Research-driven Solutions for a Sustainable Society 2024

WHAT CAN YOU APPLY FOR?
Projects that translate research results, along with knowledge and experience among end users, into sustainable solutions, processes or practices that can be implemented and achieve real-world impact and can result in economic, environmental, or social benefits. Projects must clearly contribute to the objectives and fall within one or more of the themes and perspectives highlighted in the national research programmes (Sustainable Spatial Planning, Food, Climate, and Oceans and Water).

WHO CAN APPLY?
Research-performing organisations, public organisations, companies (not sole proprietorships), and other organisations that meet Formas’ requirements for administrating organisations. At least one researcher who has completed their doctorate must participate in the project. Only multi-party applications with at least one party from the business sector, the public sector, or other organisation and at least one party from a higher education institution or research institute can receive funding.

HOW MUCH CAN YOU APPLY FOR?
The project duration is 1 or 2 years. You can apply for a maximum grant of SEK 2 million per 12-month period.

We face a long list of major and pressing challenges as we work to transition into a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable society. A key in this transition is multi-stakeholder collaboration to enable the translation of research findings and end-user knowledge and experience into solutions that have real-world impact.

The purpose of this call is to translate research findings into new sustainable solutions. These solutions, processes, or practices are to result from close collaboration between researchers and one or more end users and have the potential to create environmental, social, and/or economic benefits that support a sustainable transition. Therefore, Formas requires that there are at least two applicant parties: at least one must be from a higher education institution or research institute and at least one must be an end user from, for example, the public sector, business sector, or civil society. End users must have a clear need for and interest in the intended solution and actively participate in the project.

The projects must clearly contribute to the objectives and fall within one or more of the themes and perspectives highlighted in the national research programmes for Sustainable Spatial Planning, Food, Climate, and Oceans and Water. Summaries for each national research programme can be found below.

Grants can be applied for projects of 1 or 2 years (12 or 24 months), for a maximum of SEK 2 million per 12-month period, so a total maximum amount of SEK 4 million. Companies and other organisations engaged in economic activity wishing to apply for grants from Formas are subject to EU state aid rules, which specify co-funding requirements and aid intensity.

The total budget for the call is SEK 70 million.

Background
We face major challenges that must be resolved as we transition away from fossil fuels, adapting to climate change, and creating the conditions for socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable communities.

The 10-year national research programmes for Sustainable Spatial Planning, Food, Climate, and Oceans and Water aim at promoting the transition to a sustainable society and achieving significant real-world impact, meaning changes that benefit society. Each programme has a strategic agenda that serves as the basis for the actions the programme chooses to implement. Summaries of the programme goals, the prioritised themes and perspectives of the programmes, and links to each programme’s agenda are provided below.

Research is crucial for enabling the transition to a sustainable society, but it is within society that the challenges needing solutions are found. End users, such as public organisations, businesses, and the public, have important knowledge and experience to bring to the process of translating research into practice. This makes collaboration between researchers and end users vital in this work.

With this call, we want to enable collaboration between researchers and end users, with the goal of developing and testing new solutions, processes, or practices. Key for the success of this type of process is a shared commitment on the part of researchers and end users. The project participants must understand the contexts and systems in which the research findings will be used. This can involve needs, perspectives, requirements, and obstacles that must be understood and addressed to develop impactful solutions that enable long-term sustainable development.

Purpose and focus
The purpose of the call is to translate research results, knowledge, and experience from researchers and end users into solutions, processes, and practices that can have real-world impact for the intended target group and over time can contribute to achieving a sustainable society. End users can come from the public sector, civil society, or business. For this reason, the call places great emphasis on multi-stakeholder collaboration between academia (higher education institutions, research institutes or other research-conducting organisations) and end users to allow them to develop relevant solutions and processes that focus on increased sustainability.

For example, projects can develop solutions that involve policies, technologies, attitudes, drivers, or norms. Projects must fall under one or more of the themes and perspectives highlighted in the research agendas and clearly contribute to the goals for one or more of the national research programmes Sustainable Spatial Planning, Food, Climate, and Oceans and Water.

In the projects, researchers and end users must collaborate in a common process to further develop research finding, aiming to produce solutions or processes that can achieve real-world impact. Projects must enable solutions, processes, or practices that can be tested under realistic conditions together with relevant stakeholders. Projects should also investigate opportunities and obstacles for the solution’s real-world impact.

To emphasise the importance of societal relevance as an integral part of projects, the applicant in this call must define the project’s readiness level based on the scale for Societal Readiness Levels (SRL) (Societal readiness levelsExternal link.). This nine-point scale was developed by Innovation Fund Denmark to define the readiness of a project from a societal perspective. The intent is to more clearly connect the project to a societal challenge and demonstrate the need to include several areas of competence in the development of a solution, process, or practice. It is worth noting that SRLs may vary between countries and regions, so the applicant should indicate the current readiness level for the location in which the project is intended to be applied. The applicant’s self-assessment of the project level must be thoroughly explained. Applicants must also describe efforts in the project that would enable progressing to higher levels.

This call is only intended for applicants with projects at one of the readiness levels 3 to 5. The reason for this is that this call is intended to support processes that develop research results into a solution that can have real-world impact. The intention is not to support pure research projects nor to support projects that have progressed to the point of being implemented.

SRL levels:
SRL 1 – identifying problem and identifying societal readiness
SRL 2 – formulation of problem, proposed solution(s) and potential impact, expected societal readiness; identifying relevant stakeholders for the project
SRL 3 – initial testing of proposed solution(s) together with relevant stakeholders
SRL 4 – problem validated through pilot testing in relevant environment to substantiate proposed impact and societal readiness
SRL 5 – proposed solution(s) validated, now by relevant stakeholders in the area
SRL 6 – solution(s) demonstrated in relevant environment and in cooperation with relevant stakeholders to gain initial feedback on potential impact
SRL 7 – refinement of project and/or solution and, if needed, retesting in relevant environment with relevant stakeholders
SRL 8 – proposed solution(s) as well as a plan for societal adaptation complete and qualified
SRL 9 – actual project solution(s) proven in relevant environment
The complementary skills, participation, and the degree of collaboration among project participants must be based on the needs of the specific project. It is important that participants have both an understanding of the context in which the solution or process is to be used and a common interest in the expected results and impacts. Project activities are to be formulated in relation to the specific readiness and the specific challenges of each project.

Different solutions, processes, and practices can have different potential but also different opportunities for scaling up and dissemination. The applicant is to describe how the project’s proposed solutions can be scaled up and/or disseminated to relevant stakeholders to allow them to realistically contribute to the goals of the national research programmes. Scalability means the solution can be scaled up, used, and implemented in society. Dissemination means that the solution can be used in the same type or similar applications nationally and/or internationally.

Applicants must be able to clearly demonstrate that the solution meets a need of the end user and potentially other stakeholders and how it promotes the transition to a sustainable society. The project’s proposed solution should have a clear user perspective that strives to expand opportunities for impact and dissemination. Early-stage projects can describe the long-term plan for the solution, even if the project in the current phase tests preliminary solutions. For a project to be considered, applicants must clearly demonstrate that the sustainability perspective is an integral part of the project and how this will be followed up.

The composition of the project team and the activity level of the participants should provide the project with the best conditions for developing the described solution, process, or practice with potential for practical application. End users must have a clear need for and interest in the intended solution and actively participate in the project. This should be reflected in the project’s budget for each party and be visible in the implementation, for example in the design of the project’s work packages.

The research results or collective findings that underpin the solution should be of high quality. This means that they rest on a solid scientific foundation, have novelty value, have a level of innovation, and fill a gap for solutions within or outside Sweden.

The projects must contribute to the objectives within one or more of the national research programmes
The projects must fall within one or more of the themes and perspectives highlighted in the research agendas and clearly contribute to the objectives of one or more of the national research programmes for sustainable spatial planning, food, climate, and oceans and water.

National Research Programme for Food
The National Research Programme for Food was established to strengthen needs-driven research, promote the dissemination and commercialisation of research results, and increase competitiveness and profitability within the food system. Its purpose is to help increase productivity and innovation across the food chain and achieve sustainable food production and consumption.

The programme promotes a transition of the food system to one that is more sustainable from environmental, social, and economic perspectives, where long-term competitiveness is based on science-based knowledge and enhanced innovation for sustainably produced, healthy, tasty, and safe food for all.

The national research programme’s agenda aims to provide a direction for knowledge building and innovation to achieve a sustainable and competitive food system. Four themes have been defined that need to be interlinked and that need interaction. The programme’s four themes and six perspectives are listed below and are described in the programme’s strategic agenda, Towards a Sustainable and Competitive Food SystemExternal link..

Sustainable production systems
Good food for good health and the environment
Meals and the consumer
Innovative and safe food
The cross-cutting perspectives highlight key areas of development that can simultaneously act as drivers in the transition to a sustainable, competitive Swedish food system. The perspectives are: a system perspective, knowledge and skills development, governance and leadership, regional and global digitalisation and technology development, and gender equality and diversity.

National Research Programme for FoodExternal link.
National Research Programme on Climate
The National Research Programme on Climate creates favourable conditions that enable research and innovation to contribute to climate change adaptation, the transition to a fossil-free society, and attainment of climate goals nationwide and worldwide. The programme funds research and innovation within six key themes described in its agenda, Knowledge for a Climate TransformationExternal link..

Climate change is a complex challenge. We need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout society while more rapidly shifting from words to deeds through measures, changes in behaviour, and innovations. The public and intended users of novel research need to be involved in climate efforts, and it is essential that these efforts be perceived as fair and inclusive. We also need to better understand climate trends, the relationship of climate actions to other SDGs in the 2030 Agenda, and climate adaptation efforts.

The agenda identifies six themes:

Sustainable innovations for climate efforts
System-integrated knowledge of climate change, ecosystems, and society
Production and consumption in line with the climate goals
Governance for meeting the climate challenges
Economic and financial drivers for climate action
A democratic and just climate transformation
Each of these themes should be highlighted using the key perspectives of International Climate Efforts, Digitalisation, Synergies, and Conflict Goals in Sustainable Development Goals, and Gender Equality, Equity, and Diversity.

National Research Programme on ClimateExternal link.
National Research Programme for Sustainable Spatial Planning
The National Research Programme for Sustainable Spatial Planning funds research and innovation that can contribute to a transformative, sustainable built environment. We face major challenges, such as transitioning to a fossil-free society, adapting to climate change, and creating better conditions for socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable cities and communities. Boosting the transition capability of all stakeholders is central to achieving more sustainable spatial planning in practice.

In its agenda Research for Transformative and Sustainable Spatial PlanningExternal link., the National Research Programme for Sustainable Spatial PlanningExternal link. has identified a number of central themes and perspectives that should be prioritised in this transition. These themes and perspectives are based on the various challenges that the built environment and spatial planning currently face. More knowledge and new solutions are needed in these areas so that society can shift to transformative, sustainable spatial planning. The six themes identified are:

Sustainable residential and public environments
Sustainable mobility systems for all
Human health and well-being
Security and safety for people and societies
Sustainable consumption and production
Sustainable land and water use
Each of these themes should also be highlighted using five intersecting perspectives: Governance, policy and economics; Organisation, collaboration and leadership; Accessibility, equity and gender equality; Democracy and participation; Digitalisation and artificial intelligence.

National Research Programme for Sustainable Spatial PlanningExternal link.
National Research Programme on Oceans and Water
By funding research, innovation and other activities, the National Research Programme on Oceans and Water promotes a strategic, long-term approach to water that takes a holistic perspective. The programme will help address challenges in the marine and water environment nationally and enable synergies with Sweden’s various engagements in the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and the implementation of the UN Decade of Ocean Science.

The programme’s strategic agenda “Mobilisation for Healthy Oceans and WaterExternal link.” forms the basis for calls for proposals and other activities initiated within the National Research Programme on Oceans and Water. Healthy oceans and waters are needed to keep ecosystems in balance across the planet and achieve sustainable development throughout society. As such, there are many issues that the programme needs to address, and these have been condensed into three central themes in the agenda.

The agenda defines the following themes:

Strengthen the resilience of aquatic ecosystems. This includes the need for knowledge around complex and dynamic ecosystems and more effective environmental monitoring.
Develop sustainable water resource management. This includes our common water resource, sustainable water resource management in a changing climate, and our essential groundwater.
Boost society’s ability to act for sustainable oceans and water. This includes effective planning and management, community engagement and involvement in water-related issues, and initiatives for stimulating blue innovations.
Enabling a transformation in this area requires more effective regulations and permit procedures and more effective and enhanced water management. The programme thus intends to facilitate close collaboration between researchers and civil and public organisations.

National Research Programme on Oceans and Water