Grant for accessibility to infrastructure

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

Foreign experts may be involved in the scientific assessment of the applications. To ensure fair and equitable assessment and efficient processing, please therefore complete your application in English.

Sections of the application

The application form includes the following tabs:

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

The information we request under each tab is described below.

Descriptive information

Abstract

The abstract shall include a brief description of the following:

• What is to be done: purpose and aims
• How the research will be carried out: project organisation, time plan and scientific methods
• How the research promotes the subsidiary focus/focuses in question.

The abstract shall provide a summary picture of 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. This is 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. Explain also 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 approve the application, we reserve the right to use the description for information purposes.

The description may cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

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

Research description

Ethical considerations

Describe the ethical issues that arise in the project. 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 identified. How do the 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.

The justification may cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Research plan

The research plan shall be forward-looking and consist of a brief but complete description of the research task. It shall cover a maximum of 9 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins, including references and any images.

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

• Purpose and aims: Describe summarily the purpose and specific goals of the research project, and how the research promotes the subsidiary focus/focuses applied for.
• Preliminary and previous results: Describe briefly your own previous research and pilot studies within the research area that make it probable that the project will be feasible. If no preliminary results exist, please state this too.

• Project description: Describe the project design under the following headings:

• Time plan and implementation: Describe summarily the time plan for the project during the grant period, and how the project will be implemented.
• Project organisation: Clarify how you and any participating researchers will contribute to the implementation of the project. Explain in particular how the time allocated by you (that is, your activity level) as project leader is suitable for the task, including the relationship with your other research undertakings. Describe and explain the competences and roles of the participating researchers in the project, and also any other researchers or equivalent who are important for the implementation of the project.

Provide the following information also. If a heading is not relevant to your application, please state this under the heading.

• Equipment: Describe the basic equipment you and your team have at your disposal for the project.

• Need for research infrastructure: Specify the project’s need for international and national research infrastructure. In the first instance, you should use the research infrastructures supported by the Swedish Research Council Opens in new window., which are open to all. If you choose to use other infrastructures instead, please justify this need (also applies for local research infrastructure).

• International and national collaboration: Describe your own and the team’s collaboration with foreign and Swedish researchers and research teams. State whether you contribute to or refer to international collaboration in your research.
• Other applications or grants: If you are applying for or intend to apply for other grants from the Swedish Research Council, please clarify the relationship between the projects. This applies also if you are receiving ongoing grants from the Swedish Research Council with grant periods that wholly or partly overlap with the grant you are now applying for. You should also justify why you are submitting one or several further applications. Describe also the relationship with other applications to or grants from other funding bodies for the same project idea (from you or another researcher).

Description of socioeconomic impact

Describe how the project may benefit the sector of relevance to the project, and also its overall socioeconomic impact. Describe also the expected returns from the project, for example in the form of possible future procurement, employment and competence enhancement, in the short and long term.

The description shall cover a maximum of 1 A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins.

Budget and research resources

Project personnel

State the activity level (per cent of a full-time equivalent) of all personnel active within the project, that is to say yourself as coordinator/project leader, any other researchers and other personnel. Please also state the salary you are applying for, for yourself as coordinator/project leader and/or other personnel active within the project – both as a percentage of a full-time salary and as actual annual amounts (including social security contributions). Please state the amounts in Swedish krona, rounded to the nearest 1 000 SEK.

Other costs

Describe any other costs of the project (premises costs, running costs and depreciation costs). Please state the amounts in Swedish krona, rounded to the nearest 1 000 SEK.

You may include depreciation costs for equipment to be used in the operation, provided that:

• the equipment has an economic life of at least three years
• the equipment has an acquisition value above a certain amount
• the need cannot be satisfied through use of national or international infrastructure supported by the Swedish Research Council and thereby open to all.

You may only include the proportion of depreciation costs that corresponds to the use of the equipment in the proposed operation. You may not include depreciation costs for equipment that is wholly financed via other grants. Please contact your administrating organisation for information about what is included in local research infrastructure, acquisition values or how to calculate depreciation costs.

Total cost of the project

Prisma will automatically add up your budget items listed in a table. The total amount applied for shall also include indirect costs. These shall be added to the table by the applicant. Here, the applicant shall add any other costs arising in the project (for which you are not seeking funding under this call).

Please contact your administrating organisation if you have any questions about 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. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Other funding

Please state any other funding of the project over and above what is applied for in this application. Please state the amounts in Swedish krona, rounded to the nearest 1 000 SEK.

Publications

Coordinator’s/Project leader’s publications 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 and 2.5 cm margins.

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 equivalent that are published or accepted for publication at the time of applying. The author name 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 10 publications of greatest importance to your application. Describe how you contributed to each publication, 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 2012–2020 In this part, the publications listed under Item 1 shall also be included if they have been published during the period in question. 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’ publications lists joined up into one file. The list for each researcher shall include the 10 publications that are the most relevant to the research described, and shall cover a maximum of 1 A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins. 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 equivalent that are published or accepted for publication at the time of applying. The author name 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.

Letter of support

Letter of support from the non-academic partner

The letter of support from the non-academic partner shall describe in as concrete terms as possible how the project will benefit from the non-academic partner’s activities, both in the short and the long term, and how this partner can contribute actively to making the project unique. The name and contact details of the person writing the letter of support shall be stated.

The letter of support may cover a maximum of 2 A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing. If several letters of support are attached, they must be joined into a single file with a maximum size of 15 MB.

Letter of support from the infrastructure

The letter of support from the infrastructure shall include answers to the following six questions:

• Is the project feasible practically at the infrastructure?
• Is the proposal in line with the strategy of the infrastructure? State the period for the strategy.
• Is the proposal in line with the infrastructure’s (detailed) planning for the time period stated in the application?
• Is the budget in the application reasonable?
• Does the proposal in the application impact on the infrastructure’s operating budget? If yes, then estimate the size of the impact.

The name and contact details of the person writing the letter of support shall be stated. The letter of support may cover a maximum of 3 A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

In order for ESS to prepare letters of support, they kindly ask applicants to provide them with draft proposals no later than August 7th.

In order for MAX IV to prepare letters of support, they kindly ask applicants to provide them with draft poposals no later than July 31st. More information here External link, opens in new window.

Administrating organisation

Please state the administrating organisation and project site.

Participants

Here you may invite any participating researchers and administrators to your application.

CV

Under this tab, the coordinator/project leader shall upload the relevant CV information from their personal account in Prisma. Any participating researchers must upload their own CV information to the application.

The following information (where available) must always be included in each CV:

• Education: First, second and third cycle higher education and specialist degrees.
• Work: Current employment (including employment form) and longer relevant employment held, 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 merit as a researcher.
• Merits and awards: Docentship/associate professorship, supervisees (postdoctoral and doctoral students; state the number of persons in each category and list the names of the up to 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 evaluated in competition with the other applications on the basis of the following evaluation criteria.

Evaluation process

During the evaluation process, a two-step procedure will be employed. First, the section "Description of socio-economic impact" will be graded through an external assessment by a reference group with special knowledge of the social benefits of infrastructure investments. Your entire application is then assessed by a review panel where the members are Swedish and international researchers as well as governmental agency representatives. The external assessment regarding the section "Description of socio-economic impact" will be available to the review panel at its panel meeting, before which three members have reviewed and graded your application individually. During the panel meeting, the applications are discussed and prioritized, and the review panel finally make a proposal for a decision to the Director General.

A certain proportion of the applications with the lowest grades from the members’ individual reviews are screened out in the beginning of the review panel meeting. These applications will not be the subject of discussion, which gives room for more detailed discussion and prioritisation of the applications of higher quality, which have a reasonable chance of being funded. The applications screened out will after the decision has been made receive a final statement that includes which grades the applications received. The other applications receive a more detailed final statement that reflects the review panel’s discussion and overall assessment of the scientific quality of the application.

Evaluation criteria and guiding questions

The evaluation of the quality of your application is made based on five criteria: The project´s relevance for the call, The project´s significance and impact within a research area, The project´s expected socio-economic impact, The project´s feasibility, and Overall assessment relative to the call text. The purpose of using several components is to achieve a multi-faceted evaluation. The criteria are assessed on a seven-grade scale, except for feasibility, which is assessed on a three-grade grade scale.

For each criterion, there are guiding questions to support the panel members’ evaluation of your application. These can also serve as guidance for you when you write your application.

The project´s relevance for the call (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• To what extent and in what way is the application relevant in relation to the call text and to at least one of the two sub-directions described in the call text?

The project´s significance and impact within a research area (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• Is the significance of the project in relation to usage and/or deliveries, as defined in the call text, well described?
• What effect will the project have on new / industrial / non-academic research?

The project´s expected socio-economic impact (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• How large is the expected socio-economic impact of the project?
• How does the project affect the industrial / non-academic landscape in Sweden?

The project´s feasibility (1–3)

Guiding questions:

• Is the feasibility of the project described, with letters of support, in such a way that it is reasonable that the intended objectives of the stakeholders involved (the infrastructure, the industrial / non-academic partner and the principal investigator) can be achieved?

Overall assessment relative to the call text (1–7)

The above subsidiary criteria are weighed together into an overall grade, which reflects the review panel’s joint evaluation of the application’s quality.