
- The project leader invites those who are to participate in the application by searching for their first name, surname and email address in Prisma (please note that the exact spelling of names and email addresses is required).
- In order for the main applicant to register (submit) the application, all invited participating researchers must have accepted the invitation to participate and completed the mandatory fields correctly.
CV
The project leader and participating researchers retrieve the information from their respective personal accounts in Prisma and add it to the application. Applicants should ensure well in advance that their CVs in Prisma are complete and up to date. If participating researchers have not accepted the invitation to participate or have not completed the mandatory fields correctly, the project leader will not be able to complete the registration of the application. Participants who are not co-applicants cannot attach CV information; instead, their expertise in the project should be described in the research programme.
The following CV details should be included in the application:
Educational history
- Research education
- Basic education
Professional history
- Current employment and relevant previous long-term employment
- Post doctoral assignments
- Research exchanges relevant to the research described
- Interruptions in research (e.g. parental leave, illness, military service or political assignments)
Merits and awards
- Supervised persons: PhD students, postdocs, and undergraduates. Add as an individual and/or add as a group. When adding a group, state the total number for each category. When adding an individual, name the most relevant (max 10).
- Research grants awarded in competition: list the most relevant ones (max. 10).
- Awards and distinctions: list the most relevant ones (max 10).
- Other merits, including a summary of publications. Here, you should list the achievements you consider relevant to the project. List achievements where you have made a significant contribution and which clearly demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills and experience referred to in the project description. These may, for example, include documented experience of collaboration, open science, research communication, project management, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary work, supervision of PhD students, etc. (max 10).
Publications
The main applicant and participating researchers must list their most relevant publications. Up to ten publications may be listed per person. The publications must be linked from the applicant’s personal profile in Prisma.
Appendicies
The following appendices may be uploaded if relevant to the application:
Appendix 1: Illustrations. If figures, tables or images are needed to describe the project idea, these should be attached as an appendix. A maximum of one appendix of 4 MB in PDF format may be uploaded.
Please note that CVs should not be uploaded as attachments.
After you have submitted your application
First, Formas will check that the application meets the formal requirements set out in the call for proposals. If the application does not meet the requirements, it will be rejected.
The following requirements will be checked in this call:
- That the administrating organisation has signed the application within seven calendar days of the call closing.
- That the application has not been rejected by the administrating organisation.
- That 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 is complete, that is, that it contains all the mandatory information.
- That the requirements set out for main applicants, participating researchers and organisations under ‘Requirements for you and your organisation’ have been met.
- That main applicants responsible for other projects or activities funded by Formas has submitted the requested reports within the specified time frame.
All applications are assessed by an external review panel based on the information provided in the application. It is therefore important that the application is as clear as possible in its content and that all important and relevant information is included.
Read more about how the assessment process works on Formas’ website: The application assessment process - Formas External link.
Formas will consider and aim for a relatively balanced distribution between the two central perspectives of the call. Provided that the projects are of sufficiently high quality, Formas has reserved at least 25 million Swedish kronor for each of the central perspectives.
Applications are assessed based on the following criteria:
Scientific approach
- The research questions are clear, logical and in line with the purpose and focus of the call.
- The project addresses important research questions that develop, deepen or challenge the current state of the art.
- The choice of theory and method is appropriate.
- The project addresses ethical considerations in a satisfactory manner.
Societal relevance
- The project addresses issues relevant for society and can significantly contribute to the purpose and focus of the call.
- The project takes relevant account of the needs and circumstances of people from different parts of society.
- The expected results of the project can provide significant societal benefits.
- The project has an appropriate plan for communicating with relevant target groups.
- The project can significantly contribute to open science.
Implementation and competences
- The project team has the necessary competences and experience to successfully implement the project.
- The project implementation plan, including activity levels and budget, is realistic and appropriate.
- The project has a relevant and appropriate description of how the results can be utilised.
Our reviewers are currently not allowed to use AI tools to support the review of applications. There are several reasons for this. First, there is a high risk that uploaded information will be disseminated further. There are also risks related to 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 on 17 November 2026. We will publish the decisions on the Formas website no later than the day after, and you will receive an email when you can view the decision in Prisma. Decisions on grants cannot be appealed.
All granted projects must submit a financial and results report to Formas three months after the end of the funding period. For projects lasting longer than 18 months, a financial progress report must also be submitted to Formas annually. All reports are submitted via Prisma.
How to report expenses and results - Formas External link.
Formas may impose requirements regarding how projects are to be reported in terms of content and results to facilitate dissemination and utilisation. This will be stated in the decision regarding the project in the event of funding. Formas may also impose requirements regarding participation in conferences and similar events to create synergies and platforms for learning and knowledge exchange.
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 prepare 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 grants, you certify that a data management plan will be in place before the research begins and that it will be maintained.
Formas regularly transfers data from approved applications to the Swecris External link. database, which is managed by the Swedish Research Council on behalf of the government. The following data from approved applications are transferred to Swecris and made available as open data:
- Project title in Swedish
- Project title in English
- Summary in Swedish
- Summary in English
- Estimated project duration (start and end dates)
- Total amount granted
- Name of coordinating organisation in Swedish
- Name of coordinating organisation in English
- Organisation number for coordinating organisation
- Research field SCB code
- Name of applicant and participants
- Gender of applicant and participants
- ORCID for applicants and participants.
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