Forte participates in several Nordic research programmes. Read more about our current Nordic collaboration below.

NordForsk – Promoting Nordic collaboration within research

NordForsk is an organisation under the Nordic Council of Ministers which finances and promotes Nordic cooperation within research and research infrastructure. NordForsk acts as a liaison between the national research funding bodies at every level of research, from basic to more applied forms.

Through the financing and administration of research programmes NordForsk brings together national research groups and promotes research activities of high scientific quality. The goal of NordForsk is to be an effective facilitator of research collaboration that makes an impact, and to ensure that the research is of high international quality and delivers Nordic added value.

NordForsk has its headquarters in Oslo and a board that includes representatives from the Nordic countries. Jonas Björck, Director General of Forte, represent Sweden and thus Formas, Forte and the Swedish Research Council. Jonas Björck has also been Chairman of the Board since 1 December 2020.

The majority of NordForsk’s work is organised into various research programmes. Forte co-funds several of these research collaboration programmes:

Welfare among Children and Young People in the Post-Pandemic Nordics

The short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are unfolding in the Nordic countries and worldwide, but the consequences in the long-term perspective are still unknown. During childhood and adolescence, the foundations for a healthy and successful life as an adult are laid. Both physical and mental health problems, as well as unfavourable economic and social circumstances, in childhood are often carried on into adult life unless active countermeasures are taken. Decreased welfare among children and young people may thus have longstanding consequences both on an individual level, for families and communities and for future public health. The programme has an emphasis on education, wellbeing, mental health, and living conditions of children and young people.
To the research programme’s webpage »

Future Working Life

A well-functioning working life is central to the development of society, as it creates the conditions for economic growth and for the funding of welfare systems. It is also key for individuals as it creates opportunities and may contribute to personal development. The overall aim of the Programme is to generate knowledge and solutions for a sustainable and inclusive future working life. It aims to support cross-boarder research collaboration with impact both within and beyond academia.
To the research programme’s webpage »

Research and Innovation Programme on Digitalisation of the Public Sector

The opportunities and threats caused by digitalisation is often highlighted in public debate as a prioritized area in need of more research. The overarching aim of the programme is to combine and integrate knowledge-based, digital innovation efforts with research on the related effects and impact on society and end-users.
To the research programme’s webpage »

Nordic Programme on Health and Welfare

The overall goal of the programme is to improve health in the Nordic countries by through high-quality research. The programme seeks to generate knowledge on the effect of demographic, social, environmental and biological factors on human health and the challenges this implies for human welfare, and to translate this new knowledge into practical solutions in healthcare and welfare systems.
To the research programme’s webpage »

Joint Nordic-UK research programme on Migration and Integration

The past decades have witnessed a significant increase in human migration for a variety of reasons worldwide. European societies have been impacted to varying degrees, but they all share similar opportunities and challenges in terms of integration and settlement, access to labour markets, health services, housing and education. The aim of the programme is to increase cooperation between researchers in the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom to generate new knowledge and address the challenges of migration and integration.
To the research programme’s webpage »

Sustainable Urban Development and Smart Cities

Urbanisation is one of the strongest megatrends in the world. A high concentration of people generates social, economic and environmental challenges that must be resolved; cities must be sustainable. The aim of the interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral programme is to promote cooperation between the knowledge communities in the Nordic countries in order to enhance opportunities and address challenges to sustainable urban development and smart cities.
To the research programme’s webpage »

Nordic Programme for Interdisciplinary Research

Interdisciplinarity is widely acknowledged as essential to the generation of new and ground-breaking research results, and there is an increasingly urgent global demand for scientific research that dares to think across traditional boundaries between fields and disciplines and strives to create fertile ground for new approaches and insights. The aim of the programme is to promote excellent bottom-up research that combines and integrate skills from multiple disciplines.
To the research programme’s webpage »