Olof Palme visiting professorship

The following requirements must be fulfilled in order for 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 nominated candidate

A researcher nominated for the Olof Palme professorship shall be an internationally prominent researcher focusing on areas of importance for the understanding of peace and conflicts in a broad context. This may include research into international policy, peace and conflict research and the comparison of social institutions. It may also relate to research into the fundamental causes of conflicts, and into societal development that in various respects impacts on the conditions for peace and human security. The focus of the professorship is thus very broad, and may cover everything from overarching international institutions and societally structural factors, to individual psychological explanation factors.

The researcher proposed for the visiting professorship must not already be active in Sweden. The researcher must also be aware of the nomination and what acceptance of the professorship entails. If the nominated candidate declines to accept the professorship, the higher education institution (HEI) cannot propose a replacement.

The visiting professor is expected to participate in the department’s research, and also to visit other departments across Sweden within their research area.

The visiting professor awarded the professorship shall be employed by the administrating organisation throughout the visit.

Applicant

The applicant for the grant must be a Swedish HEI that has been approved as an administrating organisation Opens in new window. for grants from the Swedish Research Council.

The application with a nominated candidate for the visiting professorship shall include a named researcher (project leader), who represents the department wishing to act as host for the visiting professorship. The project leader shall be employed by the administrating organisation at the start of and throughout the grant period and any additional availability period.

When the application is registered and signed in Prisma (see below), the HEI and the nominated department undertake to be responsible for the local hosting and all practical arrangements associated with the visiting professor’s visit to Sweden, if the visiting professorship is awarded.

Number of applications and previous grants

The application must not include 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 awarded, or be a reason for us to reject the application.

There is no limit to the number of applications a single HEI may submit or participate in, but a single candidate may only be proposed in one application.

Participating researchers

No participating researchers may be included in this application.

Costs and grant amounts

Funding may be applied for to cover salary costs in Sweden including social security contributions and insurance, rent of housing in Sweden and travel between Sweden and the home country. The funding may also include travel costs for accompanying family members.

The maximum amount to apply for is 145 000 SEK per month for a stay of 6 to 12 months, and the total maximum is 1 740 000 SEK, including indirect 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. Grants must not be used for scholarships.

The Swedish Research Council assumes that the administrating organisation will cover any costs in excess of the amount received.

Grant period

The visit to Sweden shall last no less than 6 months, and no longer than 1 year. The visit may be divided up into more than one period. If so, this shall be clearly stated and also justified in the application. The visit may, however, not be divided up in such a way that it cannot be completed within the availability period of the grant.

The professorship shall start during 2025. The entire grant amount will be paid during 2025, irrespective of when during the year the start occurs. The first payment will be made during January 2025 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

We prefer that the application is written in English, but Swedish may also be used.

Sections of the application

The application form includes the following tabs:

• Descriptive information
• Research description
• Nominated visiting professor
• Budget and research resources
• Administrating organisation
• Participants (only administrators in this call)

The information we request under each tab is described below.

Descriptive information

Under this tab, in addition to what is asked for below, please state the name of the nominated researcher, their current HEI and country as project title (such as “Anna Smith, University of xx, USA”), and project period (the length of the visiting professorship in number of months).

Abstract

The abstract shall include a brief description of the following:

• name, university and country of the nominated researcher
• time (dates) for the visit
• brief justification for the visit
• planned programme

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

Research description

Research programme

The research programme shall consist of brief but complete information about the nomination. It may cover a maximum of 8 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins, including references and any images.

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

• The researcher and their research: Present the nominated researcher and their research.
• Justification: Justify the visiting researcher’s visit.
• Contribution to research: Describe how the visiting researcher may contribute to Swedish research within the area in question.
• Plan for department participation: Specify the planning of the visiting researcher’s participation at the host department and other departments in Sweden.

Nominated visiting professor

Please state the following:

• name, title, current position and workplace for the nominated researcher
• the competence the researcher is expected to bring to the host department
• the length of the visit, and whether it is divided up and, if so, how
• the department(s) or corresponding where the visiting professor will be active, and the name of the representative (head of department or corresponding) of the department(s).

The nominated researcher’s CV and publication list

Please attach a brief CV with full address details (including email address) and current position of the nominated researcher. Please also attach a publication list, divided up under the headings Peer-reviewed articles, Other articles and Books.

Please also note that no CV data or publications shall be entered elsewhere in the application.

Budget and research resources

Salary

Please state the salary applied for for the nominated researcher (select the role “Participating researcher” in the table), both as a percentage of a full-time salary and as actual annual amount (including social security contributions and insurance). Please state the amounts in Swedish krona, rounded to the nearest 1 000 SEK.

Running costs

Describe the nominated visiting professor’s costs of rent of housing or travel between Sweden and the home country on separate lines. Please state the amounts in Swedish krona, rounded to the nearest 1 000 SEK.

Total cost of the visiting professorship

Prisma will automatically add up the 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). Here the applicant (project leader) can also add any additional costs that the activities entail (for which funding is not seeked under this call).

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.

Administrating organisation

State the site of the visiting professorship.

Participants

Here the person invited to be the project leader for the application may invite participating administrators. Please note that participating researchers may not be invited in this application.

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 a review panel where the members are Swedish researchers.

At least three members review and grade your application individually. The panel has expert compentence within Humanities and Social sciences. The entire review panel then meets at a review panel meeting to discuss and prioritise the applications, and to make a proposal for a decision to the Scientific Council for Humanities and Social Sciences.

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.

Here you will find a more comprehensive description of the Swedish Research Council's assessment of applications Opens in new window..

Evaluation criteria and guiding questions

The evaluation of the scientific quality and position internationally of the visiting professor are assessed on a seven-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.

Scientific quality of the proposed research (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• How strong are the nominee´s scientific merits?
• How strong is the nominee´s position internationally?

Relevance for the call: (1-7)

The motivation for the stay, especially how well the visiting professor can contribute to the development of the host institution´s activities and Swedish research in general in the relevant field.

Guiding questions:

• To what extent is the project relevant to the focus area and how does the project promote the development of peace efforts in a broad sense?
• How well motivated is the nominee´s stay?
• Is there a plan for the nominee´s participation at the host institution and other institutions in the country? How can the nominee contribute to the development of the host institution´s activities?
• How can the nominee contribute to the development of Swedish research in general in the relevant field?