The national programme on applied welfare research welcomes proposals within eight priority areas. The call offers three types of grants. In total, around SEK 160 million is reserved for the period 2021-2026.

Focus area

This call welcomes proposals for client and practice-oriented research within the social services sector. The focus of the call is based on eight prioritised areas, presented in the strategic agenda of the programme:

  • The effects of interventions
  • Methods for needs assessment for individuals
  • Early/preventive measures of the social services
  • Implementation and change management
  • Coherent service provision initiatives
  • User participation
  • Digitalisation and welfare technology
  • Non-profit and entrepreneurial providers of social services

For more information about the prioritised areas, please see the following documents:

Strategic research agenda for the national applied welfare research programme »

Analysis by Forte and SBU on research needs regarding social services »

Grant types

  • Project grants (2-4 years) Project grants are grants for individual research projects. The research projects should be based on the questions and needs of the profession and those of the users/clients. Consequently, research projects are to be carried out in collaborations with social services, e.g. through regional support and collaboration structures (RSS), local research and development units, managers and personell.
  • Programme grant (6 years) Programme grants aim to strengthen applied welfare research on a long-term basis and enable the development of research environments within the topics stated above. This effort will enable research groups to address new issues and process them for a longer period.
  • International Postdoc (2 years) will give researchers who recently have completed their PhD to proceed their research career. Applicants must have completed their PhD max two years before the deadline of the call. The international postdoc grant is available for both incoming and outgoing researchers.

The administering organisation must have an account

To be able to apply for a grant, a Swedish university or another research funding body must administrate the funding and have an organisational account in Prisma. The administering organisation should apply for this in due time via Prisma.

Forte’s criteria for administering organisations »

Time plan

The call closes: 9 February 2021, at 14:00
Forte’s board decides on funding: May 2021
Project start: 1 July 2021