Forms of support
The Foundation works with several different forms of support. Three types of grants predominate: strategic research centres, framework grants and individual grants to leading researchers.
The period of the grant is normally three to six years.
Strategic research centres
A strategic research centre is characterised by the fact that several independent, preferably co-located research groups at a university or a research institute collaborate to solve an important research problem under the strong, uniting leadership of a centre director. The director is assisted by a steering committee and a scientific advisory committee.
Framework grants
A number of researchers from a large research group or from a few independent research groups, co-located or at different universities or institutes, collaborate to solve an important research problem.
One of the researchers is the chief applicant and is responsible for coordinating the scientific activities within the project. If the chief applicant is active at a research institute, at least one of the co-applicants must work at a university. A programme committee consisting of experts from both academia and industry follow and support the projects within the relevant programme.
The programme Future research leaders
The purpose of this programme is to identify and support young, particularly promising researchers with leadership potential and offer them grants to put together their own internationally competitive research groups. The programme also includes special leadership training for the grant recipients.
The programme Ingvar Carlsson Award
The purpose of this programme is to give homecoming postdocs an opportunity to launch their own independent and creative research careers in Sweden. This programme also includes leadership training.
International cooperation
International cooperation is of great importance for maintaining and raising the scientific quality of the supported research. The Foundation therefore considers it an important task to promote cooperation between leading Swedish and foreign research groups. Cooperation agreements exist with Japanese organisations, among others.