Explore – Formas’ open call
In Explore – Formas’ open call for research projects, we welcome applications within its three areas of responsibility – Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning. The purpose of the call is to enable researchers to address self-identified research needs.
The overarching purpose of the call, is to support innovative research of the highest scientific quality and societal relevance, within Formas’ areas of responsibility. The more long-term aim of the call is to promote a clear shift in the state of knowledge that contributes to solving societal challenges in areas of great relevance to sustainable development.
Current call
Frequently asked questions
Related information
With Weave, researchers from two or three European countries can submit a research application to one of the participating funding organisations and it will then undergo a single evaluation.
Weave – Simplified funding procedures for projects across European borders
Formas will not award grants to projects with participating researchers employed at Russian or Belarussian institutions due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
We have changed our annual open call
The annual open call has been Formas' biggest call for several years. For 2024, we have adjusted the call so it can better contribute to addressing the major challenges facing Sweden and the world. More specifically, this means that the annual open call now is divided in two separate calls:
- Explore – Formas’ open call for research projects
- Career Grant for Early-career Researchers
The most recent open calls
Annual open call 2023
Funded projects 2023
Decision was given 7 November 2023.
Changes regarding eligibility in Formas’ annual open call for 2023
Are you the main applicant (project manager) for an ongoing research project that Formas is funding? Following changes regarding eligibility might affect you if you want to apply for a grant from us.
Research for sustainable development
Formas funds research for ecologically, economically and socially sustainable development and that can contribute to achieving the global sustainable development goals.
In 2015 the United Nations member countries adopted 17 global sustainable development goals to support and accelerate sustainable development efforts. The goals apply to all countries and levels - global, regional, national and local, and are central to Formas’ areas of responsibility; Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning.
The research that is supported by Formas must be of the highest scientific quality, be of benefit to society in the short-term or long-term and may apply to all levels of society. Formas strives to promote equality between women and men and for the importance of gender and other critical perspectives to be included in the research.
Ten review panels
The subject areas of the review panels are inspired by the global sustainable development goals. The panels are also designed to accommodate both the depth and breadth of content in the more than one thousand applications that are submitted to the Formas annual open call. The review panels are therefore broadly defined in order to encompass the various social, economic and environmental objectives within Formas’ areas of responsibility.
The applicant formulates their own research questions. There are no strict boundaries between the panels. The same application may be relevant to several panels, however will be evaluated by the panel with reviewers with the most appropriate competence.
The purpose of the descriptive text is to help those submitting Formas annual open call applications to determine which panel, or panels, applications are most applicable to.
Review panel structure
The panels are comprised of 15-20 reviewers, including both active researchers and experts with experience of using research results. The reviewers have the competence to evaluate social science, humanities, natural science and technical research within Formas’ areas of responsibility. They also evaluate interdisciplinary research (crossing subject boundaries) and transdisciplinary research (bridging research and societal boundaries).
To ensure that the review panel has the competence to review all of the applications, the composition of each respective review panel is not finalised until after all of the applications have been received. If a specific competence should nonetheless be lacking for a particular application the application will be evaluated by members of the other review panels, or by external reviewers.
Evaluation and decision
The review panels assesss and rank the applications. Formas’ Scientific Council then makes the decision on whether to grant or reject funding for the project. The available funding is allocated according to application pressure, or in other words, according to the number of applications processed by each respective review panel.
Contact information
Frequently asked questions
We recommend that you visit our compilation of Frequently asked questions and answers.
For other questions about the call or Prisma
For questions that you do not find the answer to in Frequently asked questions and answers, please contact explore@formas.se.