Impact of working life research 2026

Background and purpose

Forte intends to serve as a bridge between research, policy, and practice. The purpose of this call is to help ensure that research funded by the national research program for working life research is put into practical use for societal benefit. Research results and knowledge should lead to in-depth learning that can form the basis for evidence-based decision-making, changed behaviours, or improved ways of working.

Focus of the call

The application must clearly describe how the planned activities contribute to the practical use of scientific knowledge. This includes a description of existing knowledge in the field and how the proposed activity adds to it. The application must describe the societal need being addressed and how this has been identified in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. It should be clear how the needs and conditions of the target groups are considered, as well as their capacity to receive and use the knowledge.

The activities should be based on a plan to translate research into actionable solutions through learning, co-creation, or implementation. The application should also explain how the effects can be long-term and sustainable even after the project ends, and how the implementation is anchored in the organizations or contexts where the results are to be used. It should clearly state what measures are needed to ensure that the achieved results have impact, and which actors are responsible for keeping the results relevant and in use over time.

Competence and methodology are crucial for the research to be utilized. The application should specify what expertise is available or will be added to the project to support the utilization of the research. This may include expertise in areas such as pedagogy, communication, innovation, or change management. The choice of approach must be justified based on relevant theory or method.

Funding will not be granted for activities that are part of project plans in already approved projects/programs. The project must introduce new ideas or expanded initiatives that create added value. Funding will not be granted for projects that solely aim to produce and disseminate various forms of educational materials, films, or other editorial products without a clear plan for learning or change. Gender perspective must be considered in the project’s content or implementation, where applicable.

About the grant

The purpose of impact grants is to promote the dissemination and implementation of current research, so that it can be applied outside of the higher education institutions and therefore help provide solutions to current societal challenges.

Project duration

Funding may be sought for up to 2 years.

Funding amounts

There is no maximum amount for this type of grant, but a guideline is 1 000 000 SEK for a two-year project. The requested budget must be explained and justified in the application.

Staffing

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

Budget

For this call a budget of about SEK 8 million is available.

Eligibility requirements

Approved Grant in the NRP Working Life
The main applicant must be the project leader or a co-applicant in an ongoing or completed project or program that has received funding from the national research program for work life research. Only one application is allowed per previously approved project/program.

Doctoral degree
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.

Reporting for previous grants
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.

Number of applications

No more than one application per main applicant is permitted within this call for proposals. As a participating researcher you may participate in more than one application.

Important to know before you 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

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

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.

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

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.

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).

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.

The main applicant may invite a participating administrator to help them complete the application form. The administrator is not part of the project but has access to the draft application. A participating administrator cannot register the final version of an application and does not have access to the application once the final version has been registered in Prisma.

Requirements for different types of participants

Assessment

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.

Assessment criteria

Requirements

• Relevance to Forte: The project 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 project must be conducted in an ethical manner, and any ethical issues must be addressed in an appropriate way.

Societal relevance and utilisation

• Societal relevance: The societal challenges to which the project relates, how the project intends to help address these challenges, and how well the need for the project is described and justified

• Utilisation: In what way, and to what extent, the project is expected to lead to benefits in the short or long term. How well described the demand/need for the intended activity is and how well described and motivated the collaboration is with defined target groups

Feasibility

• Work plan: The clarity and reasonableness of the work plan for conducting the project.

• Competence: The competence and skills of the participants in relation to the needs for conducting the project.

• Budget and staffing: The reasonableness of budgeted costs and the participants’ planned activities for conducting the project.

Forte's processes for assessment and final decision

After the decision

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.

Forte's processes for assessment and final decision