A total of 770 applications were received in Forte’s annual call for project grants 2022. Some 100 experts working in 11 review panels are now assessing and prioritising the applications. Forte’s coordinating Senior Research Officer Sofie Wallerström explains the process.

Sofie Wallerström, coordinator for the annual call for project grants

On 3 February, Forte closed its annual call for project grants 2022. The call for applications has a total funding allocation of SEK 318 million over a three-year period. The review process is now underway to assess which applications will be awarded funding.

But what actually happens to your application after it has been registered in Prisma?

Our Senior Research Officer Sofie Wallerström, who coordinates the annual call for project grants, explains.

How your application is processed

1. Verifying the fulfilment of formal requirements

We first check that your application falls within the remit of Forte and fulfils the requirements of the call for applications. In total, we are 13 research officers and research administrators involved in the process. If your application does not fulfil the requirements, it will be rejected. Applications fulfilling the requirements will be forwarded to one of Forte’s review panels for evaluation and assessment. Of the 770 applications received in this call for applications, 746 have been forwarded on for assessment.

2. Evaluation of applications

The approved applications are distributed among the different Forte review panels according to the particular focus as indicated by the applicant. In exceptional cases, an application may be reassigned to a different review panel. The review panels are composed of Nordic researchers and public representatives with broad expertise in the areas dealt with by the review panel.

This call for applications is an annual event and many of the members of the review panels have previous experience in reviewing applications for Forte. For each review panel, there is a research officer at Forte who coordinates the work and provides support to the chair of the panel and its other members.

The evaluation of applications under the annual call for applications for project grants takes place in two stages. Each member reads and assesses all applications assigned to their review panel. The review panels then meet on two occasions to discuss and prioritise the applications within the review panel. The first review panel meetings take place in the spring. In August/September, the review panels meet again to prepare a draft decision.

Review panels for the annual call for project grants »

3. Decisions

In October, the Forte Board decides which applications will receive funding. The applicants will be notified of the decision via Prisma.