Thematic track: Women’s health and diseases

Women’s health and diseases is one of four thematic tracks in the call Research centre grants 2025. The overall focus of the call applies to the track.

About this track

• Maximum amount that can be applied for: 120 million SEK
• Budget: For this track the established budget for six years is 255 million SEK, and the estimated budget for ten years is 480 million SEK.
• Project start: 1 December 2025

In the 2024 Research and Innovation Bill, the Swedish Government announced a dedicated investment in women's health and diseases, to be shared by Forte and the Swedish Research Council. As a result, Forte and the Swedish Research Council are now launching a joint call for research centre grants focused on women's health and diseases.

A recent report produced by Forte and the Swedish Research Council highlights several significant knowledge gaps. More research is needed about the onset, mechanisms, prevention, treatment, care, and rehabilitation of women’s health conditions and diseases. More research is also needed on causes and explanations for socioeconomic and other inequalities in women’s health. Moreover, knowledge is required from a life-course perspective, encompassing women of all ages, including children, adolescents, and older women. The term “women” therefore also includes girls.

This track covers two overarching areas:

• Diseases and health conditions that are unique to, or more common among, women
• Maternal health and equitable maternity care, including postnatal care

There is no precise definition of what constitutes “more common”, which is why this should be justified in the application. Research about conditions that contribute to a higher burden of disease among women may also be relevant. Centres must have a clearly defined thematic focus within these two areas, and the overall aim of the research should be to improve women’s health. The thematic scope of the centres may vary depending on current state-of-the-art and practical relevance. Thus, we expect the proposed centres to vary in scope and size, and it is important that the amount of funding requested corresponds to the magnitude and complexity of the proposed activities.

As this initiative is a collaboration between Forte and the Swedish Research Council, the centres’ activities must encompass, link or integrate both preclinical or clinical research and care or public health research. There are no specific guidelines regarding the balance between these areas; instead, the composition should be justified based on scientific and practical relevance.

Achieving equitable health outcomes for all women requires an understanding of how differences in living conditions and health are linked to factors such as race/ethnicity, disability, class, age, sexuality, and religion or other belief systems. Including multidimensional perspectives on women's circumstances is therefore a key aspect of strengthening the knowledge base on women's health and disease, and of improving the overall quality of research.