About
Formas is a Swedish government research council responsible for funding research and innovation within the areas of environment, agricultural sciences, and sustainable development. The organization supports knowledge building that contributes to a sustainable world, working across disciplines to fund research projects that address challenges in climate, water, biodiversity, and sustainable societal transformation. Formas serves as a bridge between research and society, facilitating national research programs and providing career support for early-career researchers.
Funding Opportunities
Applied Research for a Competitive Food Sector and Sustainable Transitions
This funding call supports business-oriented research projects that generate new knowledge to address complex and long-term challenges in the food sector. The projects aim to strengthen the food sector's ability to adapt, create added value for society, promote competitiveness, and contribute to innovation, policy development, and sustainable business opportunities. The call is issued within the framework of Sweden's national research programme for food, established in 2017, which funds transdisciplinary, needs-driven research and innovation projects relevant for the entire food sector, from primary production to consumption. The programme is an important part of implementing Sweden's national food strategy and fulfilling its long-term goals. Projects must focus on 'The future of foods: sustainable, healthy and scalable processing,' addressing the transformation of the food system to meet climate and environmental challenges, strengthen supply capacity, and promote sustainable eating habits. Research is expected to develop sustainable, attractive and refined food products, create resource-efficient production processes that utilize Swedish raw materials, and respond to consumer demand through innovation in process technologies, digital solutions, product design, sensory science, business models and marketing strategies.
Robust and resilient infrastructure and the built environment - a call for transdisciplinary centres
Formas is announcing funding for innovative interdisciplinary centres that will contribute to robust and resilient infrastructure and the built environment for sustainable spatial planning. The centres must focus on issues relating to robustness and resilience, sustainability, and the competitiveness of society. Sweden's infrastructure and built environment need to be strengthened in response to a changed global context, with new types of security and health-related risks and threats that make systems vulnerable. The centres are to be planned, established and run jointly by academia, industry, the public sector and other parts of society. The call aims to promote innovative interdisciplinary research of highest scientific quality and societal relevance that contributes to structural change and transformation to more robust and resilient infrastructure and built environments. The centres must be based on a clearly articulated challenge and contribute to robust and resilient infrastructure that is environmentally sustainable and contributes to the competitiveness of society incorporating both aspects of social and economic sustainability. This call is part of the national research programme for sustainable spatial planning, and Formas will fund up to three new centres on the theme of robust and resilient infrastructure and the built environment.
Graduate school in bioeconomy
Formas has a government assignment to establish a ten-year national graduate school in bioeconomy, and is announcing funding for the first five-year phase of this graduate school's coordinating consortium and the first rounds of doctoral student admissions. The call is aimed at consortia of universities and research institutes that represent the thematic and disciplinary breadth necessary to address key challenges for the development of the bioeconomy. The aim of the graduate school is to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of the Swedish bioeconomy by strengthening the supply of expertise in the field. The graduate school will place great emphasis on the knowledge needs of the business sector, and the business sector is expected to participate actively in the establishment and implementation of the graduate school. The coordinating consortium must be able to demonstrate relevant contacts with industry in forestry, agriculture, food, textiles, chemistry, plastics and the blue industries, as well as a good understanding of the skills needs of these industries. The doctoral projects must be based on issues relevant to industry, which can include issues relevant to an individual company or common to an industry or cross-industry challenges. Doctoral students can be employed by industry, universities or research institutes and will be admitted in rounds.
Forests and people: Towards a more robust knowledge base on health, well-being and small-scale private forest owners
This call aims to fund research that deepens knowledge about forests, forestry, forest management and the forest sector from two key perspectives: the importance of forests for human health and well-being, and/or the conditions and drivers of small-scale private forest owners. The call seeks projects whose research results can clearly and significantly contribute to further societal benefits from forests and the forest sector. Projects funded are expected to generate new knowledge that contributes to a diverse and robust knowledge base for more secure decision-making and improved practices. The knowledge produced must be clearly relevant to a Swedish context. Research projects may focus on forestry practices, forest governance and how they affect human health and well-being, including physical activity, mental health, recreation, outdoor life, and cultural values. Projects may also explore human factors influencing decision-making among small-scale private forest owners, such as values, knowledge, incentives, policy instruments, and the effects of demographic changes on ownership. Formas welcomes interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaborations across all disciplines, and projects are expected to include and engage decision-makers and stakeholders from the public sector, industry, and civil society.
Career Grant for Early-career Researchers, career age 0–3 years
The Career Grant for Early-career Researchers supports promising early-career researchers in taking the next step in their careers through funding for independent research projects. This call welcomes researchers who have recently received a doctorate to conduct their own research project, formulating their own research question within Formas' areas of responsibility: Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning. The grant encourages interdisciplinary research questions and aims to give early-career researchers the possibility to improve leadership skills, run their own project, and contribute to the clear advancement of knowledge. The Career Grant aims to broaden perspectives, help researchers become more independent, and enable them to take the next step in their career by taking on a new or partially new focus for their research compared with previous work. To expand opportunities for improved career development, projects must include national or international mobility to other research environments, intended to improve abilities and opportunities to contribute to research relevant to society and of the highest scientific quality. The mobility should contribute to new impressions, ideas, and perspectives, preferably in new or partially new subject areas, and expand networks and skills in cooperating and collaborating with others. This specific track supports researchers with career age 0-3, meaning individuals who received their doctorate (degree certificate issued) no earlier than 1 January 2023 and no later than 1 October 2026. Researchers can apply for a 3- or 4-year project with a budget of at most SEK 1.5 million per year on average. The grant ultimately aims to strengthen researchers early in their careers and their opportunities to work in leading positions within academia, the public sector, civil society, or business. The administering organization must be a Swedish higher education institution, certain research institute, or government agency with a research mission. Co-applicants are not permitted, and funding cannot be applied for doctoral students. The call aims to strengthen society's access to expertise within Formas' areas of responsibility and contribute to continuous and long-term knowledge development.
Career Grant for Early-career Researchers, career age 4–7 years
The Career Grant for Early-career Researchers is designed for researchers who have recently received a doctorate or are at an early stage of their career. The grant provides funding to conduct independent research projects within Formas' areas of responsibility: Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning. The call has two tracks based on career age, with this track specifically for researchers who received their doctorate between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2022 (career age 4-7 years). The program aims to help early-career researchers improve their leadership skills, run their own projects, and advance the state of knowledge in their fields. It is intended to contribute to the next step in their careers by broadening perspectives, fostering independence, and enabling career progression. Projects should take on a new or partially new focus compared with previous work. A key component is the requirement for national or international mobility to other research environments. This mobility is designed to enhance researchers' abilities to contribute to societally relevant research of the highest scientific quality, bring new impressions and ideas, expand networks, and develop collaboration skills. The grant ultimately aims to strengthen researchers' opportunities to work in leading positions within academia, the public sector, civil society, or business. The research can include different scientific methods and perspectives, as well as disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches. Projects must be relevant for the ecological, economic, and/or social sustainable development of society and clearly demonstrate how they contribute to Formas' areas of responsibility.
Crossroads for climate transformation - Center initiative within the national research program on climate
Formas is announcing funding for interdisciplinary centres focusing on societal transformation to achieve climate goals. The call aims to support interdisciplinary research of the highest quality that meets the need for new knowledge and innovative solutions for society's climate transformation. Climate change will have a profound impact on future societies, and many major decisions made today will determine living conditions for current and future generations. A comprehensive climate transformation, including both emission reductions and adaptation to climate change, is necessary to mitigate negative impacts. The centres are expected to address questions about what a radical transformation in line with climate goals might entail, what conditions are required, how a transformation should be organised, and what choices can and need to be made based on different time horizons and with consideration of other societal challenges. This requires a systems perspective on the transformation. Up to six centres can be funded, and these will address competitiveness, equity and preparedness in relation to a societal transformation that addresses climate change. The centres must be planned, established and run jointly by academia, industry, the public sector and other parts of society. The research must be done in collaboration with relevant actors outside academia to contribute to increased capacity and action. Each centre must involve at least two Swedish higher education institutions or research institutes, and at least two other societal actors from industry, public sector and/or civil society.
The impact of climate change on public health in Sweden – risks, vulnerabilities, opportunities, and synergies
Climate change is one of the greatest societal challenges of our time and has far-reaching consequences for public health. This call for proposals from Formas aims to support interdisciplinary research that increases understanding of the links between climate and health based on Swedish conditions. The research should contribute knowledge that strengthens society's ability to protect and promote health in a changing climate. The call welcomes projects exploring integrating health perspectives into climate work, socioeconomic analysis of health effects, monitoring and warning systems, the built environment and health, mental health and well-being, and extreme weather impacts. Research projects can highlight these aspects in relation to heat waves, air pollution, infectious diseases, mental health, and the impact on settlement structures. Decision-makers need evidence-based data to integrate public health into climate policy—both in terms of emission reduction and climate adaptation.
At a Glance
- Total Funding Opportunities
- 11
- Active Now
- 8
- Source Domain
- formas.se
Catalog Data
This funder profile was automatically extracted from grant listings. Information may be incomplete.
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