Network grant within educational sciences 

Please refer to the application form in Prisma in parallel with reading the instructions below, which describe the call-specific content of the application. More information on what to do in practical terms is available in our Guide for applicants Opens in new window..

Language

The application may be written in English, but may also be written in Swedish.

Sections of the application

The application form includes the following tabs:

• Descriptive information
• Research description
• Budget and research resources
• Publications
• Administrating organisation
• Participants
• CV

Descriptions of the call-specific information requested under each tab follow below.

Descriptive information

Abstract

The abstract shall include a brief description of the following:

• what is to be done: purpose and aim
• how the research will be carried out: project organisation, time plan and the scientific methods to be used
• what is important about the planned research.

The abstract shall provide a summary guide to the purpose and implementation of the research. Please use wording to ensure persons with another subject specialisation can understand the information.

The description may cover a maximum of 1 500 characters including blank spaces (approximately one third of an A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).

Popular science description

Describe the project in such a way that a person who is not familiar with the subject can understand it. Describe what is to be done and why, and explain in what way the new knowledge may be important.

The popular science description is an important tool when we inform about the research funded by the Swedish Research Council. If we grant your application, we reserve the right to use the description for information purposes.

Note: The popular science description must be written in Swedish, unlike the rest of the application.

The description may cover a maximum of 4 500 characters including blank spaces (approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).

Research description

Ethical considerations

Describe the ethical issues raised by your project or corresponding. You must also describe how you plan to address ethical dilemmas that may arise. Please justify why the research should be carried out against the background of the ethical issues you have identified. How do your research questions and expected results measure up in relation to the ethical issues? Please also state whether the research involves any handling of personal data, or experiments on animals or human subjects. If no ethical issues are raised, please justify this.

Collaboration plan

The plan shall cover a maximum of 10 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing, including references and any images.

The research plan shall include the following headings and information, listed in the following order:

• Purpose and aims: Describe the purpose and the long-term goal of the research collaboration.
• Research idea: Describe the research theme and the joint research questions within the collaboration.
• Network description and mode of cooperation:
  • Describe actual collaboration projects and joint research applications, and how these contribute to strengthening ongoing research at the participating HEIs.
  • Describe the contributions of the participating parties in relation to the research theme, and how they complement each other.
  • Describe the collaboration structure, that is to say the leadership and role allocation among the participating parties.

• Forms for collaboration: Specify planned activities, such as:
  • research and/or work stays, joint seminars, courses or workshops aimed at further developing the joint research basis and the research agenda
  • how senior and junior researchers will be involved in the collaboration
  • preparation/planning of joint research applications
  • joint publications and other joint information dissemination
  • joint conferences

• Planned results: The planned results of the collaboration shall be clearly specified, for example:
  • The added value of the network collaboration for the research and the research environments.
  • The planned dissemination of results and new knowledge, co-production of publications and other contributions.
  • How the collaboration will continue in operation after the end of the grant period.

Budget and research resources

Costs

Describe the costs for all planned activities within the network by specifying the items below.

Please state rounded amounts in SEK.

1. Costs of travel, accommodation and subsistence
2. Costs of organising seminars, courses and workshops
3. Costs of joint publications
4. Costs of joint conferences
5. Other costs

Total cost

Prisma will automatically add up your budget items listed in a table. The total amount you are applying for shall also include indirect costs. You will have to add these to the table yourself. Here you can also add any additional costs covered by the project (for which you are not seeking funding under this call).

Please contact your HEI for information on what constitutes indirect and direct costs.

Justification of the budget applied for

Justify briefly each cost applied for in the budget stated. The description may cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces (approximately 1 A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).

Other funding

Please state your or any other researcher’s funding over and above what is applied for in this application. Please state rounded amounts in SEK.

Publications

Applicant’s publication list

Please attach your publication list drawn up according to the headings and information below. The list shall cover a maximum of 5 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Please sort the publications under each heading in reverse chronological order, so that the latest publication is at the top of the list. Please only include articles or corresponding that are published or accepted for publication at the time of applying. The author order shall be identical to that of the published work. The application cannot be supplemented with publications after the deadline for the call.

1. Selection of publications: List the maximum 10 publications of greatest importance to your application. For each publication, please state how you contributed to it, and its relevance to the research project described (maximum 4 lines per publication). Highlight your name in bold in the author list.
   
   
2. Relevant publications from the last 8 years: Sort the publications, with your name highlighted in bold in the author list, under each heading (publication type) in the following order:

• Peer-reviewed original articles
• Peer-reviewed conference contributions, the results of which are not included in other publications.
• Peer-reviewed edited volumes
• Research review articles
• Peer-reviewed books and book chapters
• Other publications including popular science books/presentations

Participating researchers’ publication lists

Attach all participating researchers’ publication lists joined up into one file. The list for each researcher shall include a maximum of 10 publications, in the form of the most relevant publications for the research described, and shall cover a maximum of 1 A4 page. The name of the researcher in question shall be highlighted in bold and also be included in the page header of each list.

Please only include articles or corresponding that are published or accepted for publication at the time of applying. The author order shall be identical to that of the published work. The application cannot be supplemented with publications after the deadline for the call.

The publications shall be of the types: Peer-reviewed original articles, conference contributions, edited volumes, research review articles, books and book chapters, and other publications including popular science books/presentations.

Administrating organisation

Please state the administrating organisation and project site.

Participants

Under this tab, you shall invite the participating researchers and any participating administrators to your application.

CV

Under this tab, please upload your relevant CV information from your personal account in Prisma. Participating researchers must upload their own CV information to the application.

The following information, where available, must always be included in each CV, taking into account the stated limitation in numbers:

• Education: First, second and third cycle higher education and specialist degrees.
• Work: Current employment (including employment form) and longer relevant employment, postdoctoral visits (also included as employment if relevant), research exchanges relevant to the research described and any longer interruptions in the research that have impacted on your opportunity to gain merits as a researcher.
• Merits and awards: Docentship/associate professorship, supervisees (postdoctoral and doctoral students; state the overall number of each category and list the 10 most relevant to you), up to 10 of your most relevant grants awarded in competition, up to 10 of your most relevant prizes and awards, and up to 20 other merits relevant to the application.
• Intellectual property rights: For example, patents and open access computer programs developed by you; state up to 10 of your most relevant.
  

Scientific quality is the fundamental criterion when the Swedish Research Council allocates grants to research. Your application is assessed in competition with the other applications on the basis of the following assessment criteria.

Assessment process

Your application is assessed by a specialised subject review panel where the members are Nordic researchers.

At least three members review and grade your application individually. The entire review panel then meets at a review panel meeting to discuss and prioritise the applications, and finally to make a proposal for a decision to the Committee for Educational Sciences. The committee decides which applications will be awarded funds. All applications receive a final statement that reflects the review panel’s discussion and overall assessment of the scientific quality of the application.

Review panel Opens in new window.

Assessment criteria and guiding questions

The assessment of the scientific quality of your application is made based on four basic criteria (scientific quality of the project, novelty and originality, merits of the applicant, and feasibility). The purpose of using several criteria is to achieve a multi-faceted assessment.

For each criterion, there are guiding questions to support the panel members’ assessment of your application. These can also function as guidance for you when you write your application. In addition to the basic criteria, your application is also assessed using an additional criterion, relevance to the call.

Scientific quality of the project (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• Are the purpose and the long-term goal of the network clarified and well justified?
• Are the joint research bases of the participating HEIs/research environments described clearly (theme, theory, method, etc.)?
• In what way do the collaboration projects contribute to research of high scientific quality?
• Are the planned activities clearly specified and fit for purpose?
• What plans have been made for participation by junior and senior researchers?
• Are the planned results from the network collaboration sufficient and adequate?

Novelty and originality (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• In what way can the concrete collaboration projects contribute to innovative research?
• In what way does the network contribute scientific added value to research?
  

Merits of the applicant (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• In what day does the applicant have good merits within the subject area and in terms of leading major international collaboration projects?
• In what way are the participating researchers well qualified and have experience of international collaboration projects?
  

Feasibility (1–3)

Guiding questions:

• Does the network have a clear organisation for collaboration and leadership?
• In what way do the roles of the participating parties contribute to the implementation?
• Do the parties have funding for the research period covered by the collaboration?
• Are the costs reasonable and well justified in view of the purpose and design of the project?
  

Relevance to the call (1–3)

• Does the application concern a network within educational sciences?
• Is the application relevant to the call in other respects?
  

Overall grade (1–7)

The subsidiary grades shall be weighed together into an overall grade according to the following principles:

• It is a prerequisite for being awarded a grant within educational sciences that the proposal is relevant and feasible, and that the applicant has solid and relevant competence for the purpose.
• The assessment of the scientific quality of the application is crucial for the overall assessment.
• Novelty and originality shall be weighted heavily, but a high grade for this aspect cannot outweigh any lack of scientific quality.