Make sure you fulfil our requirements
Read what the requirements are for you to be eligible to apply for a grant. They can, for example, relate to career age, focus, activity level, or collaboration. The requirements are always shown in the specific call text. We carry out checks and will reject applications that do not fulfil the formal requirements for the call.
General information about our requirements
You are responsible for ensuring your application is correctly filled in
Follow the instructions in the call text and in this Guide for applicants about what the application shall include, and how different sections and appendices shall be designed. It is your responsibility to ensure the application form is correctly filled in, and that you have attached the correct appendices. If an application is not completed according to our instructions, this will be weighed into the assessment.
Follow good research practice when drawing up the application
We assume that you as applicant will comply with good research practice when drawing up your application. This means that you do not include false, manipulated, invented or otherwise incorrect information, or that you leave out significant information. This applies to all parts of the application; for example that the merits listed are true, that the research plan or similar does not include any form of plagiarism, and that the publication list is correct.
When signing the application, you confirm that the information stated is correct and complies with the Swedish Research Council’s instructions. If we discover serious deviations in the application we will contact you and the administrating organisation that has signed the application. The starting point is that applications that do not comply with good research practice are rejected.
1. Create an account in Prisma
Start by creating a personal account in our application system Prisma
External link, opens in new window. and input your personal and CV data. You do not need to input any publications in your account – they should be appended in a PDF file when you fill in the application.
Prisma is the joint application system for the Swedish Research Council, Formas and Forte, which means that you can manage applications to all three research councils via a single account.
You only need to input the data once, and can thereafter supplement or change them as required. The persons assessing applications do not have access to the information in your account – when you fill in an application, you yourself upload the data needed for the grant you are applying for. As many of the persons reading and assessing applications do not speak Swedish, we recommend that you input all descriptive texts in your CV in English.
Your administrating organisation also needs an account
To enable you to apply, the organisation that is to receive and administer the grant must have been approved as an administrating organisation and have created an organisation account in Prisma.
Remember:
- Familiarise yourself with the application system Prisma, and input your data before the call opens.
- Do not input any publications in your account – you should append them in a PDF file when you fill in the application.
- Make sure you have support for your project from your prospective administrating organisation, and discuss budget details with them, such as indirect costs.
2. Create an application in Prisma
- Fill in the application form.
- Upload information from your personal account.
- Attach appendices.
Here follows a general description of the various tabs on the application form, with instructions on what should usually be included under each tab. Please read the call text for more specific instructions.
An asterisk (*) in the form means that the information asked for is mandatory.
Under this tab, please fill in the Swedish and English project title, abstract and popular science description. You should also choose SCB codes (national subject codes according to Statistics Sweden’s standard for division of research subjects) and list key words.
Indicate whether you plan to utilize any research infrastructure in your project, and if so, select the infrastructure in question in the drop-down list.
You should also describe the relationship between any other applications and grants.
You only need to fill in the project period if the grant period is not fixed. You should also fill in any deductible time (only applies for certain calls).
Specific instructions for the data you need to fill in under this tab can be found in the call text.
Under this tab, please attach your research plan or corresponding. You must also account for ethical aspects. Read more on the page Conducting ethical research.
Specific instructions for the data you need to fill in under this tab can be found in the call text.
Under this tab, please attach your publication list in PDF format. You should also attach any participating researchers’ publication lists here. Please read the call text for more specific instructions.
Under this tab, please attach the appendices requested in the call text.
This tab is not included in all application forms, as not all calls require you to attach any additional appendices.
Under this tab, please list the project costs and any other funding of the project. You must also justify the budget you are applying for. If the grant you are applying for is in a standard amount, you do not need to fill in any budget.
Specific instructions for the data you need to fill in under this tab can be found in the call text.
Under this tab, please state the administrating organisation and project site.
The administrating organisation is the organisation that administers the grant awarded and is responsible for it according to our terms and conditions. The administrating organisation is usually the higher education institution where you as project leader will be employed during the grant period.
Read more about the requirements for becoming approved as an administrating organisation, and what you must do if you cannot find your organisation in Prisma, on the page Who can apply?
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The project site is the organisational unit where the project is carried out. This is usually the department or unit at the administrating organisation where you as project leader will be employed during the grant period.
If you cannot find your project site in the list, please contact the person responsible for the organisation account at your administrating organisation. You will not be able to finalise the registration of your application if information on the project site is missing.
Under this tab, please request the review panel or panels (in priority order) that you wish to carry out the scientific assessment of your application. The Swedish Research Council will then decide which panel your application will be allocated to.
If only one review panel is applicable for the call, then this tab will not be included in the application form.
Under this tab you may invite any participating researchers and administrators to your application (and project leaders for an organisation application).
A participating administrator is a person who can help you to input and edit information in the application. This person does not have to be part of your project.
A participating researcher is usually another researcher with a doctoral degree (or corresponding competence, not doctoral students), whose scientific competence will be crucial for the implementation of the planned research. The number of participating researchers varies between calls – please read the call text for the rules that apply to the grant you are applying for.
The project leader for an organisation application shall be invited by the person initiating the organisation application at the administrating organisation, and is responsible for completing the application. The project leader may in turn invite other participating researchers and administrators to the application.
You invite a participating person via the email address linked to the person’s Prisma account. You may invite persons who do not already have an account in Prisma, but in order to participate in your application they must register their own personal accounts in Prisma. You cannot register your application until everybody has accepted your invitation.
Once a participating researcher has accepted your invitation, you can allocate authority to them to edit the proposal.
Note! If you have any unanswered invitations, you must remove them – otherwise you cannot register your application.
Under this last tab, you will see a summary of the fields in your application that you need to adjust in order to register it. These might consist of mandatory fields you have not filled in, text fields with too many characters, divergence from limitations in terms of project period or budget, missing CV data or invited researchers who have not accepted your invitation.
The registration of your application is not finalised until you click on the “Register” button. Please make sure you use the preview function!
Some text fields can be formatted
You can change the font and font size, and adjust the text in some text fields. You can also insert tables and symbols. However, you cannot insert images. If you insert text written using a word processing program (such as Microsoft Word), you may need to use the tools in Prisma to adjust the formatting after insertion. We recommend that you use the font Arial.
All text fields have a maximum number of characters. You can see how many characters remain in the counter at the bottom right hand of the field. If you use too many characters, the application cannot be registered.
You will need to attach an appendix to some fields
You can only attach a file in PDF format. If you have several documents to include in the appendix, you must merge these into one single file. There is a maximum limit for the file size and number of pages for the appendix – the limits that apply are shown in the appendix instructions in the call text.
Remember:
- Start your application in good time. It is a good idea to begin the research plan before the call opens.
- Read the information on how the application will be assessed and refer to this when writing the application.
- Make early contact with and invite other researchers who will be participating in your application, so that they can contribute their details in good time.
3. Registering and signing
Your application is registered when you click on the “Register” button. You can de-register you application and make changes to it as long as the call is open. Just remember to re-register your application again when you have finished.
You are responsible for ensuring your application is complete
It is your responsibility to ensure the application form is correctly filled in, and that you have attached the correct appendices. If an application is not completed according to our instructions, this will be weighed into the assessment.
You must only submit the appendices and the information we expressly ask for. We do not accept any additional information after the deadline, except when specifically requested.
When you register the application, you also sign it as project leader. When the call closes (at 2 p.m. on the deadline date of the call), the registration of your application is automatically finalised and your application is given a registration number.The administrating organisation shall sign the application within one week
The administrating organisation shall sign the application within one week
Your registered application is sent on automatically to an authorised representative of the administrating organisation, who shall sign the application in Prisma. Only when the representative of the administrating organisation has signed your application will it be complete, and can be included in our review process. The person signing is dependent on how your administrating organisation has chosen to design its organisational structure – but normally it is the head of the department where the research will be carried out.
The administrating organisation has one week (7 calendar days) in which to sign the application. Once the application is signed, you will receive an email. It is also shown in your account in Prisma, under “Application status”.
The applicant’s signature confirms that:
- the information in the application is correct and complies with the Swedish Research Council’s instructions
- secondary occupations and commercial ties have been reported to the administrating organisation and that nothing has emerged that breaches good research practice
- the permits and approvals required have been obtained before the research is started, such as permits from the Swedish Medical Products Agency or approval from an ethical review board or an ethical committee on animal experiments
- the applicant will comply with all other conditions applicable to the grant.
The signature of the administrating organisation confirms that:
- the research or research-supporting activity described can be given room at the administrating organisation during the period and to the extent stated in the application
- the applicant will be employed by the administrating organisation during the period covered by the application
- the administrating organisation approves of the budget in the application
- the administrating organisation will comply with all other conditions applicable to the grant.
The parties, that is you as project leader and the administrating organisation, shall have discussed the points above before the representative of the administrating organisation approves and signs the application.
The administrating organisation shall not sign an outline application. The administrating organisation shall sign the full application if the outline application progresses to Step 2.
Once the application has been completed, the person invited to be the project leader shall save the application by clicking on the button “Save as final draft”.
Thereafter, the person responsible for the organisation application registers the application by clicking on the button “Register”. Until the deadline for the call, the person responsible for the organisation application may de-register, amend and re-register the application again. The project leader cannot carry out this task.
Read more about different roles and authorities in Prisma’s User Manual External link, opens in new window..
When the call closes (at 2 p.m. on the deadline date of the call), the registration of the application is automatically finalised and is given a registration number. Registration of the application means that it is also signed automatically by the organisation applying.
The applicant’s signature confirms that:
- the information in the application is correct and complies with the Swedish Research Council’s instructions
- the budget in the application is approved
- the research or research-supporting activity described can be given room at the administrating organisation during the period and to the extent stated in the application
- the permits and approvals required have been obtained before the research is started, such as permits from the Swedish Medical Products Agency or approval from an ethical review board or an ethical committee on animal experiments
- the applicant will comply with all other conditions applicable to the grant.
Remember:
- Use the preview function before registering your application. Feel free to ask a colleague for an opinion.
- Register your application in good time before the call closes. This means you have a chance to discover and correct any errors.
4. What happens next?
After you have registered your application, you will find information about the status, registration number and signature in your account in Prisma, under the tab “Applications and grants”.
If you are responsible for an organisation application at the administrating organisation, you can find information under the tab “Organisation applications”. If you are the project leader for an organisation application, you can find information under the tab “Applications and grants” in your account in Prisma.
Other researchers assess the application
Researchers with a high level of expertise in the field assess the scientific quality of the application in competition with the other applications, on the basis of the Swedish Research Council’s assessment criteria. External link, opens in new window.
Information on who is assessing your application, the design of the process and the assessment criteria used by them can be found in the call text, under “How your application is assessed”.
All who take part in the assessment process must follow the Swedish Research Council’s gender equality strategy and conflict of interest policy.
Read more about how we safeguard quality in the assessment.
Grant decision
Shortly after the grant decision is made, we publish a list of the persons awarded grants, here on our website.
A few days later, you can see the decision and final statement for your application under the tab “Applications and grants” in your account in Prisma. The statement consists of a grading and, in some cases, written comments.
If you are responsible for an organisation application at the administrating organisation, you can find the decision and final statement under the tab “Organisation applications”. If you are the project leader for an organisation application, you can find the decision under the tab “Applications and grants” in your account in Prisma – but you cannot read the final statement linked to the decision.
Good luck with your application!
This is the final step in our guide for applicants. Information on the steps that follow if you are awarded a grant can be found in your grant decision.
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