Visiting researcher grants USA 2026

Background and purpose

This call is intended for researchers at a Swedish research institution who plan to invite a researcher affiliated with a research institution in the United States. The grant is applied for by the person at the Swedish host institution who has the main responsibility for the visiting researcher’s stay in Sweden.

The aim of the visiting researcher grant USA is to promote development, collaboration, and learning, as well as to exchange knowledge and experience between the American and Swedish research communities within Forte’s areas of responsibility.

Focus of the call

The call is open to applications within Forte’s main fields: health, working life and welfare.

Forte's fields of research

The grant is intended to support a stay for research collaboration, exchange of experience and learning. The application must clearly state how the requested grant will strengthen the research or research environment to which the application refers.

About the grant

The purpose of visiting researcher grants is to strengthen the quality and relevance of Swedish research and to increase its international dissemination through an exchange of experiences between the Swedish and the international research community.

The application must be submitted by the person at the Swedish host institution who has the primary responsibility for the visiting researcher’s stay in Sweden. That person represents the visiting researcher in all contacts with Forte.

Project duration

The grant can be applied for a period of at least 6 months and a maximum of 1 year.

Funding amounts

You can apply for a maximum of SEK 2 million in the visiting researcher grant. 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 type of grant, you are the sole applicant. Therefore, you cannot invite participating researchers to the application.

Budget

For this call a budget of about SEK 10 million is available.

Eligibility requirements - Doctoral degree

To apply for a grant under this call for proposals, both the applicant and the visiting researcher must have obtained a doctoral degree no later than the closing date of the call for proposals.

Number of applications

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

Participating administrator

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.

Important to know before you apply

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

• The main applicant has created a personal account in the Prisma application system External link.
• The main applicant has 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. Forte's criteria 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.

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

International research

Applications in this call must follow Forte’s guidelines for international research.

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.

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 and the visiting researcher 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

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

Scientific quality

• The clarity and coherence in the description and justification of the research in all relevant parts.

Societal relevance and utilisation

• The societal relevance of the research and the potential for utilisation and dissemination of the research.

Feasibility

• The reasonableness of the work plan, budgeted costs and the participants’ competence for conducting the research.

Internationalisation

• The importance of the visit for incorporating knowledge from the international research community into Swedish research and for disseminating Swedish research abroad.

Forte's processes for assessment and final decision

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.