Collaboration in practice for mental health 2026

Background and purpose

Forte manages a national research programme on mental health on behalf of the Swedish government. The programme is guided by a strategic research agenda developed in collaboration with key stakeholders in the field, including civil society. The agenda identifies priority areas, principles, and perspectives.

A central premise of the programme is that funded research should not only advance understanding of issues related to mental health, but also actively contribute to solutions and improvements.

Focus of the call

The call invites practice-oriented research relating to two of the research programme’s areas and it is a requirement that the research should be conducted in collaboration with the public sector or civil society.

Priority areas

• Promotive, preventive, and early interventions for mental health.
• Practice-oriented research on effective interventions, methods, and treatments for mental ill-health and mental disorders.

A project may choose to focus on one area or a combination of both.

Applications are invited across the spectrum of mental health, from well-being to psychological distress and psychiatric illnesses, at both individual and societal levels and across all ages.

Focus on collaboration and co-creation

All research funded under this call must be conducted in collaboration with the public sector or civil society. Collaboration should generally be integrated throughout the entire research process, with partners involved in planning, study design, data collection and analysis, as well as interpretation, dissemination, and implementation of results. Collaboration contributes to improved quality, relevance, and for research results to be put into practical use for the benefit of society.

The exact approach to collaboration should be developed jointly by the research team and partners. However, the collaborative strategy must be clearly described and well justified in the application. Costs associated with partner participation should be included in the project budget.

More about collaboration between research and society

National strategy

Research should generate tangible benefits for patients and practice, address societal challenges in the field, and support the implementation of the priority actions outlined in the national strategy on mental health and suicide prevention External link..

Please note that Forte does not fund:

• Clinical (medical) treatment studies and biomedical (preclinical) research.
• Research focusing on mental ill-health as a risk factor for somatic diseases, or where somatic outcomes are the primary focus, is also outside the scope of this call.

About the call

Project Grant

Project grants aim to create and disseminate knowledge on an identified issue within the framework of a defined research project.

Project duration

Funding may be sought for 4 years.

Funding amounts

You may apply for a maximum of SEK 5 million for four-year projects. Please note that the maximum amount includes so called indirect costs/overheads (OH). Applications that exceed the specified limit will be rejected.

Staffing

For this grant type, you as main applicant may invite participating researchers to join the application.

Eligibility requirements

To apply for a grant under this call for proposals, you must have obtained a doctoral degree no later than the closing date of the call for proposals.

The main applicant must have submitted the final report for any previously approved grants from Forte within the reporting deadline. This only applies to grants where the deadline for final reporting has passed. Any previously granted extensions of project duration, and consequently of reporting deadlines, will be taken into account.

International research

Applications with an international element must follow Forte’s guidelines for international research. Forte’s grants may be used to finance research where certain parts are carried out in other countries. However, the research must be initiated, led from and mainly carried out in Sweden or be a part of international collaborative research. The research must also be relevant to Sweden and Swedish conditions, and this must be explained and justified in the application.

Guidelines for international research

Open access and data management plan

Results from research funded by Forte must be published with immediate open access. However, Forte does not cover the costs of open access publishing within the research grants we award. Instead, Forte contributes financially through the Bibsam consortium to the joint funding system for publications. In cases where publication costs are included in the application, such costs will be deleted from any grant awarded.

Forte's guidelines for publication with open access

In all Forte funded projects that generate research data, a data management plan has to be established in accordance with the recommendations of the administrating organisation.

Open access to research data

How do I apply?

Before starting your application, please read this page and ensure that the following conditions are fulfilled:

• The main applicant and any participating researchers included in the application have created personal accounts in the Prisma application system External link.
• The main applicant and any participating researchers included in the application have stored their CV and details of their publications in their respective personal accounts.
• The administrating organisation for the grant has an organisational account in Prisma and has been approved as an administrating organisation at Forte. Information for administrating organisations

What must be included in the application?

Information about the contents of your application will be published here when the call for applications opens.

The application form includes both mandatory and non-mandatory information. The application cannot be submitted if mandatory information is missing. Ensure that the non-mandatory information you wish to include is also included in the application upon registration.

Language

Applications under this call for proposals may be written in Swedish or English.

The use of AI tools

The use of AI in the application must comply with Forte’s guidelines for the use of AI tools.

Types of project participants

The person who creates the application in Prisma is the main applicant and is intended to be the project leader for the research project. The project leader must be employed by the administrating organisation at the start of the project. The employment must at least cover the time set aside for the project (activity level).

If the call for proposals permits this, participating researchers may also be invited to join the application. Participating researchers are other researchers who are crucial for the implementation of the project. Both the main applicant and the participating researchers must have a doctoral degree and a personal account in Prisma.

It is also possible to include other participants in the project. These persons do not need to be researchers. This means they do not need to have a doctoral degree or their own accounts in Prisma. This category includes any doctoral students who will participate in the project.

The main applicant may invite a participating administrator to help them complete the application form.

Requirements for different types of participants External link.

Principle of public access to official records

According to Swedish law, your application is considered a public document once it has been submitted to Forte. This means that anyone can request and read your application. Information may only be kept secret if it is covered by the secrecy provisions in the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400).

If your application is granted, abstracts in Swedish and English will be published in open project databases without a confidentiality assessment.

Translations of information in the call for proposals

Call texts, application forms and instruction texts are available in English translation, but in case of ambiguity in the translation, the Swedish versions take precedence.

How will my application be assessed?

Verification of your application

Forte checks if your application fulfils the conditions laid down in the call for proposals. If the application does not fulfil the conditions, it will be refused or rejected. The following conditions will be checked in this call for applications:

• The main applicant has been awarded a doctoral degree.
• The main applicant has submitted the final report for any previously approved grants from Forte within the reporting deadline.
• The content of the application does not obviously fall outside Forte’s areas and/or the focus of the call (verified in consultation with the chair of the review panel).
• The budget in the application is within the maximum grant amount specified in the call for proposals.
• The application has been signed by the administrating organisation within 7 calendar days of the closing date of the call for proposals.

Review

All applications that fulfil the conditions in the call for proposals are forwarded to Forte’s review panels for assessment. Based on their assessment, Forte’s Board makes the final decisions on which applications will be granted funding.

To be eligible for funding from Forte, applications must meet the requirements, be of high scientific quality, be relevant to society, and feasible. Applications are assessed against the assessment criteria described below. The assessment is an overall assessment that weighs all the criteria and relates them to the call for proposals and its objectives. Key to the assessment is how the applicant has explained and justified the various choices made in the application.

Forte's processes for assessment and final decision

Assessment criteria

Requirements

• Relevance to Forte: The research must be relevant in relation to Forte’s areas and the focus of the call.
• Sex and gender perspective: A sex and gender perspective must be taken into account, if applicable.
• Ethical considerations: The research must be conducted in an ethical manner, and any ethical issues must be addressed in an appropriate way.

Scientific quality

• Purpose, research questions, theoretical framework and background: The clarity and coherence in the description and justification of the purpose of the research, research questions, theoretical framework and background, including how well grounded it is in previous research.
• Study design, materal and methods: The clarity and coherence in the description and justification of the research design, empirical material and methods for data collection and analysis, as well as the appropriateness of these in relation to the purpose of the research and research questions.
• Originality: The potential of the research to contribute to the research front, for example by developing new knowledge, new methods, theories and/or data.
• Multidisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary approach: The relevance of a multidisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary approach to the scientific quality, if applicable.

Societal relevance and utilisation

• Relevance to the wider community: The importance of the research to current societal challenges and how the research will help address these.
• Benefit to the wider community: The short and/or long-term benefit of the research to the wider community, and how this is intended to be promoted.
• Collaboration with the wider community: The clarity and coherence in the description and justification of the plan for collaboration with the actors affected by the research, if applicable.
• Communication of research results: The reasonableness and appropriateness of planned communications for all relevant audiences.

Feasibility

• Work plan: The clarity and reasonableness of the work plan for conducting the research.
• Competence: The competence and skills of the participants in relation to the needs for conducting the research.
• Budgets and staffing: The reasonableness of budgeted costs and participants’ planned activities for conducting the research.

What happens after decisions have been made?

Decision and statement

When a decision has been made in respect of your application, it will be published in your Prisma account. You will receive an email when the decision is published. Applicants will also have access to the statement written by the review panel about their application. This can be found in Prisma on the “Applications” page under the “Details” button. You will also find the statement on the “Grants” page.

Terms and conditions for grants

In order to receive a grant from Forte, both the main applicant and the administrating organisation must sign the terms and conditions laid down in the call for proposals. The signing takes place in Prisma after a decision on the grant has been made. Forte’s general terms and conditions apply to this call for proposals.

Forte’s general terms and conditions for grants