News about the call
Information meeting March 5
If the call text has been changed after the call opened, the changes are listed here.
There is great potential to develop the Swedish bioeconomy, which is based on raw materials from forests, fields and water. Both primary production and subsequent industrial processes need to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and strengthen their resilience. Active participation by the business sector in such knowledge development creates opportunities to both strengthen competitiveness and reduce the environmental footprint.
Sweden is very well placed to develop a bioeconomy that contributes to many different societal benefits. Bio-based industries need research and innovation that helps to sharpen competitiveness, get the most value out of raw materials and reduce vulnerability to various types of disruptions, while minimising negative effects on climate, nature and health.
The purpose of this call is to promote a transition to a fossil-free economy and strengthen the resilience of the Swedish bioeconomy. Funding for projects can be applied for in one of the following two directions: primary production or industrial processes. The call is aimed at actors throughout the bio-based sector who want to develop the bioeconomy with active participation from the business community. At least three project partners must participate in a project, of which at least two must come from the business sector. All projects must be co-financed by business actors with at least 50%.
This call is part of Biosociety External link., a research and innovation programme on the circular bioeconomy. The programme will help to develop a more resource-efficient, resilient and competitive bioeconomy throughout the country. This means efficient and sustainable management of bio-based raw materials and residual streams, a high degree of circularity, higher added value in the bio-based industries and increased self-sufficiency in goods and services that are critical to the development of the bioeconomy. Achieving this requires collaboration between companies in the bioeconomy and other relevant actors, strengthened regional, national and international cooperation and a strengthened supply of competence. The programme includes cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary activities in several sectors, such as forestry, agriculture, animal production, food, the blue economy, chemical technology, and textiles and fashion. A strategic agenda for Biosociety is being developed and will guide further perspectives in future calls.
The total budget of the call is SEK 50 million, and SEK 25 million has been reserved for each focus area.
The Swedish bioeconomy is based on raw materials from forests, fields and water. From these renewable raw materials, great value is created in the forestry industry, the food industry and sectors that use bio-based raw materials to produce, for example, chemicals, plastics and textiles. There is great potential to develop the bioeconomy, both in primary production and the various industrial processes. Demand for bio-based materials and products is expected to increase as the world moves away from a fossil-based economy. Swedish industry needs research and innovation that helps to sharpen competitiveness, get the most value out of raw materials and reduce vulnerability to various types of disruption, while minimising negative effects on climate, nature and health.
The foundation of the bioeconomy is a productive, stable, profitable and sustainable primary and animal production that can deliver good quality raw materials. Primary production here refers to the cultivation, management, harvesting and transport of bioresources in forestry, agriculture, horticulture and basic production in fisheries and aquaculture. Primary production is highly weather-dependent and is already affected by climate change. Logistics and trade chains are more uncertain than before, given the geopolitical developments of recent years, with wars in nearby areas, threats to global free trade, resource scarcity and extreme weather. Increased resilience helps primary production to better withstand and recover from both acute events and long-term structural changes. At the same time, primary production needs to ensure profitability and take into account the impact on biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions and storage, and climate adaptation issues. By working towards fossil-free primary production, which mainly involves replacing fossil-based inputs and fuels, primary production can become more resilient while reducing its climate impact.
Industrial processes based on bio-based raw materials are dependent on developed primary production, but there are also other knowledge needs. Global competition in bio-based markets is intensifying, and more advanced processing is required to create higher added value from bio-based raw materials. Industrial processes also need to become more cost-efficient, utilising raw materials, energy, water and chemicals effectively. With the help of research and innovation, bio-based raw materials can make a greater contribution to replacing fossil fuels in a sustainable way and continue to create value for society in the form of employment, growth, exports and strengthened supply capacity.
The purpose of the call is to promote a transition to a fossil-free economy and strengthen the resilience of the Swedish bioeconomy. Projects funded in this call are expected to create competitive conditions for upscaling or dissemination on a larger scale.
Funding for projects can be applied for in one of the following two directions: 1) primary production or 2) industrial processes. Below are some examples of relevant areas for each direction. These examples should not be seen as separate or exclusive: a project may address several of these areas, as well as other areas that contribute to the call’s purpose.
- Primary production: Projects within this direction should contribute to reducing the fossil dependence of primary production in forests, fields, and in water, and/or strengthen their resilience. In order to promote primary production's transition to fossil-free production, knowledge development is required on alternatives to fossil inputs and fuels to replace or streamline the use of, for example, diesel, mineral fertilisers and fossil-based plastics and chemicals. Projects that strengthen the resilience of primary production can include solutions that increase resilience to floods, droughts and fires as well as storms and pest infestations, or to various societal disruptions, which means everything from access to inputs and functioning logistics to trade barriers and IT systems. Examples include the development and adaptation of production systems, breeding, basic production in fisheries and aquaculture, diversification and breeding of crops, feeds and tree species, or methods to prevent and manage disease outbreaks and invasive species
- Industrial processes: Projects in this direction will contribute to the development of industrial bio-based production processes towards increased fossil freedom and/or strengthened resilience. This may involve efficient and circular use of raw materials, energy, water and chemicals, developed utilisation of residual streams, diversification of raw materials into several types of biomasses, processes that enable rapid production changes, phasing out of fossil inputs or fuels, enhanced redundancy in critical sub-processes, developed cooperation between value chains and new logistics solutions. Increased resilience in industrial production refers to enhanced redundancy in critical sub-processes but also increased resilience to societal disruptions. This includes everything from securing necessary inputs and maintaining functioning logistics flows to managing trade barriers and IT.
Research and innovation projects should contribute to technological, market and/or sustainability developments. Applicants should describe how the project contributes to a shift in at least one of these three dimensions and reflect on all three. Projects can use the Technology Readiness Level (TRL), Market Readiness Level (MRL) and Sustainability Readiness Level (SRL) scales to support them. Systematic sustainability assessments with a life-cycle perspective, techno-economic analyses and market analyses can also be included. Read more about the scales and concepts on the Biosociety website External link..
The call welcomes project proposals that use AI, digitalisation, automation and electrification to accelerate the development of the bioeconomy, but this is not a requirement.
Research and innovation that focuses on the development of technological solutions for energy purposes or the development of pharmaceuticals is not included in this call.
The call is aimed at actors in the bio-based sector operating in Sweden. Companies, public organisations, universities, university colleges and research institutes can apply for funding under the call. The call is based on needs owners and projects funded must have strong involvement from such actors.
At least three project partners must participate in a project, of which at least two must come from the business sector.
To qualify as a project partner, the organisation must be included as an active party in the project plan and the project budget must clearly show the costs that will be incurred by the party in question; either through grants from Formas, own or other funding, or a combination of these.
Private companies and organisations that have been granted funding by Formas to run the Biosociety Programme Office cannot participate in projects awarded funding in this call.
International organisations are not eligible for Formas funding and can therefore participate only with their own funding and/or other support. Due to the war in Ukraine, it will not be possible to receive funding for projects involving research collaboration with state or federal research institutions in Russia and Belarus.
All projects must be co-financed by industrial partners with at least 50%. Public funds are not accepted as co-financing.
A project partner cannot both receive support from Formas and finance another project partner's participation in the project.
Before you apply
Funded projects will be part of Biosociety External link. and are expected to contribute to the programme's work on external communication, dissemination of results, portfolio analysis and systematic learning.
There is no limit to the number of applications an organisation can submit. Individuals can participate in multiple applications, but it is not allowed for a project partner to approve a granted project that results in project partners receiving funding from Formas that would cause an individual's total salary to exceed 100% of full-time. This restriction also applies in combination with project grants from other funding bodies.
It is not permitted to submit the same application with different main applicants to this call.
The organisation that will receive and manage the funds that Formas pays out if the project is approved is called an administrating organisation. Formas distinguishes between administrating organisations that can receive funds in all Formas calls, and administrating organisations that can be approved to receive funds for an individual project. Universities, higher education institutions, government agencies with research assignments and most research institutes are approved as administrating organisations in all Formas calls. Most other public and private organisations need to obtain individual approval as an administrating organisation.
Who can become an administrating organisation?
Companies and other organisations that conduct economic activities and want to apply for funding from Formas are subject to the Rules for State Aid External link..
Please note that sole trader cannot be awarded funding in the call or participate as a party in projects applying in Formas' calls. Companies that do not have a Swedish organisation number cannot receive funding in this call but may participate in-kind where appropriate.
All projects applying for funding from Formas must have a responsible project leader and be carried out by the persons specified in the application.
The state aid rules apply when Formas provides grants to companies and other organisations engaged in economic activities. The rules exist to protect competition in the EU's internal market.
The state aid rules govern both the types of costs and the proportion of costs that we can fund. This is determined for each organisation individually. We therefore distinguish between how much funding the project can receive, and how much each participating project partner can receive.
Rules for organisations carrying out non-economic activities
Organisations carrying out non-economic activities can apply for funding under this call and receive full project cost coverage. Universities, university colleges, municipalities, regions, public authorities are usually considered as organisations engaged in non-economic activities.
Rules for organisations engaged exclusively in economic activities
Formas will apply state aid rules when granting funds to companies and other organisations engaged in economic activities. Each project partner is responsible for ensuring that the grant received does not exceed the aid level permitted under the rules.
In this call, Formas will apply Article 25 of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER, EU Regulation No 651/2014). In this call, Formas assesses that the projects will fall within the category of industrial research or experimental development.
In simple terms, industrial research can be described as the search for new knowledge through planned research or critical analysis in order to develop or significantly improve products, processes or services. Experimental development can be described in simple terms as combining, shaping and using existing knowledge to produce new or improved products, processes or services. Read more about what industrial research and experimental development mean here: Funding levels according to Formas' funding scheme External link..
The maximum aid intensity per project party conducting economic activity in a project categorised as industrial research is 65%.
The maximum aid intensity per project party engaged in economic activities in a project categorised as experimental development is 40%.
An organisation that conducts economic activities and that applies for a funding level that exceeds the basic levels, i.e. a funding level of 50% for industrial research and 25% for experimental development, needs to certify that at least one of the conditions for an increased funding level is met by completing and attaching this appendix to the application: Appendix Eligibility for increased funding level for projects within Biosociety docx, 107.6 kB.
Formas may decide on a different maximum funding level than the one applied for. Prior to making decisions, Formas conducts credit checks of companies and other organisations engaged in economic activities that may be eligible for funding.
State aid exceeding EUR 100,000 will be included in Formas' transparency reporting of granted state aid. For projects concerning either primary agricultural production or the fisheries and aquaculture sector, the limit is EUR 10,000.
Rules for organisations carrying out partly economic activities
Organisations that carry out both economic and non-economic activities, such as research institutes, municipal companies and civil society organisations, can apply for funding in the call and receive grants with non-government support provided that they intend to participate within their non-economic activities.
In order for Formas to grant funds to a project partner without it being subject to the rules for state aid, the project partner must certify in the application that they are seeking funds for non-economic activities and fulfil the requirements for separate accounting.
During the processing of the applications, Formas may ask additional questions or request certificates to ensure that the project party is applying for funds for non-economic activities. If the review reveals that separate accounts are missing, Formas may request additional information or decide not to pay the grant. If it emerges that the support has in practice benefited economic activities without there being a valid basis in the state aid rules, Formas may demand repayment of the grant paid, with interest.
Rules for primary agricultural production
There are limitations in the State aid rules for projects dealing with the processing or sale of agricultural products. For more information, see Article 1(3)(c) of the GBER External link..
Read more here about the state aid rules that apply when Formas gives grants: State aid rules
Both direct and indirect project costs can be financed. Direct costs are costs that would not have been incurred if the project had not been carried out: personnel costs, costs for equipment, buildings, land, costs for consultants and licenses, 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 overheads or general overheads. The allowed mark-up for indirect costs is different for different types of operators.
The costs must be clearly linked to the project and consist of actions in addition to regular activities.
Read more about what costs Formas funds, including rules for indirect costs, under the heading What the application must contain.
The grant size from Formas to a project is between SEK 1 million and 4 million. The project must be co-financed by actors from the business sector with at least 50%. Co-financing may consist of in-kind time, cash or other resources.
The project start date is 1 November - 1 December 2026 and the project duration can be between 12 and 36 months. Projects have a six-month availability period, which means that funds may be spent six months after the project end date.
The budget in the application must include an explanation of how funds will be used. Fill in the budget according to how the actual costs are expected to occur per calendar year. Formas may, for administrative reasons, set a payment plan that differs from the application's distribution of the budget over time.
Provided that the conditions for granted projects are met, funds are paid monthly with a first payment at the end of 2026.
The application can be written in Swedish or English. However, the popular science description must be written in Swedish, while the summaries must be in both Swedish and English.
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.
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
All information on what to include in the application, how to apply and the assessment process can be found in the text below.
If the call text has been changed after publication, the changes are listed under revision history.
Please note that if you and your organisation have not applied for funding through Prisma before, an appropriate representative must apply for an organisation account. It is important that this is done well before the call closes, but no later than 5 May 2026.
Applications to Formas are made in our application system Prisma External link.. All the information needed for the application must be entered there.
In order to access the call's application form, the main applicant, i.e. the coordinating party, must have an organisation account in Prisma at the time of application. It is the coordinating party who is responsible for all administration in Prisma and who must be stated throughout the application as the coordinator/administrating organisation. The person who will be the project leader also needs a personal account in Prisma.
The application must be initiated through the coordinated party's organisation account. The person responsible for the organisation account then automatically becomes the project leader. This can be changed by the person responsible for inviting another person to become project leader. If the person responsible for the organisation account is to be the project leader, no personal account needs to be linked to the application.
Organisation account
The organisation that will receive and manage the funds that Formas will pay out if the project is approved is called an administrating organisation in Formas' application system. Formas distinguishes between administrating organisations that can receive funds in all Formas calls, and administrating organisations that can be approved to receive funds for an individual project. Universities, university colleges, most research institutes and government agencies with research assignments are approved as administrating organisations for all Formas calls and already have an organisation account. Most other public and private organisations need to be individually approved as administrating organisations for this call.
If your organisation already has an account in Prisma, please contact the responsible research officer Anna Gellerstedt by email anna.gellerstedt@formas.se to be added as a possible administrating organisation for this call. Please state the organisation number in your message. This also applies if the organisation has been approved as an administrating organisation for a project on one of Formas' previous calls.
If your organisation does not already have an account in Prisma, an appropriate representative (organisation account manager) must apply for an organisation account on the Prisma website. In the justification for the application, state that you want to apply to the call Biosociety: Fossil-free and resilient bio-based production, what type of organisation it is and the organisation number. It is important that the main applicant applies in good time for an organisation account for the intended coordinating project partner (administrating organisation) if there is no such account in Prisma, but no later than 5 May 2026.
Apply for an organisation account in Prisma External link..
If you do not know whether the main applicant has an organisation account in Prisma, please contact the responsible research officer Anna Gellerstedt by email anna.gellerstedt@formas.se before you apply for a new account. Enter your organisation number.
Project site - create a structure to describe the organisation
In order to register an application, a project site within the organisation must be specified, such as a unit or a department. The person responsible for the organisation account must build a structure with units and sub-units (project sites) in two levels. If the organisation has no departments, enter a sub-unit with the same name as the organisation. Information on how to do this is available in the Prisma user support External link..
Find the call in Prisma
The call is listed under "Organisation account" in Prisma. Organisational calls are only visible when logged into the organisation account. First click on the Organisation account tab and then go to the link for Organisation calls. See Prisma user support for instructions on how to find the call in Prisma.
The application will only be assessed on what is stated in the application. Therefore, the project description should clearly address all the assessment criteria.
All maximum character limits refer to characters including spaces. It is recommended to use the Arial font in font size 12 for the information entered in all text boxes. Please note that if the application is written in word processing software and then pasted into Prisma, the formatting may be lost. Tables and figures with advanced formatting or formulae should be uploaded as an attachment in PDF format to avoid losing valuable information.
The application should include a clear description of the project under the following sections:
Basic information
- Number of months applied for: The minimum number of months is 12 and the maximum number of months is 36.
- Start month: 1 November - 1 December 2026.
- 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 project databases without a confidentiality check. The content of this field should therefore not contain sensitive information.
- Summary in Swedish and English (1 500 characters including spaces each). The project summaries will, if the project is granted funding, be published in open project databases without a confidentiality check. The content of these fields should therefore not contain sensitive information.
Indicate the focus
Funding for projects can only be applied within one of the following two directions: 1) primary production or 2) industrial processes. Please select the specialisation in which your project will mainly be implemented. If both directions are relevant, choose the one that best corresponds to the focus of the project.
Indicate the category of R&D
Indicate the main type of R&D to be carried out under the project:
- Industrial research
- Experimental development
Project description
The following should be described in the project description.
Relevance and potential of the project (max 10 000 characters including spaces)
Background of the project
- Describe the context of which the project is a part and explain why the project is important in this wider context. The description should give Swedish and international assessors a good understanding of how the project's results or solutions can create benefits in relevant areas of society.
- Describe and characterise the challenge(s) the project addresses.
- Describe previous solutions and experiences in the field.
Purpose and objectives
- Describe how the project contributes to the purpose and focus of the call.
- Describe the challenges, needs or problems the project addresses.
- Describe the project's objectives and expected results and impacts, both in the short and long term.
- Describe how the project's expected results and solutions meet the needs of relevant societal actors.
- Describe how the project's expected results or solutions can be disseminated, scaled up and used.
State of the art
- Describe the research and knowledge on which the project is based.
- Describe the novelty or innovation of the expected results and why the solution represents an advance over existing alternatives.
- Compare the project's expected solutions with any other relevant solutions.
- Describe whether the success of the project is dependent on external factors or on results from other projects, and if so, how these dependencies are managed.
- Describe any ethical considerations and how these are addressed in the project.
Implementation (max 8 000 characters including spaces)
- Describe and justify the implementation plan including timetable and budget.
- Describe how the project results will be used. Indicate how and by whom the results can be used and what actions are planned to translate the results into practice, disseminate or commercialise them.
- Identify any risks in the project and describe how they can be managed.
Actors (maximum 5 000 characters including spaces)
- Describe and justify the choice of project partners, their competences, roles and involvement in the project.
- Describe how the interests of the project partners and other actors will be addressed in the project and how this will be done.
Reference list (max 3 000 characters including spaces)
References that have been included in the running text under the points above are listed in a separate field. These can be publications, previous work relevant to the project, etc.
Budget and other information
The project's costs, funding and other information about all organisations participating in the application are reported in Prisma. In Prisma, the full amount applied for is printed, for example, SEK 1 million is printed: SEK 1 000 000.
Please note that companies and other organisations engaged in economic activities cannot receive full cost coverage from Formas in this call. Read more under the section Rules for state aid to companies and other economic activities.
The following information must be included in the project budget.
Information about the main applicant organisation and each project partner
This is mandatory information that must be filled in per project partner for all partners in the project. The information is collected and filled in by the main applicant, i.e. the coordinating party. The main applicant organisation must be the same as the one indicated by the administrating organisation.
- Name of the organisation
- Organisation number
- Address, postcode, city, country
- Annual turnover (refers to the total turnover or sales of the university, college, institute, company or organisation during the current tax year, stated in figures, e.g. 3 500 000)
- Balance sheet total (refers to the sum of the asset side or the sum of liabilities and equity in a company's or organisation's balance sheet, expressed in figures, e.g. 5 500 000)
- Number of employees
- Contact person
- E-mail of contact person
- Name of workplace, address, postcode, city, country where the main part of the work will be carried out.
Costs
Personnel costs for researchers, technicians and other staff to the extent that they work on the project. For employees of a university, university college or research institute, the amount may never exceed 100% of a full-time position. This also means that someone who is already receiving full salary funding from any funder, cannot receive additional funds for salary. Researchers who are retired full-time cannot receive funding for their own salary.
Equipment, buildings and land to the extent and for the duration that they are used for the project. If instruments and equipment are not used throughout the duration of the project, only the depreciation costs corresponding to the lifetime of the research project, calculated on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles, are considered eligible. For buildings, only depreciation costs corresponding to the duration of the research project, calculated on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles, are considered eligible. For land, costs of transfer on commercial terms or actual capital costs are eligible.
Costs of consultants and licences, etc., purchased or hired from external sources on market terms, as well as costs of consultancy and equivalent services used exclusively for research activity.
Other direct costs, such as costs of materials, inputs and similar products, incurred and as a direct result of a project. Other direct costs also include travel and conferences, and publication in open access journals and databases. Formas only grants funding for certain author fees. Read more under the heading Costs for publishing External link.. Project parties applying for funding equivalent to SEK 3 million or more may also apply for funding of up to SEK 30,000 for an auditor's certificate from an authorised/approved auditor. Auditor's certificates from internal auditors are accepted for municipalities, county councils, government agencies, universities and colleges.
Indirect costs are allocated according to three levels:
1. Universities and university colleges may make surcharges for indirect costs according to the full cost principle they apply. In their accounts, universities and higher education institutions only need to itemise eligible costs corresponding to the amount of the grant.
2. The following organisations, when participating in the project with non-financial activities, may claim actual indirect costs up to a maximum of 45% of their eligible staff costs
2.1 research organisations that are
- limited liability companies or partnerships in which the State exercises direct or indirect legal control, or
- foundations in which the government appoints one or more board members
2.2 government agencies (other than HEIs) that are required by their instructions to conduct their own research,
The condition of a maximum of 45% applies provided that the organisation receives funds by government decision to conduct independent research. If the organisation also carries out economic activities such as contract research, these activities must be reported separately. If the organisation participates in the project with economic activities, the condition in 3) below applies.
3. Other project partners may claim actual indirect costs, but no more than an amount corresponding to 30% of their eligible personnel costs.
Formas does not grant funding for overheads on costs that you write off for equipment or for premises.
Financing
Four types of funding can be specified in the application:
- Grant applied for from Formas: Indicates the amount applied for from Formas under the call. The amount cannot exceed total costs. If the amount applied for is less than the total costs, the remaining amount will be automatically calculated and reported under Own funding.
- Other support (public): If funds for related projects have been obtained with funding from Formas or another public funding body. Please note that public funding cannot be counted towards meeting the co-financing requirements in this call.
- Other support (private): If funds from another private company or organisation contribute funding to the project.
- Own funding: If the project partner brings its own funding to the project, it is automatically counted in the own funding field.
Is the project partner applying for funding for non-economic activities?
Here you indicate whether the project partner is applying for funding for non-economic activities.
Indicate if the project partner:
- Yes, is applying for a grant for non-economic activities and only carries out non-economic activities.
- Yes, applies for a grant for non-economic activities and also carries out economic activities, but fulfils the requirements for separate accounting.
- No, carries out economic activities and is subject to State aid rules.
- No, carries out economic activities but is not seeking funding.
If an audit reveals that separate accounting is lacking, Formas may request additional information or decide not to pay out the grant. If it emerges that the support has in practice favoured economic activities without a valid basis in state aid rules, Formas may demand repayment of the support paid, with interest.
Budget specification
Here the main applicant explains and justifies the budget in words. The overheads applied in the application are stated here. Formas does not grant funds for overheads on depreciation costs for equipment or premises.
Also indicate any consultancy costs and the extent of the consultant's involvement. Please also indicate which project partner(s) will bear the consultancy costs.
Applicants are encouraged to be clear in describing all costs in relation to the relevant activities of the project (maximum 9 000 characters including spaces).
Ethics
Indicate whether there are specific ethical aspects to the project. If so, describe what the relevant ethical issues are and how they will be handled. These may include, for example, research using personal data or research involving experiments on humans or animals.
In the case of research involving humans, human tissue or sensitive personal data, an application for ethical review must be submitted to the Ethical Review Authority and approved. If it involves experiments on animals, approval from an animal ethics committee is also required. The application for this is made in the Swedish Board of Agriculture's e-service.
State in the application whether or not an ethical approval is in place. If there is not, and the application is granted funding, ethical approval must be obtained before the experiments described begin.
If the research is not expected to involve anything that requires ethical approval, this must be stated and justified how and why. (Maximum 9,000 characters including spaces.)
Classifications
Formas uses the project's classifications in analyses and documentation at an overall level. The classifications are made by the applicant specifying the subject area, research topic (SCB code), at least one global sustainable development goal to which the project can contribute, and keywords.
- Subject area: Select the subject area of the project and add a subheading.
- Research topic (SCB code): Select at least one research topic and two sublevels that create the merged code.
- Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Indicate at least one and up to three SDGs to which the project can contribute, in order of priority and relevance. More on the meaning of the goals External link. (in Swedish).
- Keywords: Please provide at least one and up to three keywords that describe the project.
Administrating organisation - the organisation receiving the funds
The organisation that will receive and manage the funds that Formas pays out to approved projects is called the administrating organisation.
- Select the administrating organisation from the drop-down list. If the organisation that will be the main applicant is not listed, see the heading Organisation account under the section Application process.
- Select the project site in the drop-down list. If you cannot find the correct project site, see the heading Applicants from administrating organisations that need to be individually approved under the section Application process.
CV of the participants
Please attach the CV including relevant qualifications of key persons as a single pdf in Prisma (max 20 pages, max 10 MB). The recommended length per CV is 2 A4 pages.
The CV must include relevant information showing the competences that are important in the project for each key person, for example experience from relevant project management, collaboration, research, implementation and utilisation. It is mandatory to attach the CV of the project leader.
The CV should include the following:
- Name
- Gender
- Organisation
- Title of the project
- Role in the project
- Relevant skills and experience
- Reasons why the person is a key person
- Other information
In this call, researchers at our generally approved administrating organisations cannot link to CV information already entered in Prisma. This is to enable an equal assessment of applications and CVs.
Appendices
It is possible, but not mandatory, to add additional appendices to the application.
- Any images, tables, figures, etc. to the application are uploaded as a single pdf appendix (max 10 MB).
- Appendix: Eligibility for increased funding level for Biosociety projects
The organisation account manager registers the application
Once the application is completed, it must be registered, submitted and signed by the organisation account manager.
The signing of a registered application is done by the organisation account manager, and can be done in two ways:
- If the organisation account manager is the same person as the project leader, he/she registers the application, and signing is automatic upon registration.
- If the project leader is a different person than the organisation account manager, the project leader completes the application. Then the administrating organisation (the organisation account manager or user with the role of application manager) registers and submits the application. The application is then signed automatically upon registration.
At any time during the application process, the project leader can access the check and register tab. This will list any missing mandatory information or other reasons that may prevent the application from being registered.
Once the application deadline has expired, the application can only be supplemented in special cases at the request of Formas.
After you have submitted your application
Formas will first check that the application fulfils the formal requirements set out in the call. If the application does not fulfil the requirements, it is rejected.
The following requirements will be checked in this call:
- That the focus of the application is within the purpose and focus of the call.
- That the application complies with the requirements of the call with regard to the amount applied for, co-financing, number of project partners and type of project partners.
- That all project partners are legal entities, i.e. not sole traders.
- That the application is complete, i.e. it contains all the information required
- There are no multiple applications with the same content.
All applications are assessed by an external review panel based on what is described in the application. Each application is reviewed by several reviewers. The review panel is composed of representatives from academia and relevant stakeholders 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.
The total budget of the call is SEK 50 million, and SEK 25 million has been reserved for each focus area, primary production and industrial processes. However, Formas will consider proportionality between the number of applications received for the two programmes, primary production and industrial processes, in order to achieve equal approval rates between them, provided that the projects are of sufficiently high quality.
Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
Relevance
- The project can significantly contribute to the purpose and focus of the call.
- The project has identified the main areas where the result or solution can create benefits.
- The project has taken into consideration the relevant needs and conditions of different target groups.
Potential
- The project's purpose and problem statement are clear, logical and in line with the purpose and focus of the call.
- The project contributes to technological, market and/or sustainable development.
- The expected result or solution of the project is at the forefront of its field and has a significant novelty or innovation value.
- The project has significant potential for scalability or dissemination.
Implementation
- Planned activities and methods are appropriate to achieve the expected results. Timetable and budget are realistic and appropriate.
- The project's planned management of any obstacles or risks that may affect the realisation of the project is appropriate.
- The plan for the utilisation of the project results is appropriate.
- The project adequately addresses ethical considerations.
Actors
- The project's organisation and collective expertise are appropriate for the implementation of the project, including the exploitation of project results.
- The project is carried out in collaboration with relevant actors or users.
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 are awarded funding are expected to be made on 20 October 2026. We will publish the decisions no later than the following day on Formas' website, and all applicants will receive an email when they can view the decision in Prisma. Decisions on grants cannot be appealed.
For projects that receive funding in the call, the project partners must, individually and after notification of approval, sign a written commitment to carry out the project in accordance with Formas' decision to grant funding. A prerequisite for the first payment of funds is that a copy of all project partners approval has been received in time and that any requested supplements have been received.
All approved projects must report back to Formas on finances and project results three months after the end of the availability period. For projects longer than 18 months, a financial status report must also be submitted to Formas annually. All reporting is done 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 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 to create synergies and platforms for learning and knowledge exchange.
Specific conditions will be developed for this call that will apply in addition to Formas' general conditions and Formas' supplementary conditions for multi-partner projects.
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.
Contact information
For questions about the content of the call
For administrative questions and questions about Prisma
