We are now awarding research grants to 92 research projects, junior researchers and postdocs who applied in Forte’s annual open call for proposals for 2019. In total, the funding adds up to SEK 322 million and will help to strengthen research on health, working life and welfare on a broad front.

Forte’s board has decided that grants will be awarded to 70 research projects, 10 junior researchers and 12 postdocs who applied in the annual open call for proposals for 2019. Grants have been awarded to 92 of the more than 1,000 applications received.

Forte’s annual open call for proposals is a broad call which welcomes all applications that fall within Forte’s overall remit of health, working life and welfare. This wide range is also reflected in the successful applications. The research covers everything from family policy, mental health and safe childbirth to traffic noise and exposure to incineration particles.

The number of applications received, 1,037, was the lowest for several years. This downward trend is in fact positive, says Forte’s Head of Research and Evaluation, Cecilia Beskow.

Cecilia Beskow, Head of Research and Evaluation

“Applying for a research grant takes a lot of time and the competition is tough. In recent years Forte has sought to limit the number of applications per researcher. The aim is to focus on the quality of the applications received rather than the quantity. Also, more thematic calls for proposals have siphoned off some of the pressure on the annual open call.”

Compared with last year’s open call for proposals, the reduction is mainly seen in applications for project grants – from 832 applications in 2018 to 686 in 2019. This also means that the success rate, i.e. the proportion of applications received which are awarded a grant, is higher than last year. This year 10.2 percent of applications for project grants (excluding junior researcher grants) were successful compared with 9.1 percent in 2018.

59 percent of the grants were awarded to women and 41 percent to men. The successful applications are spread across 18 educational establishments and organisations in Sweden. The highest number of grants went to researchers from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm University and the University of Gothenburg.

The page Grant decisions has a list of all approved applications in the annual open call for proposals 2019.