Research centre grants 2025

Background and purpose

This call aims to, in the long-term, promote high-quality research that addresses pressing societal challenges within four thematic tracks. The goal is to strengthen or develop dynamic and robust research environments that, through outstanding scientific contributions, meet society’s knowledge needs and generate significant societal impact.

The ability of research to tackle complex questions related to major societal challenges is closely linked to the opportunity of strong research environments to conduct large-scale, interdisciplinary collaborations over longer periods of time. Therefore, Forte recognises the need to support such environments at Swedish higher education institutions (HEIs). These environments take time to build and require long-term, stable, and predictable research funding.

A strong research environment provides a productive ground for high-quality, innovative and in-depth research that applies a range of approaches and methods. It should push the boundaries of existing knowledge while also providing space to challenge prevailing assumptions. The research should be carried out in collaboration with relevant societal actors, and be communicated to the wider community—this enhances both the quality and relevance of the research, thereby increasing its potential for impact.

High-quality research and engagement with society attract leading researchers from around the world, fostering learning and skills development. This, in turn, creates an open and dynamic research culture where new ideas can be explored. A strong research environment is multifaceted, international, and gender-equal.

Focus of the call

Research centre grants are awarded to outstanding research environments at HEIs that are, or have strong potential to become, nationally distinguished or internationally recognised. The aim of the grant is to strengthen and develop these research environments so they can attract top-level expertise and establish significant collaborations both within and beyond academia, thereby enhancing their ability to conduct innovative and societally relevant research of high quality.

Research agenda, organisation and leadership
The research conducted at the centres should be guided by a clearly articulated research agenda with high ambitions, both in terms of scientific development and quality, as well as the capacity to generate knowledge and identify solutions to pressing societal challenges. Each centre should have a clear strategy for achieving the goals outlined in its research agenda, while maintaining sufficient flexibility to pursue, test and refine new ideas. The research centre’s organisational structure should support strategic academic leadership and ensure that research is conducted in alignment with the centre’s agenda. It should enable different components of the centre to work cohesively towards a shared goal. The leadership must have a clear mandate to make the decisions necessary for effective management. The centre should also establish clear, measurable goals that can be monitored throughout the grant period to allow for ongoing evaluation and the adjustment of strategies as needed.

Impact and collaboration
Research must be carried out in collaboration with relevant stakeholders outside academia, as this increases the likelihood of the research being utilised. Collaboration may take various forms but should involve the inclusion of relevant societal actors in the research. The actors may for instance be involved in the planning, design, data collection and analysis, interpretation, dissemination and/or the implementation of results. Co-creation methods, which involve a particularly high degree of collaboration, are also welcome. A well-justified plan should be provided for how collaboration will be conducted throughout the research and with whom. Relevant actors may include organisations in the private, public, and civil sectors that are affected by the centre's research and have an interest in its results. Costs for the participation of collaborative partners should be included in the centre’s budget. To further enhance the conditions for communication and utilisation of research results, an appropriate plan must also be in place for how results will be disseminated to relevant target groups.

Platform for cooperation
The research centres are expected to constitute a platform for cooperation between researchers with diverse perspectives and areas of expertise, where they may work together in accordance with the centre’s research agenda. Research within the centres should be conducted through multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration, applying varied scientific perspectives and methods. The application must clearly describe how such an approach will help address complex research challenges and generate societal impact. Where relevant, sex and gender perspectives should be integrated in the research, and addressed for instance in the research questions, methods, analyses or results. International research collaboration is also encouraged to bring knowledge and expertise from the global research community into the centre. In particular, visiting researchers from universities in the United States are encouraged and can be funded through the grant. The research team should include a mix of senior and junior researchers to ensure knowledge transfer and the long-term development of the field. A gender-balanced composition of participating researchers is also expected.

Location and composition of the centre
The research centres must be based at a Swedish HEI. To ensure close and active cooperation, the majority of participating researchers must be employed at the host institution, defined as at least two-thirds of the budgeted salary costs for academic personnel (excluding societal collaboration partners). In addition, researchers based at other universities or research organisations may be included to bring in essential expertise. If necessary to create a strong research environment, several research organisations may jointly apply to establish a distributed centre. In such cases, it is essential that the centre functions as an integrated environment with a research agenda and close, active cooperation. Applications for distributed centres must be coordinated by a single HEI. The majority of participating researchers in a distributed centre must be employed at the participating research organisations, calculated in the same way as described above.

HEI commitment
Research centres are expected to engage with their immediate academic surroundings, meaning there should be mutual exchange with other parts of the host institution. This could include joint seminars, collaboration in postgraduate and/or doctoral education, or other initiatives that benefit both the centre and other parts of the HEI.

There are no formal co-funding requirements, but Forte expects that funded environments will also be capable of attracting additional and complementary funding to support centre activities.

Research centre grants are issued within four thematic tracks. Read a description of the respective tracks on the pages below:

• Women’s health and diseases
• Health care and social care for people living with dementia
• Return to work
• Severe mental illnesses

About the grant

Research centre grants aim to develop strong and dynamic research environments that, through outstanding scientific contributions, address society’s knowledge needs and create significant impact. The grant will make it possible to explore complex societal challenges from different perspectives over a longer period of time.

Project duration

Research centre grants have a duration of ten years, but funding decisions will initially be made for a period of six years. After a scientific mid-term evaluation, a new decision will be made regarding funding for the remaining grant period.

Funding amounts

The maximum amount that can be applied for varies between the four tracks of the call. The maximum amounts listed below apply to a period of ten years. It is possible to apply for varying amounts between the years, but the total amount cannot exceed the specified maximum amount over the total ten-year period. The requested amount per year should reflect how the funds are planned to be used. Please note that the maximum amount includes so called indirect costs/overheads (OH). Applications that exceed the specified limit will be rejected.

• Women’s health and diseases: 120 million SEK
• Health care and social care for people living with dementia: 100 million SEK
• Return to work: 83 million SEK
• Severe mental illnesses: 80 million SEK

Number of applications

Only one application per principal applicant organisation is allowed in each track within this call. It is not permitted to submit the same or similar applications in multiple tracks. It is also not allowed to submit the same or similar applications with different principal applicant organisations. In case of violation, all affected applications may be refused or rejected.

Important to know before you apply

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

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

Please refer to the document Instructions for the application form Pdf, 271.4 kB. when completing your application.

To apply for a grant as an organisation

This is a call for proposals where applications are submitted by organisations. In this call, Swedish higher education institutions may apply for funding. Organisational calls are only visible to users who are logged in with an organisation account in the application and review system Prisma. Only the organisation account supervisor (organisationskontoansvarig) or application coordinator (ansökningsansvarig) can initiate an application in Prisma.

The person who initiates the application can subsequently invite a project leader (i.e., the person intended to lead the research centre) to complete the application content. Furthermore, researchers with leadership responsibility for sub-projects or work packages within the research centre should be invited as participating researchers in Prisma (a maximum of 10 participating researchers may be included). Other participants should be described in the application but should not be invited as participating researchers in Prisma.

More detailed instructions for organisation applications can be found in the Prisma user manual on the page: Calls for organisations External link.

Eligibility requirements for the project leader

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

Reporting for previous grants
The project leader 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.

Terms and conditions for grants

In order to receive a grant from Forte, the organisation account supervisor or application coordinator 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. In addition, specific conditions apply regarding the scientific evaluation of the research centre and the decision on continued funding for years 7–10.

Forte’s general terms and conditions for grants

The use of AI tools

AI is a powerful tool that, when used responsibly, can streamline the research process, including the application procedure. As an applicant, you are responsible for ensuring that the content of your application is accurate and that the research can be carried out as described. The use of generative AI may pose risks, such as plagiarism, false, manipulated, or otherwise incorrect information, which must not be included in an application.

If artificial intelligence is used substantially in your research (e.g., for data interpretation or literature reviews), it should be described in the application as you would describe any other research method.

Guidelines for the use of AI tools

International research

Applications with an international element must follow Forte’s guidelines for international research. Forte views international research collaborations positively. Forte’s areas of research cover complex societal challenges where international research collaboration and researcher mobility can provide important contributions. Defence and security policy aspects must always be taken into account in international research collaboration.

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.

This call particularly encourages visiting researchers from universities in the United States, which can be funded through the grant.

Guidelines for international research

Open access

By accepting grants from Forte, the main applicant also accepts Forte’s guidelines for publication with open access. Forte does not cover the costs of open access publication within the research grants we award. In cases where publication costs are included in the application, such costs will be deleted from any grant awarded.

Guidelines for publication with open access

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.

Language

Since applications are reviewed by international experts, your application should be written in English (apart from fields where Swedish is specifically requested). Forte is not responsible for the quality of any translations.

Assessment

The following conditions will be checked in this call for applications:

• The project leader has been awarded a doctoral degree
• The project leader 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). See the section Women’s Health and Diseases for the particular rules that apply to that track.
• The budget in the application is within the maximum grant amount specified for each track in the call
• That the principal applicant organisation has not submitted more than one application per track
• That the same or similar applications are not submitted in multiple tracks
• That the same or similar applications are not submitted with different principal applicant organisations

If the application does not fulfil the conditions, it will be refused or rejected.

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 aim is that the research centres awarded funding within each track should differ thematically. Therefore, the thematic focus of the applications will be considered when funding decisions are made.

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 (see the section Women’s health and diseases for the particular rules that apply to that track).
• 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, 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.

Organisation and leadership

• The centre’s organisation promotes clear and cohesive leadership of its activities, in line with its research agenda.

Long-term knowledge development

• The centre’s significance for long-term knowledge development.

Decision and statement

When a decision has been made in respect of the application, it will be published in the organisation’s Prisma account, under “The organisation’s applications”. On the same page, it is also possible to access the statement written by the review panel regarding the application.