SEK 118 million is to be awarded for new and important research in the social services sector. Twenty-two projects have been granted research funding under the national programme on applied welfare research.

The call for proposals titled “Applied welfare research 2019” was focused on the eight priority research areas set out in the programme’s strategic agenda. The research areas, which have been identified in consultation with practitioners and users, are areas with great need for knowledge. The research now being funded will therefore plug the real-life knowledge gaps in the social services sector.

The grants awarded include four research programmes, set to receive up to SEK 4 million per year over a six-year period – totalling up to SEK 24 million per programme. The aim is for the funding to help build up and improve research environments for the future. The grants will enable research teams to address new issues and work on them for a prolonged period of time.

The awards also include four postdoc grants, nine planning grants, two grants for systematic reviews and three grants for practice-oriented research fellows. In total, the call for proposals covered five different types of grants. Combining grants in this way is part of the programme’s long-term strategy to achieve its overall objective.

Teresia Weinberg, Senior Research Officer
Teresia Weinberg

“Every type of grant has potential to strengthen various aspects of research in the social services sector – from programme grants that will strengthen the research field in the long-term, to practice-oriented research fellows that will bring academia and practice closer to each other. Building up client-and-practice-oriented research in social services is complex, and this requires that we use different approaches”, says Teresia Weinberg, Senior Research Officer at Forte.

The programme on applied welfare research works towards a vision of more evidence-based social services that are better able to meet the challenges faced by society, social services and the people and relatives affected by their work. The programme is part of the Swedish Government’s initiative to meet major societal challenges through research and innovation. The next call for proposals under this programme is scheduled to open in November 2019. More information will be released shortly.

The page Grant decisions has a list of all the applications awarded grants in the “Applied welfare research 2019” call for proposals.