Closed call
27 January - 02 March 2021
Distinguished professor grant within natural and engineering sciences
The aim of the distinguished professor programme is to create conditions for the most prominent researchers to conduct long-term, ground-breaking research with great potential for achieving scientific breakthroughs. The grant shall also enable the establishment and build-up of a major research environment of the highest quality around a leading researcher.
Support form: Research environment and collaboration support
Subject area: Natural and Engineering Sciences
Applicant: Individual researcher who has completed a doctoral degree more than 12 years ago
Participating researchers: No participating researchers may be invited to join the application
Grant period: 10 years
Grant amount: 5 000 000 SEK per year
Budgetary framework: At least 2 grants will be awarded
Start of grant period: January 2022
Application period: 27 January 2021 (14.00/2 p.m.) – 2 March (14.00/2 p.m.)
Publication of grant award: No later than the end of November 2021
Please note:
- A new feature in this call is that you must explain in your research plan how your stated activity level (which must be minimum 50 per cent of a full-time equivalent) is suited to the implementation of the research project.
- You must also state whether sex and gender perspectives are relevant for your research and, if so, in which way you will use such perspectives, or why you choose not to do so. How sex and gender perspectives are managed in the research project will form part of the assessment of scientific quality. Read more under the heading “Research description” and on our website
Opens in new window.. - You will need to have a data management plan Opens in new window. for data generated within the research we award funds for. You must not send the plan to us, but according to our general grant terms and conditions, your administrating organisation must confirm that a data management plan will be in place when you start your project or equivalent, and also that the plan will be maintained.
Vi svarar helgfria vardagar kl. 9.00-16.00 fram tills utlysningen stänger.
Rådsprofessor och Konsolideringsbidrag
Specific instructions for the call
In addition to reading the call text, you also need to consult our Guide for applicants Opens in new window..
The following requirements must be fulfilled in order for you to be eligible to apply for the grant. We carry out checks and reject applications that do not fulfil the requirements.
Applicant
The applicant may be an individual researcher. You shall be the project leader and have scientific responsibility for the project. You must set aside adequate time for the project throughout the grant period, with a scope (activity level) that corresponds to at least 50 per cent of a full-time equivalent. You must hold a Swedish doctoral degree or a corresponding foreign degree, awarded more than 12 years before the deadline for this call (please see “Career age”).
Grants from the Swedish Research Council shall be administered by a Swedish HEI or another Swedish public organisation that fulfils our criteria for administrating organisations Opens in new window.. Your organisation must therefore be approved as an administrating organisation for you to apply. The administrating organisation must sign your application in Prisma no later than 7 calendar days after the deadline for this call.
If you are awarded a grant, you must be employed by the administrating organisation at the start of and throughout the grant period and any additional availability period, unless the Swedish Research Council approves an exception from this requirement. The employment must equal at least 50 per cent of a full-time equivalent. You do not have to be employed by the administrating organisation at the time of applying.
Career age
To apply for a distinguished professor grant, your doctoral degree must have been awarded more than 12 years ago at the deadline for this call, that is to say awarded 2 March 2009 or earlier. We base the career age on the date you fulfilled all the requirements for a doctoral degree, such as mandatory courses, oral defence and an approved doctoral thesis. For applicants with Swedish doctoral degrees, the award date listed in Ladok applies. You will not be able to complete your application if your doctoral degree was awarded at a later date.
Number of applications and previous grants
What grants may I apply for simultaneously from the Swedish Research Council?
You may only submit one application for this grant under this call. Other restrictions on the grants you may apply for during the same year are shown in the table below.
Table: Grants you may apply for simultaneously Opens in new window.
What requirements apply if I already have a grant from the Swedish Research Council?
There are certain restrictions if you are the project leader of an ongoing grant, that is to say where the grant period (payment period from the Swedish Research Council) overlaps the grant period of the grant the application relates to. Please note that the availability period, that is to say the time during which you have the right to use your grant, is normally longer than the grant period. You can find information about the requirements for your ongoing grant in the “Approval of terms and conditions” you received from the Swedish Research Council.
If you have already been awarded a project grant:
If you have an awarded and ongoing undirected project grant, this amount will be deducted from the standard amount of 5 million SEK during the grant period that overlaps your awarded grant within the distinguished professor programme. Please note that if you are awarded a grant under the distinguished professor programme, you will not be able to apply for the Swedish Research Council’s undirected project grants during the grant period.
If you are a researcher recruited under the Swedish Research Council’s call for international recruitment:
If you are a researcher recruited under the Swedish Research Council’s call for international recruitment, you will not be able to apply for a grant under the distinguished professor programme.
Other grants:
The table below shows information and other restrictions on the grants you may apply for if you already have an ongoing grant.
Table: Grants you may apply for if you have an ongoing grant Opens in new window.
Note: If you have been the project leader for previous grants from the Swedish Research Council that have ended, final financial reports for all of these must have been submitted within the permitted time frame in order for you to apply for a new grant. Please contact your administrating organisation if you are unsure whether all your final reports have been submitted.
What applies for applications to or grants from other funding bodies?
If your application to the Swedish Research Council relates to the same project idea as a grant you have already been awarded, or are applying for to another funding body, please account for this.
Participating researchers
You may not invite any participating researchers in this application. Any collaboration partners and their roles shall be described in the research plan (please see instructions under “Research plan” below).
Costs and grant amounts
The grant is in a standard amount of 5 million SEK per year, including indirect costs, and may fund all types of research-related costs, such as
- salaries (including your own salary), however no more than corresponding to the person’s activity level in the project
- premises
- running costs (such as consumables, travel including stays at research facilities, publication costs and minor equipment)
- depreciation costs.
Grants must not be used for scholarships. If a doctoral student participates, project funds may not be paid out as salary during teaching or other departmental duties.
The Swedish Research Council assumes that the administrating organisation will cover any costs in excess of the amount received.
Grant period
The grant period is 10 years, starting in January 2022. The first payment will be made in January 2022 at the earliest.
Reporting and follow-up
Five years after the start of the grant period, an activity report focusing on the state of the establishment and build-up of the research environment shall be submitted to the Swedish Research Council. The activity report shall also include a description of the HEI’s contribution to the research environment, and may result in a reassessment of the amounts awarded for the remainder of the grant period.
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 carry out 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 (only administrators in this call)
- CV
The information we request under each tab is described below.
Descriptive information
Abstract
In the abstract, please describe in brief the following:
- What is to be done: purpose and aims
- How will the research be carried out: project organisation, time plan and scientific methods?
- What is important about the planned research
- A statement on the programme’s importance for the research area, with particular focus on innovation and the potential for a break-through.
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 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 grant your 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 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.
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.
Sex and gender perspectives
Please state whether sex and gender perspectives are applicable in your planned research, and justify your decision. Please note that we are not asking for information about the composition of the research team (men/women). Read more about sex and gender perspectives in research content Opens in new window..
The following applies:
- If you answer “Yes”: Justify your answer, and describe also how you take account of sex and gender perspectives in the research plan (see further instructions under “Research plan”). If you have stated that sex and gender perspectives are applicable, but still choose not to include them in your research plan, you will need to justify this here.
- If you answer “No”: Please justify your answer.
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.
Establishment and development plan
The establishment and development consists of three separate parts according to the instructions below.
1. 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 6 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: State the overall purpose and specific aims of the research project.
- State-of-the-art: Summarise briefly the current research frontier within the field or area covered by the project. State key references.
- Significance and scientific novelty: Describe briefly how the project relates to previous research within the area, and the impact the project may have in the short and long term. Describe also how the project moves forward or innovates the current research frontier.
- Project description: Describe the project design under the following headings:
- Theory and method: Describe the underlying theory and the methods to be applied in order to reach the project goal.
- 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.
- Need of and access to equipment and research infrastructure: Describe the basic equipment you and your team have at your disposal for the project. Also specify the project’s need for international and national research infrastructure. In the first instance, you should use the research infrastructure supported by the Swedish Research Council Opens in new window., which is open to all. If you choose to use other infrastructure 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.
2. Research environment
Describe the proposed research environment and how you, with the support of the HEI, intend to build up and manage it and, if applicable, how you intend to integrate it with any existing environment. Describe also how the research environment described promotes gender equality at the HEI.
The justification may cover a maximum of 8 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately two A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.
3. Added value
Describe the added value the research and environment described will provide for the activities and quality of research within the area at the HEI, in Sweden and internationally. Please focus particularly on the aspects of innovation and potential for research break-through. A description of potential risks and the management of these shall also be included.
The justification may cover a maximum of 8 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately two A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.
Leadership in research
Describe your documented experience of creating an attractive and creative research environment, and how you have contributed to promoting research excellence, including supervision of doctoral students and postdocs.
The document shall cover a maximum of two A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing, and 2.5 cm margins.
Budget and research resources
Because the grant is in a standard amount, you do not need to enter any budget applied for in the application form.
Activity level in the project
Please state your activity level (per cent of a full-time equivalent) in the project. Your activity level as project leader must correspond to no less than 50 per cent of a full-time equivalent.
Justification of the budget applied for
Describe briefly the primary costs you intend to cover within the framework for the grant budget. 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 your or any other researcher’s funding for 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
Please attach your publication list drawn up according to the headings and information below. The list shall cover a maximum of 8 page-numbered in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing, and 2.6 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 2013–2021: 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
Letter of support
Please attach a formal letter of support from the HEI in question where the research will be carried out. The letter shall be signed by an authorised representative of the HEI, usually the head of the hosting department or equivalent. Your (the applicant’s) name shall be stated clearly, as well as the name and function/position of the person writing the letter of support.
The document may cover no more than 2 A4 pages, and must include a description of
- how the HEI intends to support and contribute to the establishment and build-up of the research environment
- how the HEI intends to manage the research environment in the short and long term.
Please note that we are not asking for a letter of recommendation. The HEI’s undertakings in relation to the resource requirements that follow from the research environment described shall be clearly shown, as shall the HEI’s plans for the development of, and support for, the research environment after the end of the grant period.
By signing the application in Prisma, the administrating organisation confirms these undertakings.
Administrating organisation
Please state the administrating organisation and project site.
Participants
Here you as applicant may invite participating administrators to your application.
CV
Under this tab, please upload your relevant CV information from your personal account in Prisma.
The following information (where available) must always be included in your 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
Your application is evaluated by an internationaview panel with broad expertise in their respective subject areas.
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 Scientific council for Natural and engineering sciences.
Review panels Opens in new window.
After the individual assessment, the review panel agrees on a proportion of the applications that have the highest quality and that are to be discussed at the review panel’s meeting (approx. 20%). This procedure is done to allow for more in-depth discussions and assessment of the applications that have higher quality and a reasonable chance of being funded. The applications to be discussed at the meeting are also assessed by a number of external reviewers.
Following the grant decision, all applications receive a final statement stating that includes the review panels’ grading of the application. The applications that have been discussed in at the panel meeting receive an individual final statement which, in addition to the grades, also contains a summary of the review panel’s discussion and overall assessment of the scientific quality of the application.
Evaluation criteria and guiding questions
The evaluation of the scientific quality of your application is made based on four basic criteria (Scientific quality of the proposed research, Novelty and originality, Merits of the applicant, Feasibility). 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. In addition to the basic criteria, your application is also evaluated using an additional criterion, Added value, on a 7-grade scale, where the build-up of the environment is being evaluated, its potential and the added value of this.
Only applications that are assessed to be of very high quality based on all criteria will be considered for funding within the initiative.
For each criterion, there are guiding questions to support the panel members’ evaluation of your application. These can also function as guidance for you when you write your application.
Scientific quality of the proposed research (1–7)
Guiding questions:
- To what extent is the proposed research scientifically important?
- To what extent is the proposed research relevant in terms of its research questions, the proposed solutions, and in relation to frontiers of research in the field?
- To what extent is the proposed research of international top quality?
Novelty and originality (1–7)
Guiding questions:
- To what extent does the research proposal demonstrate exceptional novelty and a potential to substantially advance the research field?
- To what extent does the research proposal contain entirely novel ways and methods to approach scientific issues?
- To what extent does the research proposal generate or explore new research areas?
Merits of the applicant (1–7)
Guiding questions:
- To what extent is the researcher internationally recognized and a leader in his/her research field?
- To what extent is it probable that the applicant will develop further as a researcher in the coming 10-year period?
- To what extent has the researcher contributed with exceptional scientific breakthroughs in his/her previous research?
- To what extent does the researcher have the ability to attract researchers from various places and establish a creative research environment as well as promoting and fostering excellence in leadership, including the supervision of PhD students and postdocs who also in turn have been successful in research? Is this ability documented from previous research?
Feasibility (1–3)
Guiding questions:
- To what extent is the choice of research methods, access to equipment, and research infrastructure adequate for the specialisation of the researcher?
- Regarding the project as a whole, to what extent is the competence in place to carry out the research task?
- To what extent is the University environment adequate to enable build-up of excellent research?
Added value (1-7)
Guiding questions:
- To what extent does the applicant convincingly describe how the applicant intends to build and develop the research environment as well as manage it?
- To what extent are there opportunities for long-term build-up and integration of the research environment in the university's activities?
- To what extent will the proposed initiative strengthen and enhance the quality of research in this field of research at the University, in Sweden and internationally?
- To what extent will the proposed build-up of the research environment enhance the potential for research breakthroughs and innovative research?
Overall grade (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 scientific quality.