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RFPs: Research Environment Grant for Humanities and Social Sciences (Sweden)

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Deadline: 18-Aug-2026

The Swedish Research Council supports long-term collaborative research in humanities and social sciences through a research environment grant scheme. The grant funds larger, interdisciplinary, and inter-institutional projects involving three to seven qualified researchers working toward a shared long-term scientific objective. Annual funding ranges from 1,500,000 SEK to 3,000,000 SEK, including indirect costs, for the full project duration.

Overview

The Swedish Research Council provides funding to strengthen long-term research collaboration in the humanities and social sciences.

The grant is designed for larger and more challenging research projects that require cooperation across disciplines, universities, research institutions, or international organisations.

The scheme supports strong research environments where several researchers work collectively toward a shared scientific goal.

Purpose of the Grant

The purpose of the research environment grant is to build and strengthen collaborative research groups in humanities and social sciences.

The grant supports projects that are too large or complex for a single researcher to carry out alone. It is intended for research that requires combined expertise, interdisciplinary methods, and long-term cooperation between multiple researchers and institutions.

Key Focus Areas

The grant focuses on humanities and social sciences, long-term collaborative research, interdisciplinary research, inter-institutional cooperation, research environment development, national and international research collaboration, strong research groups, shared scientific objectives, and larger research projects requiring coordinated expertise.

What Is a Research Environment Grant?

A research environment grant is funding designed to support a group of researchers working together on a common research objective.

Unlike smaller individual research grants, this scheme supports broader research environments where multiple researchers contribute different areas of expertise.

The goal is to create conditions for high-quality research that benefits from collaboration, shared methods, strong project organisation, and long-term scientific planning.

Funding Amount

The annual funding range is between 1,500,000 SEK and 3,000,000 SEK.

This amount includes indirect costs and applies for the full duration of the project.

The Swedish Research Council normally funds up to 80 percent of salaries for researchers involved in the project.

Research Team Requirements

Each project must include a minimum of three and a maximum of seven researchers in total.

The research team must include:

All researchers must hold a doctoral degree or have equivalent competence.

The combined expertise of the research team must be necessary for carrying out the project.

Collaboration Requirements

The grant encourages collaboration between researchers from different disciplines, universities, institutions, or countries.

Participating researchers may be affiliated with:

Their roles must be clearly described in the research plan. Each researcher’s contribution should be meaningfully integrated into the project design, methodology, implementation, and expected results.

Who Is Eligible?

Eligible applicants must meet the following requirements:

The applicant is responsible for leading and coordinating the research environment and ensuring that the project is implemented according to the approved plan.

Who Can Participate as Researchers?

Participating researchers must hold a doctoral degree or equivalent competence.

They may come from different universities, research institutions, or international organisations.

Their expertise must be essential to the project and clearly connected to the research objectives.

Participating researchers should not be included only for symbolic collaboration. Their roles must be active, relevant, and justified in the application.

Why It Matters

This grant matters because humanities and social sciences research often requires broad perspectives, long-term collaboration, and strong institutional support.

Large-scale research questions may involve several disciplines, methods, regions, datasets, languages, historical contexts, or theoretical approaches.

By funding research environments, the Swedish Research Council helps researchers build stronger teams, develop deeper collaboration, and produce research with long-term academic and societal value.

The scheme also supports national and international cooperation, allowing researchers to address complex questions that cannot be fully explored through isolated individual projects.

What the Application Must Include

Applications must provide structured and clear information about the research project, research team, funding situation, and societal relevance.

Key application components include:

How to Apply

Applicants should prepare a complete application that clearly explains the research objective, team structure, collaboration model, budget, and long-term value of the project.

Step 1: Define the Long-Term Scientific Objective

Start by identifying the central research objective.

The objective should be ambitious, clear, and suitable for a larger collaborative project in humanities or social sciences.

It should explain why the research requires multiple researchers and why a research environment grant is appropriate.

Step 2: Build the Research Team

Create a team of three to seven researchers, including the applicant.

The team should include researchers whose expertise is essential to the project.

Each participant’s role should be clearly connected to the research plan.

Step 3: Confirm Institutional Affiliation

The applicant must be affiliated with an approved Swedish administrating organisation.

The organisation must formally endorse the application.

The applicant must also remain employed by the administrating organisation throughout the grant period.

Step 4: Prepare the Research Plan

The research plan should explain:

Step 5: Prepare the Abstract

The abstract should clearly summarise the project for academic review.

It should include:

Step 6: Write the Popular Science Description in Swedish

Applicants must include a Swedish-language popular science description.

This section should explain the project in accessible language and describe its relevance, value, and societal importance.

It should be understandable to non-specialist readers.

Step 7: Disclose Related Funding

Applicants must disclose any ongoing, overlapping, or related funding applications or grants.

If the applicant has submitted similar or connected applications, they must explain the relationship between them and justify why multiple submissions are necessary.

Step 8: Prepare the Budget

The requested funding should fall within the annual range of 1,500,000 SEK to 3,000,000 SEK, including indirect costs.

The budget should be realistic and clearly linked to the project’s activities, staffing, collaboration, and implementation needs.

Step 9: Submit the Endorsed Application

Submit the completed application through the required system with all necessary sections, documents, and endorsements from the Swedish administrating organisation.

Tips for a Strong Application

A strong application should show why the project needs a collaborative research environment rather than individual research funding.

Applicants should:

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Applicants should avoid weak or unclear collaboration structures.

Common mistakes include:

FAQ

1. What is the Swedish Research Council Research Environment Grant?

It is a grant that supports long-term collaborative research in humanities and social sciences by funding larger projects involving several researchers and institutions.

2. What fields does the grant support?

The grant supports research in humanities and social sciences. It is intended for projects that require interdisciplinary or inter-institutional cooperation.

3. How much funding is available?

The annual grant amount ranges from 1,500,000 SEK to 3,000,000 SEK, including indirect costs, for the full duration of the project.

4. How many researchers must be involved?

Each project must include at least three and no more than seven researchers in total, including the applicant and participating researchers.

5. Who can apply as the main applicant?

The applicant must hold a Swedish doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign qualification awarded no later than the application deadline. The applicant must also be affiliated with an approved Swedish administrating organisation.

6. Can international researchers participate?

Yes. Participating researchers may be affiliated with international universities, institutions, or organisations, as long as their contributions are clearly integrated into the research plan.

7. What must the application include?

The application must include an abstract, research plan, project organisation, timeline, Swedish-language popular science description, information on related funding, and details explaining the roles of participating researchers.

Conclusion

The Swedish Research Council Research Environment Grant offers major support for ambitious humanities and social sciences research that depends on collaboration across disciplines, institutions, and countries. With annual funding of 1,500,000 SEK to 3,000,000 SEK, the grant helps build strong research environments, support larger scientific projects, and promote long-term academic cooperation. Applicants should submit a well-structured proposal that clearly demonstrates the need for collaboration, the strength of the research team, and the project’s scientific and societal value.

For more information, visit Swedish Research Council.

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