Leisure activities and environments - children's living conditions and health development 2026

Background and purpose

On behalf of the Swedish Government, Forte administers a ten-year National Research Programme on Children’s and Young People’s Living Conditions and Health Development (2024/25:60). This is the first call for proposals under the programme.

Ensuring good living conditions for children is a fundamental prerequisite for a socially sustainable society and for Sweden’s welfare and competitiveness. The knowledge gaps addressed by the programme have been identified through dialogues with researchers, public authorities, and other stakeholders expected to benefit from the research results.

The programme will fund research that addresses societal challenges such as health inequalities, social exclusion, and the increasing risk of involvement in criminal activities. Research funded through the programme is intended to contribute to evidence-based practice and policy, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and Sweden’s public health policy objectives.

Children’s living conditions and health development are shaped by a wide range of determinants, including lifestyle habits, parents’ living conditions, local factors, socioeconomic conditions, culture, the school environment, and other contextual factors. The aim of the Swedish public health policy is to create societal conditions for good and equitable health across the population and to eliminate avoidable health inequalities within one Consequently. The research programme focuses on promotional and preventive measures to create more equitable conditions for a healthy upbringing. To strengthen and highlight the child’s perspective, the programme takes as its starting point the environments in which children live their everyday lives.

Programme for children and young people’s living conditions and health development

Scope of the call

Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child has the right to rest, relax, play and to take part in cultural and creative activities. It is well known that safe environments and meaningful activities contribute to children’s health and development. The time children spend outside organised activities in preschool and school can therefore constitute a key protective factor, counteracting exclusion and improving life chances. At the same time, access to safe and stimulating environments is unevenly distributed among groups of children, due to their circumstances, functional abilities, socio-economic factors, housing and local environment, or other circumstances.

More knowledge is therefore needed on how all children can have leisure time with activities and environments that are perceived as meaningful, and which explore their preventive and compensatory potential. Projects may cover activities, conditions, environments, structural conditions and issues relating to children’s rights and participation, focusing on children aged 0–15 years and addressing one or more of the various types of environments and activities in which children are present and active. These are:

Leisure Activities and Environments

Leisure time with the family: Parents can facilitate, support and fund enriching leisure activities. Parents also play a key role in balancing structured activities with recreation, free play, rest and socialising. Factors that may be of significance include family structure, the cultural and geographical context, and socio-economic status.

Housing and the local environment: The design and size of the home, as well as the local environment, can contribute to or hinder accessible, stimulating and safe environments for, among other things, social interaction, play and spontaneous physical activity. The call for proposals welcomes research on how safe and developmental physical environments for children are created.

Digital spaces: A large part of children’s leisure time takes place in digital spaces, particularly through gaming and social media. These digital spaces can be a source of creativity and community, but can also lead to sedentary behaviour and difficulties with concentration. The call for proposals welcomes research that identifies risk and protective factors, and analyses how safe and stimulating digital environments for children are created.

Structured activities: Leisure activities may be structured and led by adults, for example within sports or cultural. They often take place within voluntary organisations but may also be provided by private actors.

Semi-structured activities: After-school leisure centres (fritidshem), youth clubs (fritidsklubbar), and summer camps (barnkolonier) are examples of activities staffed by professionals where children can socialise and choose among and explore different activities. Such activities may be organised in various ways and be run by different providers.

Structural preconditions: More knowledge is needed on how various structural factors enable or limit children’s access to activities, such as the introduction of the Leisure Card (Fritidskortet) or political decisions regarding the allocation of resources or other matters concerning environments where children spend their leisure time, such as sports facilities, cultural schools (kulturskolor), museums, and nature experiences.

Problem-solving research that makes a difference

The research funded must be of high scientific quality, address identified knowledge gaps, and is encouraged to encompass different disciplines, scientific expertise and have an international dimension.

The programme seeks research that is

1) analytical and mechanistic; aimed at analysing and explaining relationships and identifying the mechanisms behind them

2) problem-solving; with a clear ambition to contribute to identifying and evaluating solutions to the societal problems under study. Knowledge needs in the area of children’s leisure time are described in the report Fritidens betydelse för ungas psykiska hälsa – rättigheter, möjligheter och hinder - Forte External link..

Please note that Forte does not fund clinical (medical) treatment studies or biomedical (preclinical) research. For further information please see Scope of Forte's funding within the health area - Forte.

Collaboration between research and society

Research funded under this call must be planned and carried out in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. These may include, for example, professions, user and interest organisations, clients and service users, voluntary organisations, labour market parties, municipalities, regions, government agencies and actors conducting activities and interventions within the focus of the call. The purpose of collaboration is to enhance the quality and relevance of the research and ensure that research results are put to practical use and benefit.

Collaboration can take different forms and vary in depth. It may involve consultation with relevant partners, giving them the opportunity to influence the design and implementation of the research. Collaboration can also involve more active cooperation, where partners participate in planning and conducting the research. The research may even be carried out in partnership with several or all actors affected by the research question. An in-depth form of collaboration is called co-creation. To describe collaboration as co-creation, the involved stakeholders involved must be genuinely engaged in all or several parts of the research process. The degree of collaboration should be guided by the focus and questions of the research and contribute to higher quality, relevance and potential for utilisation of the research conducted within the project.

It may be difficult to specify methods and approaches for collaboration in the application, as these should be developed in dialogue with those who will be involved in the project. However, the application should describe the approaches being considered and the process for involving the various actors.

More on Forte's perspective on collaboration in research

About the 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 3 years.

Funding amounts

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

Budget of the call

For this call a budget of about SEK 110 million is available.

Number of applications

No more than one application per main applicant is permitted within this call for proposals.

Eligibility requirements

To apply for a grant under this call for proposals, you must hold a doctoral degree that has been issued no later than the closing date of the call.

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.

Staffing

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).

For this grant type, the main applicant may also invite participating researchers to the application. Participating researchers are other researchers (with a doctoral degree) who are crucial for the implementation of the project.

It is also possible to include other participants in the project, they 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 collaboration partners or doctoral students who will participate in the project.

You may also invite a participating administrator to help you complete the application form.

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.

Aspects of defense and security policy must always be taken into account in international research collaboration. The research must also be relevant to Sweden and Swedish conditions, and this must be explained and justified in the application.

Forte's guidelines for international research

Open access and data management

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 deducted 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 and the recommendations for FAIR. Research data should be made accessible according to the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”.

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, basic project information and abstracts in Swedish and English will be published in open databases without a confidentiality assessment.

How do I prepare for the application?

All applications are to be submitted via the Prisma application and review system.

Before starting your application, please ensure that the following is in place:

• As the main applicant, you have a personal account in Prisma with your CV and publication details saved.
• Any participating researchers have personal accounts in Prisma with their CVs and publication details saved.
• The administrating organisation (for example, a higher education institution) has an organisational account in Prisma and is approved by Forte. Information for administrating organisations

Language

The applications are reviewed by international experts. Your application should therefore be written in English, apart from fields where Swedish is specifically requested. If the application is submitted in Swedish, the quality of the assessment may be compromised. Forte is not responsible for the quality of any translations.

Use of AI tools

If you use AI tools in the preparation of your application, this must be done in accordance with Forte’s guidelines for the use of AI tools.

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 holds 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 scope 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 research must be relevant in relation to Forte’s areas and the scope 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, material and methods
  The clarity and coherence in the description and justification of the research’s 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.

• 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 under “Applications and grants”. Click the “Details” button and then “Deed”.

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