News about the call
Please note: This text was translated by AI and has only been partially reviewed. In case of any uncertainty, the Swedish version applies.
- Opening date: 29 September 2026 at 14:00
- Information session: 15 October 2026 at 10.00
- Closing date*: 1 April 2027 at 14:00
- Funding decision: 16 November 2027
- Project start date: 1 December 2027
A sustainable food system is crucial for good public health, competitive businesses, vibrant rural communities and robust societal resilience. At the same time, the food system faces complex challenges linked to environmental and climate impacts, resource use, vulnerabilities in value chains, weakened profitability and low self-sufficiency.
The transition required is far-reaching and demands both new knowledge and innovative approaches that address the challenges facing the food sector. Needs-driven research is best promoted when designed and carried out in collaboration between academia and industry. Furthermore, when research takes place at the interface with civil society and the public sector, it increases the likelihood that new knowledge will be put into practice across the country and will promote the sustainability transition in the food system. In this call for proposals , the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development welcomes project applications that tackle key challenges with a focus on sustainable inputs for a resilient food supply.
The call for proposals is being launched within the framework of the national research programme for food External link.. The focus of the call has been formulated in dialogue with an advisory group comprising companies and industry organisations to address identified knowledge and innovation needs signalled by the sector. The project portfolio is expected to lead to increased innovation and competitiveness, creating a clear added-value in society beyond the project consortium. The expected outcomes of the projects are intended to contribute to a stronger green transition in the food sector and society at large.
The project duration is 36 months (three years) and grants of up to eight (8) million kronor per project may be applied for. In total, Formas has allocated 88 million kronor to fund research projects under this call.
This is an organisational call for proposals, which means that it is visible in Prisma only to the account manager for the organisation’s account in Prisma.
Formas is seeking project teams that will use scientific methods to generate knowledge and solutions that strengthen the food sector’s capacity for transformation, create added value for society and food consumers, promote competitiveness, and contribute to innovation, policy development and sustainable business opportunities.
Projects must be based on strong and mutual collaboration between academia and industry. At least half of the partners in the project team must be from industry, i.e. limited companies, economic associations, or organisations representing interests within (parts of) the food sector.
In this call for proposals, we welcome project applications that address key challenges with a focus on external inputs in the agrifood sector. External inputs are crucial for contributing to more sustainable food systems, increased self-sufficiency and reduced vulnerability across the food sector’s various value chains. External inputs refer to the resources, materials and products used in raw material and food production to enable the cultivation, rearing, processing and distribution of food. Furthermore, the production and use of inputs affect society’s resilience, the food sector’s climate emissions, its impact on biodiversity, the use of natural resources and the exposure of both producers and local communities to hazardous chemicals.
Reduced dependence on imported external inputs, combined with optimised use of locally produced ones, can significantly improve profitability for farms, food producers and food retailers, whilst strengthening their resilience in the event of major disruptions. Inputs can be produced in Sweden to a greater extent using new and more sustainable methods, for example through more circular processes that utilise by-products or waste streams from other activities and processes. There is also a need for greater knowledge regarding potential conflicts of interest between increased domestic production and self-sufficiency in inputs, as well as various aspects of sustainability.
A secure supply and responsible use of inputs in different parts of the country contribute to the food sector’s international competitiveness and regional resilience for more vibrant rural areas, whilst enabling healthier and more attractive products to reach consumers.
Achieving this requires both fresh thinking and innovative approaches to external inputs in Sweden. This call for proposals seeks new or established project groups, based on collaboration between academia and industry, which tackle one or more pressing challenges linked to inputs in the Swedish food sector from a systems perspective. Together, the projects are expected to significantly advance the state of knowledge and innovation regarding the production, supply and use of sustainable inputs throughout the food chain – that is, in primary production, processing, distribution, retail and at the consumer level – and across all value chains. In primary production, essential external inputs include, for example, plant protection products, pesticides, fertilisers, irrigation techniques and feed; in processing, distribution and retail, they include, for example, production equipment and machinery, as well as packaging materials.
Research projects may, for example:
- Develop new processes for the sustainable production of domestic external inputs (such as feed, fertiliser, plant nutrients, plant protection products, seeds, consumables such as silage film, technical components or packaging) across various value chains
- Explore the impact of sustainable external inputs on, amongst other things, public health, resource efficiency, biodiversity and the climate
- Explore methods for reducing the use of external inputs, for example through innovative environmental and agricultural technologies, climate-adapted cultivation methods and resilient crops
- Test and develop innovative approaches to reduce dependence on, and the costs of, external inputs in the processing industry and downstream sectors
- Develop and test industrial processes and business models that enable the development and upscaling of domestic production of sustainable inputs, including through the utilisation of by-products and waste streams
- Explore new collaborative processes between the private sector and the public sector to maintain a secure supply of and access to inputs at various stages and in different parts of the country
Before you apply
Important points to consider before applying
Research into energy sources and systems is not covered by the scope and focus of this call for proposals.
This is an organisational call for proposals, which means that it is visible in Prisma only to your organisation’s account manager in Prisma.
The project must be carried out by a project team consisting of between 3 and 10 partners, half of whom must be from the business sector, and at least one research organisation.
Sole proprietorship companies cannot be project partners.
Formas will primarily apply Article 25 of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER, EU Regulation No 651/2014) on industrial research in this call for proposals. Companies may be granted funding for up to 65 per cent of their eligible costs.
Academic staff at foreign universities, colleges and research institutes, as well as foreign companies and other organisations engaged in economic activity, may be partners in a project application but may not apply for funding from Formas.
Please note that purchased services must not exceed 20 per cent of the total amount applied for from Formas.
Submit your application via Prisma in good time, as the closing date and time are strict.
In this call for proposals, we are targeting a group of stakeholders who wish to conduct industrial or applied research that contributes to a more competitive food sector and an increased transition towards sustainability in the food system and society.
The project group must comprise a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 10 partners. Projects must be based on strong and mutual collaboration between academia and industry. At least half of the partners in the project group must be from industry, i.e. limited companies, economic associations or organisations representing interests within (parts of) the food sector.
What is meant by project partner?
A project partner is a legal entity that plays an active role in the project. This means that the project partner:
- is listed as an active party in the project plan
- is listed as a project partner in the application form
- has budgeted costs in the project, regardless of whether the partner is applying for funding from Formas or not
- Academic actors at foreign universities, colleges and research institutes, as well as foreign companies and other organisations engaged in economic activity, may be parties to a project application but may not apply for funding from Formas. Any participation by foreign actors must be limited, clearly defined and well justified in the project application .
Which organisations are not eligible to be project partners?
- Sole proprietorship companies may not be project partners.
- A project partner may not both receive funding from Formas and provide funding to another project partner within the framework of the project.
The project team
Researchers, companies (excluding sole traders), public sector organisations, civil society organisations and other eligible actors may participate. At least half of the partners must be from the business sector. At least of the participating researchers must hold a PhD. The inclusion of partners from the public sector or civil society is encouraged in order to achieve a greater impact on society.
Collaboration with additional stakeholders, such as subcontractors, advisers, reference groups or similar, is encouraged where appropriate during the implementation of the project. However, these stakeholders may not participate as project partners.
The coordinating project partner acts as the grant administrator
The project partner that is the lead applicant and leads the project (the coordinating project partner) is also the project’s grant administrator. In this call for proposals, the fund manager may be either a business partner or a research organisation with a Swedish organisation number. It is the fund manager who receives the grant from Formas and transfers it to the project partners in accordance with Formas’ decision. Read more under ‘How do you apply for an organisation account for a fund manager?’.
For further information on the roles and responsibilities of the project manager and the fund administrator, see Formas’ terms and conditions External link..
In this call for proposals, you may apply for funding for costs that are actual, incurred within the project and verifiable. The following costs are eligible for funding:
- Staff costs: Salaries, social security contributions and other staff-related costs for researchers, technicians and other support staff, in proportion to the time they spend working on the project. The amount you may be awarded for the salary of an individual employee must never exceed one hundred per cent of a full-time post. This also means that anyone who already receives full salary funding from another funding body cannot receive additional funding for their salary. Researchers who are fully retired cannot receive funding for their own salary.
- Equipment, land and buildings: Instruments and equipment, as well as buildings and land, to the extent and for the duration that they are used for the project. In the case of buildings, only depreciation costs corresponding to the project’s life cycle, calculated on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles, are considered eligible. For land, costs relating to transfer on commercial terms or actual capital costs are eligible.
- Consultancy and licence costs, etc.: Costs for contract research, knowledge and patents purchased or leased from external sources on market terms, as well as costs for consultancy services and similar services used exclusively for research activities. Costs for consultancy services from external providers must be justified. If they account for more than 20 per cent of a project partner’s budget, an explanation of the scope of that item and a more detailed justification are required. Please note that purchased services must not exceed 20 per cent of the total amount applied from Formas by the project team.
- Other direct costs: Other general overheads and other operating costs incurred as a direct result of a project. Formas awards funding for certain author fees only. Read more under the heading ‘Publication costs External link.’. A project partner applying for funding of three million kronor or more may also apply for funding of up to 30,000 kronor for an auditor’s certificate from a chartered/approved auditor. An auditor’s certificate from an internal auditor is accepted for local authorities, county councils and government agencies. Universities and university colleges are exempt from the requirement for an auditor’s certificate. Read more under ‘Budget for multi-partner projects External link.’.
- Indirect costs (overhead): Costs that have not arisen as a direct consequence of the project but can be related to it, such as regular premises and cleaning. Indirect costs may account for a maximum of 30 per cent of staff costs. Universities, colleges, research institutes and government agencies which, according to their terms of reference, are required to conduct their own research have higher maximum limits depending on the type of activity.
For more information on which costs we can fund, see ‘What costs does Formas fund? External link.’ or ‘What can you apply for funding for External link.?’.
How much funding can the project receive?
You can apply for up to 8 million kronor for projects lasting 36 months (3 years).
How much funding can a project partner receive?
State aid rules govern the proportion of costs we can fund for organisations engaged in economic activities. Economic activities are defined under EU state aid rules as activities involving the provision of goods or services on a market. This is regardless of the organisation’s legal form or whether the activity is profit-making. (See the European Commission’s Notice on the concept of State aid, 2016/C 262/01 External link..)
We therefore distinguish between the total amount of funding a project can receive and the amount each project partner can receive. The state aid rules provide us with a framework for what is permitted, but we may provide less funding than the rules allow.
For organisations that do not carry out economic activities, we can fund up to 100 per cent of their eligible costs. This means that they do not offer a service or product on the market. This usually includes, amongst others, universities and colleges, as well as research institutes in which the state has a controlling interest.
Organisations that carry out both economic and non-economic activities are partially subject to state aid rules. Support for economic activities is covered by the rules, whilst support for non-economic activities is not, provided that these activities are reported separately and the support from Formas or the funded activities does not benefit the economic part.
Examples of organisations that may carry out both economic and non-economic activities include certain research institutes, local authority-owned companies and civil society organisations.
In order for Formas to be able to assess whether funding can be granted to a project partner without it being subject to the rules on state aid, the project partner must certify in the application that they are applying for funding for non-economic activities and that they meet the requirements for separate accounting.
Formas may subsequently request a Certificate of Separate Activities or Subordinate Economic Activities External link. in order to make its assessment.
If the application is approved as non-state aid, an authorised representative of the partner must also certify this by signing the ‘Project Partner’s Approval’ document before the grant can begin to be paid out.
How do you determine whether an organisation is engaged in economic activity?
An organisation that offers any form of service or product on a market is considered to be carrying out an economic activity. It is irrelevant how the organisation is funded, whether it is public or private, or whether it is profit-making. Nor does it matter what legal form the organisation takes. For example, whether it is a limited company, a partnership, an economic association, a non-profit association or a foundation.
The organisation itself is responsible for assessing whether it carries out economic activities. Please note that Formas may make a different assessment once the application has been registered in our system.
In this call for proposals, we are awarding grants in accordance with Article 25 of the European Commission’s General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) for industrial research.
What is industrial research?
In simple terms, industrial research can be described as the generation of new knowledge through planned research or critical analysis with a view to developing or significantly improving products, services or industrial processes. For a full definition, see ‘Funding levels under Formas’ funding scheme External link.’.
Under this call for proposals, companies and other organisations engaged in economic activity may apply for and be awarded grants equivalent to a maximum of 65 per cent of the company’s eligible costs, regardless of the size of the organisation, provided that the project results are expected to be widely disseminated through conferences, publications, open-access databases or free and open-source software.
For organisations that do not carry out economic activities, we can fund up to 100 per cent of their eligible costs.
We award grants in accordance with Article 25 of the European Commission’s General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER).
Your application must meet certain formal requirements. If any of the requirements are not met, the application will be rejected on formal grounds.
Requirements relating to the project and its partners
- The project must be carried out by a minimum of three and a maximum of ten partners. Having more or fewer partners is not permitted under this call for proposals.
- At least half of the partners in the project group must be from the business sector, i.e. limited companies, economic associations or organisations representing interests within (parts of) the food sector.
- At least one partner must be a research organisation.
- Sole proprietorship companies are not eligible to participate as project partners. Applications in which a partner is registered as a sole proprietorship company will be rejected.
- At least one researcher participating in the project must hold a doctoral degree.
- All partners are deemed to have the organisational and financial capacity to carry out the project.
- Project partners must be registered for F-tax and VAT where their organisational form so requires, no later than the closing date of the call for proposals.
- Project partners with staff costs included in the project budget must be registered as employers with the Swedish Tax Agency by the closing date of the call for proposals at the latest.
- All project partners are able to meet Formas’ conditions for the award of funding.
Requirements relating to the formal content of the application
- The focus of the application falls within Formas’ areas of responsibility.
- The focus of the application falls within the scope of the call for proposals.
- No more than one application with the same or similar content has been submitted.
- All mandatory fields/details/attachments are included in the application.
- All project partners have specified their costs and funding in the budget.
- All costs reported in the budget are eligible costs.
- The application and the project team comply with the call for proposals’ other requirements regarding, amongst other things, the budget, project partners, co-funding level and project duration.
We also check the financial status
Before deciding on funding, we also carry out a comprehensive assessment of the organisational and financial status of those receiving funding . We use information obtained from sources such as credit reports.
In order for us to grant funding, the following applies:
- Organisations must not be insolvent, nor undergoing liquidation or corporate reorganisation.
- Limited companies must not have used up half or more of their share capital.
- If we request this, the organisation must be able to demonstrate that it has sufficient financial resources to carry out the project in accordance with the budget set out in the application. They may not use public grants or their own funds intended for other projects to cover the costs of this project.
Applications that meet the basic requirements will be assessed by external assessors on the basis of the following criteria:
Relevance
- The project can make a significant contribution to the purpose and focus of the call.
- The project takes relevant account of the needs and circumstances of different stakeholders.
- The project has identified the key areas where the results or solution can bring benefits for the food sector and in society.
Potential
- The project’s problem formulation and purpose are clear, logical and in line with the purpose and focus of the call.
- The project is based on high quality research.
- The expected result or solution is at the forefront of its field and has significant novelty or innovation value.
- The project’s results have significant potential for scalability and dissemination.
Implementation
- Planned activities and methods are appropriate to achieve the expected results.
- The timetable and budget are realistic and appropriate in relation to the project’s purpose and objectives.
- The plan for the utilisation of the project results is well described and appropriate.
- Ethical considerations are well described, and the plan for addressing them is appropriate.
- Gender equality aspects are well integrated into the project’s implementation.
Actors
- The organisation and collective expertise are appropriate for the implementation of the project, including the utilisation of project results.
- The project is implemented in collaboration with relevant stakeholders or users. The involvement of project participants is clearly described and appropriate for the project’s objectives.
- The project team (key personnel) is well-balanced in terms of gender distribution and the distribution of influence between women and men. This is relevant when the project team consists of more than three people.
Formas reserves the right to apply a portfolio approach when selecting applications to be funded under this call for proposals. The portfolio approach can only be applied once all applications have been assessed on their own merits and ranked. Taking the portfolio for this call into account means that the funded projects collectively cover the thematic areas and challenges facing the food sector as described in the section on the purpose and focus of the call.
Read more about Formas’ evaluation process: How the evaluation process works – Formas External link..
How do you apply?
You apply via our Prisma External link. application system.
Language
You must write your application in English. The project summary must be available in both Swedish and English.
Start your application in good time. In Prisma, you can begin filling in the application and then continue at a later date. Completing the application form in Prisma can take several days.
For this call for proposals, the organisation coordinating your project and acting as the project’s fund manager must create and submit the application in Prisma. The organisation creating the application must have an organisational account in Prisma. The call for proposals is visible only to those responsible for the organisational account in Prisma.
Once a draft of the organisational application has been created, the person responsible for the organisational account can invite a project manager. The project manager can fill in the details for the application, but only the person responsible for the organisational account can submit the application.
Please note that participating researchers cannot be invited to edit this call for proposals in Prisma.
When the organisation account manager submits an application, a summary of the mandatory fields that have not yet been completed is displayed. All mandatory information must be completed before the organisation account manager can submit the application.
You may supplement your registered application until it has been finalised. A registered application is automatically finalised and signed on 1 April at 14.00 when the call for applications closes; until then, the organisation’s account manager may deregister and re-register the application.
We do not permit late registrations or additions to applications after the call for proposals has closed. You may submit additional information if we request it.
How do you apply for an organisation account for a grant administrator?
If the coordinating party and the fund manager in your project do not have an organisation account, an authorised representative of that organisation must apply for an organisation account so that you can create the application in Prisma.
It is important that the lead applicant applies for an organisational account in good time, and no later than 18 March. Apply for an organisational account in Prisma. External link.
If you are unsure whether your organisation has an account in Prisma, please contact the responsible research administrator, Emma Stockvall Carlsson, by email at emma.stockvallcarlsson@formas.se before applying for a new account. Please provide your organisation number.
The person applying for the organisation account becomes the organisation account manager and must set up the home institution structure within the organisation account in Prisma Structure – Prisma Support External link.. It is mandatory to select a home institution for your project in the application.
Read more about applying to be a fund manager for individual projects under ‘Who can become a fund manager? External link.
In Prisma, there are mandatory fields to complete. These also specify which attachments, if any, are either mandatory or optional, the maximum number of characters for each mandatory field, and size limits for attachments.
If funding is awarded, Formas may draw up a payment schedule that differs from the budget allocation over time set out in the application.
Relevance and Potential
Background
- Describe the context in which the project is situated and why the project is important from a broader perspective. This description is important to give the assessors a good understanding of how the solution the project aims to achieve fits the needs and circumstances of industry and other relevant stakeholders.
- Outline and characterise the challenge(s) the project addresses, solutions previously tried, and the lessons learnt from these.
Purpose and objectives
- Describe the project’s purpose and how the project can contribute to the call for proposals’ purpose and focus, including sustainable development.
- Specify the problems or challenges that the project addresses.
- Describe the objectives and the expected short- and long-term results and impacts of the project.
- Describe how the implementation of the project’s expected results and solutions meets the current needs of the business sector and other relevant stakeholders.
- Describe the conditions necessary for the expected results or solutions to be disseminated and scaled up nationally and internationally.
State-of-the-art
- Describe the knowledge on which the project is based.
- Describe the project’s context, novelty and/or level of innovation in the expected results or solutions. Compare the project’s expected solutions with any other relevant solutions, both nationally and internationally.
- Describe whether and how the implementation of the developed solutions is dependent on other developments.
Implementation
- Describe and justify how the project is to be carried out, including, for example, work packages, activities, methods, a work plan and a timetable.
- Clearly describe the plan for utilising the project results.
- Describe any ethical considerations and how these are addressed in the project.
- Reflect on how gender equality aspects have been integrated into the project.
- Reflect on how risks might affect the project’s implementation, timetable and budget, how likely they are to occur, and how they will be managed should they arise.
Actors
- Describe and justify the choice of project partners, their expertise, roles and involvement in the project.
- Describe how the interests of the project partners and other stakeholders are being taken into account in the project, and how this will be achieved.
- Reflect on the composition of the project team (key personnel) in terms of gender and the distribution of influence between women and men.
List of references
References included in the main text under the points above should be listed in a separate field. These may include publications, previous work relevant to the project, etc.
Mandatory appendix – CVs for all key personnel
You must attach CVs for all key personnel to the application. Include experience and qualifications relevant to the project. Also explain why the project participant is a key person. All CVs must be attached as a single PDF file. Each CV must not exceed one A4 page.
As this call for proposals is an organisational call, researchers at Formas’s generally approved grant administrators cannot link to CV details previously entered in Prisma. All CVs must be submitted in the same way to ensure a consistent assessment.
Once you have submitted your application
We publish the decisions on the Formas website no later than the day after a funding decision has been made. The project leader and the grant administrator will also receive an email when the decision is available in Prisma.
The project leader can view the decision and comments on your application at under ‘Applications’ in their personal account in Prisma. The fund manager can find the decision and comments on your application under ‘Organisational Applications’ in the organisation’s account in Prisma.
Our decision cannot be appealed.
If we approve your application, the fund manager must sign the ‘Acceptance of Terms’ document, which is published for your project in Prisma. The fund manager can find the ‘Acceptance of Terms’ under ‘Sign’ in their organisation’s account in Prisma.
The ‘Acceptance of Terms’ document sets out the terms and conditions of the grant.
You must comply with our general terms and conditions. See the current terms and conditions document ‘Terms and Conditions for Awarded Funding External link.’.
We may also decide to add specific terms and conditions for individual projects, in which case these will also be set out in the ‘Approval of Terms and Conditions’.
In addition to signing the ‘Acceptance of Terms’, you must submit the ‘Project Partner’s Approval External link.’. This approval is required from all project partners.
Information on how to report on the project can be found in ‘How to report expenditure and results External link.’. The ‘Approval of Terms and Conditions’ document specifies when reports are to be submitted. If it becomes necessary to make changes to your approved project, you can read more about how project changes are handled in ‘Changes to ongoing projects’ External link. and ‘Changing the budget in multi-partner projects External link.’.
Other important points to bear in mind when submitting your application
There are other things that are worth knowing when you’re writing your application. Below are some important points to bear in mind. Read more about what to bear in mind when writing an application External link..
Under Swedish law, your application (including any attachments) is considered a public document once it has been received by us. This means that anyone can request access to and view your application. Information may only be withheld if it is subject to confidentiality under the Freedom of Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400) (OSL), for example, so-called business confidentiality under Chapter 30, Section 23 of the OSL.
Formas has limited scope to classify personal data as confidential. Therefore, the application should not contain personal data relating to anyone other than those involved in the application. Nor should the application contain sensitive personal data, unless this is clearly relevant to the project.
Business confidentiality may apply to information concerning business and operational matters, inventions or research results. This provision may apply if it can be assumed that disclosure of the information would cause financial harm to the individual. On this basis, we have relatively limited scope to classify information as confidential. You should therefore consider whether it is necessary to include sensitive information concerning business and operational matters, inventions or research results in your application.
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 a confidentiality assessment. You should therefore avoid including sensitive information in these sections.
It is fine to use AI as a tool when drafting your application, but you need to be aware of the risks this entails. AI can plagiarise, falsify and fabricate content such as text, data, references and illustrations.
As the applicant, you are responsible for ensuring that the content of the application is accurate and that the research can be carried out as you have described. You confirm this when the application is submitted. As the applicant, you must adhere to good research practice throughout the application process, which means that plagiarism, falsification or fabrication of content in the application must not occur.
To promote good research practice, Formas carries out random checks on applications and encourages reviewers to report to us if they suspect plagiarism, falsification or fabrication of content. If Formas assesses that an application breaches good research practice, we reject it on formal grounds. We also report any suspicion of research misconduct to the research funding body. If the research funding body’s investigation confirms the suspicion of misconduct, they refer the case to the Board for the Assessment of Research Misconduct External link..
At present, our reviewers are not permitted to use AI tools to assist in the review of applications. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, there is a significant risk that information uploaded may be disseminated further. There are also risks relating to confidentiality and the processing of personal data. Uploading an application or information from an application to any kind of AI tool constitutes an unauthorised disclosure of information. This applies not only to AI tools but also to many other services and tools for storing and sharing data.
At Formas, we are very keen to ensure that the projects we fund are carried out in a way that maximises positive and minimises negative impacts on the environment and climate. We therefore urge applicants to design their projects so that collaboration takes place primarily through digital meeting formats and that any necessary travel is carried out as climate-smart as possible. We also suggest that, right from the project planning stage, you include measures to minimise energy use and other resource consumption, emissions and waste. However, this will not form part of the assessment of your application.
You must state whether there are any specific ethical aspects to the project. In such cases, you must describe the relevant ethical issues and how you plan to address them. This may, for example, concern research that utilises personal data or research involving experiments on humans or animals.
If your research involves human subjects, human tissue or sensitive personal data, you must submit an application for ethical review to the Swedish Ethical Review Authority and have it approved. If your research involves animal experiments, you must also obtain approval from an animal ethics committee. You can apply for this via the Swedish Board of Agriculture’s online service.
You must state in your application whether or not you have a valid ethical approval. If you do not have one, and your application is granted funding, you must obtain ethical approval before the described experiments commence.
If your research is not expected to involve anything that requires ethical approval, you must state this and explain how and why.
Formas uses the project’s classifications in analyses and supporting documentation at an overarching level. The classifications are determined by the applicant specifying the subject area, research subject (SCB code), at least one global Sustainable Development Goal to which the project can contribute, and keywords.
- Subject area. Select a minimum of one and a maximum of three subject areas and add a subheading.
- Research subject (SCB code). Select at least one and no more than three research subjects and two sub-levels that make up the combined code.
- Global Sustainable Development Goals. Specify at least one and up to three global Sustainable Development Goals to which the project can contribute, in order of priority based on relevance. More on the meaning of the goals. External link.
- Keywords. Specify at least one and up to three keywords that describe the project.
Results of research funded by Formas must be published using immediate open access.
You must also have a data management plan for any data generated in the project. This plan does not need to be submitted to Formas but should be presented on request. By signing our grant terms and conditions, you certify that a data management plan will be available before the research begins and that it will be maintained.
Formas shares up-to-date open data on applications, funded activities, and calls for proposals via an API. The data in the API follows a common data standard (GDP) adopted by the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas, Forte, the Swedish Research Council, and Vinnova. Portions of the data from the applications will be made available as open data. The data includes information about organizations and individuals who apply for and receive funding through the funders’ calls for proposals. For applications that have not yet been decided or that have been rejected, certain personal and organizational details are anonymized.
Read more at Open Data - FormasExternal link. External link.
Formas regularly transfers data from approved applications to the SwecrisExternal link. 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.
Due to the war in Ukraine, funding cannot be awarded to projects involving research collaboration with state or federal research institutions in Russia or Belarus.
Contact information
Our team working on the call for proposals
