Open science
The results of publicly funded research must be accessible to everyone. Forte, like other national research funders, has been mandated by the Swedish Government to advance and support the transition to open science.
Transition through collaboration
In January 2024, the National Library of Sweden presented national guidelines for open science. Forte is working to ensure that the priority areas of the guidelines are put into practice, with a clear focus on achieving open access to scientific publications. For example, we contribute to the costs of publishing agreements with publishers that operate exclusively through open access, and we also take other measures to ensure that the costs associated with open access publishing are not borne by readers or individual authors.
Our work towards the transition to open science is largely carried out in collaboration with other authorities and stakeholders, including other research funders, the National Library of Sweden, and the Swedish Association of Universities and Higher Education (SUHF).
It is of great importance that we, the involved stakeholders, can collaborate within the publishing landscape and drive change forward.
Jonas Björck
Director General at Forte
Internationally, Sweden has made significant progress in the transition to open access, and Forte is actively involved both in the European Commission’s working group to develop the Open Research Europe (ORE) publishing platform and in Coalition S, which works towards immediate open access to research findings.
Guidelines for researchers funded by Forte
Another way to drive development and transition is by setting requirements for the researchers we fund. Research results funded from 2021 onwards must be published with open access. Full open access to research data must be implemented by 2026 at the latest.
- Guidelines for publication with open access
- Recommendations for open access to research data
National guidelines for open science
The National Library of Sweden, on behalf of the government, has developed national guidelines for open science. The guidelines are intended to serve as support and guidance for the key stakeholders in Sweden who play an important role in the transition to open science.
The guidelines cover the following six areas, in which development is ongoing and which therefore are prioritised and crucial to fully develop in Sweden:
- Open access to scholarly publications
- Open access to research data
- Open research methods
- Open educational resources
- Public engagement in science
- Infrastructures supporting open science
Contact information
Tove Hammarberg
Last published: 29 April 2025
Our mission
Forte supports and funds research in health, working life, and welfare – and works to ensure that research benefits society.
National research programmes
Forte manages five ten-year national research programmes aimed at strengthening key knowledge areas, closing critical gaps, and increasing the impact of research in society.
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Funding
Forte funds research within three main fields: health, working life and welfare. We fund both basic and needs-driven research