Closed call
20 April - 23 August 2022
Grant for accessibility to infrastructure
The Swedish Research Council has been mandated by the Government to work towards ensuring researchers based in Sweden participate to a greater degree in the construction and development of research infrastructure, and towards making research infrastructure more accessible and more used by the business and public sectors.
Support form: Infrastructure support
Subject area: Research infrastructure
Focus: Accessibility to infrastructure
Applicant: Individual researcher or organisation
Participating researchers: Up to 6 other researchers may be invited to join the application.
Grant period: 1-4 years
Grant amount: Minimum 400 000 SEK per year
Budgetary framework: A total of around 80 million SEK has been allocated for the call, and at least 10 grants may be funded.
Start of grant period: January 2023
Application period: 20 April 2022 (14.00/2 pm) – 23 August 2022 (14.00/2 pm)
Publication of grant award: No later than the beginning of December 2022
Please note:
- Applications may be submitted by organisations or by individual researchers. The importance of the application is not affected by the type of applicant submitting the application.
- As from 2022, new criteria apply for approval of administrating organisations for grants awarded by the Swedish Research Council. You therefore need to make sure that your organisation fulfils the requirements and has been approved by us as an administrating organisation for calls issued after 1 January 2022.
- Please note also that the instructions for your description of ethical considerations in the application have changed as from this year. Furtermore, we also ask you to describe the management of risks or obstacles to the implementation of the project in the research plan.
Specific instructions for the call
In addition to reading the call text, you also need to consult our Guide for applicants.
The following requirements must be fulfilled in order for you/the organisation to be eligible to apply for the grant. We carry out checks and reject applications that do not fulfil the requirements.
Focus and framework for the application
The call for proposals for accessibility to infrastructure covers two subsidiary focuses, and the application shall be for at least one of them:
Subsidiary focus 1. Facilitate and increase participation in and use by business and the public sector in the research infrastructures SciLifeLab, Max IV and ESS. The funds shall be used to develop competence and capacity at the infrastructure to guide and support users from the business sector and public sector, and to attract new user groups.
Subsidiary focus 2. Promote Swedish participation in the development and upgrading of research infrastructure of major strategic value to researchers in Sweden and the Swedish business sector (does not have to be linked to the research infrastructures SciLifeLab, Max IV or ESS). The funds shall be used to develop technically advanced methods, technologies and components.
The projects shall be carried out in collaboration with two or more parties from different stakeholder groups (such as research infrastructure, academia, public sector, business sector, or research institutes). A participating research infrastructure and a non-academic partner are a requirement for a granted application. The requirement shall be verified through a letter of support from each party (read more under “Letter of support” below for details of how these shall be produced). If more than one application under the call is linked to a specific infrastructure, the facility itself must submit a prioritisation list to the Swedish Research Council after the deadline for applications has passed.
Applicant
The applicant for the grant may be an individual researcher or a Swedish higher education institution (HEI) or institute (hereafter called “organisation”), that is approved as an administrating organisation for Swedish Research Council grants. The importance of the application is not affected by the type of applicant submitting the application.
Individual researcher: The applicant shall be an individual researcher together with their organisation (a Swedish HEI or another Swedish organisation that fulfils our criteria for administrating organisations for Swedish Research Council grants).
Opens in new window. We must have approved your organisation 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.
You shall be the project leader and have scientific responsibility for the project. The time you set aside for the project (your activity level, that is the percentage of a full-time equivalent) must be suited to the task and its implementation throughout the grant period.
You must hold a Swedish doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign degree, awarded no later than the deadline for this call. For applicants with Swedish doctoral degrees, the award date listed in Ladok applies.
You do not have to be employed by the administrating organisation at the time of application, but you must be employed at the start of and throughout the grant period and any further additional availability period. The employment must equal at least 20 per cent of a full-time equivalent.
Organisation: The applicant for the grant must be a HEI or institute that has been approved as an administrating organisation Opens in new window.for Swedish Research Council grants.
The application shall include one named researcher, who shall be the coordinator/project leader of the project and responsible for coordination and follow-up. The coordinator/project leader shall be employed by the administrating organisation at the start of and throughout the grant period and any further additional availability period. The employment must equal at least 20 per cent of a full-time equivalent. The coordinator/project leader does not have to be employed at the time of applying.
Number of applications and previous grants
General information about overlaps between applications and grants
Your application must not cover costs for purposes that are already funded by the Swedish Research Council or any other funding body. Overlaps with other grants or applications may impact on the grant amount you are awarded, or be a reason for us to reject your application.
What grants may I apply for simultaneously from the Swedish Research Council?
There is no limit to the number of applications an organisation or a researcher may submit or participate in, provided the applications relate to different projects.
Participating researchers
The application may include up to 6 participating researchers, that is to say researchers with a doctoral degree or corresponding qualification (not doctoral students), whose scientific competence will be crucial for the implementation of the proposed research. They do not have to be employed by a Swedish HEI.
Participating researchers shall provide the necessary information themselves in Prisma, and upload these to the application. Any further collaborating partners and their roles shall be described in the research plan (please see instructions under “Research plan” below).
Costs and grant amounts
Grants may be applied for to finance all types of project-related costs, such as salaries (including the coordinator’s/project leader’s salary, however no more than corresponding to the activity level in the project), premises, running costs (such as consumables, travel including stays at research facilities, publication costs and minor equipment), plus depreciation costs.
The grant amount includes cover of indirect costs as a percentage of the direct costs, according to the model used by the administrating organisation. The grant may not be used for scholarships or salaries for teaching or other departmental duties. The minimum amount you may apply for is 400 000 SEK per year, including indirect costs.
Grant period
You may apply for a grant for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 4 years, starting in January 2023. The first payment will be made during January 2023 at the earliest.
Please refer to the application form in Prisma in parallel with reading the instructions below, which describe the call-specific contents of the application. More information on what to do in practical terms is available in our Guide for applicants. Opens in new window.
Language
International experts are 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 important when we inform about the research funded by the Swedish Research Council.
The description may cover a maximum of 2 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.
Other applications or grants
Describe the relationship between the different projects if
- you are applying for or intend to apply for other grants from the Swedish Research Council
- you are receiving an ongoing grant from the Swedish Research Council with a grant period that wholly or partly overlaps with the grant you are now applying for
- there are applications or grants relating to the same project concept/purpose from the Swedish Research Council or other funding bodies (from you or another researcher).
In all cases, you should also justify why you are submitting one or several further applications. If there are no other applications or grants, please state so. The description may cover a maximum of 2 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately half an A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.
Research description
Ethical aspects
Legal and formal requirements
State whether the research covers the handling of personal data, or experiments on animals and/or studies involving humans.
If the research covers any of the above, you must also describe the approvals and permits the research project requires, and how you plan to obtain these. Describe also any other permits that affect the application, such as whether parts of the research will be done in a country other than Sweden. If no approvals or permits are needed, please state so.
The description may cover a maximum of 2 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately half an A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.
Ethical considerations
Reflect on the ethical issues that may arise for the research, and describe these. 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. Examples of issues to reflect on:
- How do the research questions and expected results measure up in relation to the ethical issues?
- What (direct) risks (physical, mental, or integrity) will research persons or animals be exposed to?
- What long-term risks may arise from the research? Is there any risk that the research may be used in a way that is detrimental to animals, nature/the environment, or society (whole or parts of the same) in other respects?
- Is the research expected to contribute to other values over and above the knowledge gain? If so, to whom?
- How do you weigh up the risks (in particular short-term risks) against the value (which is often more long-term) of the research?
If no ethical issues are raised, please justify this. 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.
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 aims 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.
- 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.
- Risk description: Describe risks or obstacles that may affect the implementation and performance of the project, and your plan for managing them. For each identified risk type, the risk level (low, medium or high), potential cost increase, mitigation strategy or other relevant information should be stated. Examples of different kinds of risk:
- Technical equipment does not meet performance, undeliverable, delayed, raw material cost, etc.
- Specification changes or unclear description of deliverables
- Loss of key personnel, loss of key competence
- The cooperation do not lead to added value
- Other risks
Report the following under separate headings if relevant to your application:
- 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 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.
Description of societal benefit
Describe how the project may benefit the sector of relevance to the project, and also its overall societal benefit. 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 (project leader/coordinator). Here, the applicant (project leader/coordinator) shall add any other costs arising in the project (for which you are not seeking funding under this call).
Indirect costs follow the model that your administrating organisation uses. 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 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 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.
- 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.
- Relevant publications from 2014–2022: 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’ publication 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 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 to give ESS time to prepare a letter of support, a notice of interest must be sent no later than 16 June to euprojects@ess.eu. ESS will provide further instructions and a deadline for a draft application, including budget.
In order to give MAX IV time to prepare a letter of support, a notice of interest must be sent no later than 16 June to grantsoffice@maxiv.lu.se. MAX IV will provide further instructions and a deadline for a draft application, including budget.
In order to give SciLifeLab time to prepare a letter of support, a draft application must be sent no later than 31 July to infra@scilifelab.se.
Administrating organisation
Please state the administrating organisation and project site.
Participants
Here you may invite other 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 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 Council for Research Infrastructures.
Review panel Opens in new window.
Following the grant decision your application will receive an individual final statement containing the grades and 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 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 and The project´s 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.
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.
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:
- What 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 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.