Network grant for collaboration with the USA in cancer research

Requirements for applicants

The following requirements must be fulfilled for you to be eligible to apply for the grant. We carry out checks and reject applications that do not fulfil the requirements.

Focus

The purpose of the network grant is to support internationalisation and mobility between research teams in Sweden and USA through the development of research collaborations in medical cancer research. The call relates to the bilateral collaboration agreement between Sweden and USA relating to cancer research, aimed at reaching faster research results through increased researcher exchanges.

The grant shall provide opportunities to establish or further develop a network relating to cancer research. The grant may, for example, be used to promote knowledge sharing between research teams in Sweden and USA, to investigate opportunities for writing joint applications and applying for international funding, in order to deepen international collaboration.

Applicant

The applicant for a network grant must 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). 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 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 registered in Ladok applies.

You shall be the project leader and scientifically responsible for the research activities described. 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 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.

Number of applications and previous grants

The requirements described in this section only apply to applicants (project leaders).

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?

You may only submit one application for this grant under this call. Further information about the grants you may apply for during the same year are shown on the page “Several grants simultaneously”. You may not apply for any other network grant for the same collaboration.

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 a grant with a grant period that overlaps the 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 grant in your account in Prisma and in the “Approval of terms and conditions” you received from the Swedish Research Council.

If you already have an ongoing grant, then further information about the grants you may apply for are shown on the page “Several grants simultaneously”.

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 concept as a grant you have already been awarded by, or are applying for to, another funding body, please describe this.

Participating researchers

You must include a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 6 participating researchers in your application. Participating researchers are other researchers with a doctoral degree or equivalent competence (not doctoral students) whose scientific competence will be crucial for the implementation of the planned research. They do not have to be employed by a Swedish HEI. At least one of the participating researchers shall be active (that is, be established as a researcher at a HEI or equivalent) in the USA, and designated as international project leader in the application.

Participating researchers shall provide the necessary information themselves in Prisma, and upload these to the application. Any doctoral students and other collaboration partners and their roles shall be described in the collaboration plan (please see instructions under “Collaboration plan” below).

Costs and grant amounts

The grant is a standard amount of 200 000 SEK, and may be used for project and coordination-related costs, such as

• premises, joint workshops and network meetings (such as travel)
• minor project-related costs for joint studies

You cannot apply for a grant to buy equipment or for depreciation. Grants may not be used for salaries, scholarships, or other research expenses either.

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 1 year, starting in January 2026. The first payment will be made during January 2026 at the earliest.

What must the application contain?

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.

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, apart from the popular science description, which you must write in Swedish.

The information we request under each tab in the application form 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 activities will be carried out: organisation, time plan, research concept, and scientific methods
• What is important about the planned research collaboration.

The text shall provide an overview of the purpose and implementation of the research collaboration. 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 planned research in such a way that a person who is not a researcher can understand it. Do this by answering the following questions:

• What is the research about?
• Why is it important to research this?
• In what way may the new knowledge be important?

The popular science description is important when we inform about the research funded by the Swedish Research Council.

The text must be in Swedish and 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.

Other applications or grants

Describe briefly the different projects and their relationship 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 the grant you are now applying for
• there are applications or grants relating to the same project concept/purpose with 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, experiments on animals and/or studies involving humans.

If the research covers any of the above, you must also describe/state the approvals and permits your research project requires, and how you plan to obtain these. Describe any other permits that affect your 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.

Further information is available on the page “Conducting ethical research”.

Ethical considerations

Reflect on the ethical issues that may arise for your project, 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 you have identified. Examples of issues to reflect on:

• How do your research questions and expected results measure up in relation to the ethical issues that you have identified?
• 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.

Sex and gender dimensions

State whether sex and gender dimensions are applicable to your planned research, and justify your position. Please note that we are not asking for information about the composition of the research team (women/men). Read more about sex and gender dimensions in research content.

The following applies:

• If you answer “Yes”: Please justify your answer, and describe also how your take account of sex and gender dimensions in the collaboration plan. If you have stated that sex and gender dimensions are applicable, but still choose not to include them in your collaboration plan, you will need to justify this here.
• If you answer “No”, and thereby do not consider that sex and gender dimensions are applicable for your planned research, you do not need to justify your decision.

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.

Collaboration plan

The plan may cover a maximum of 5 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins, including references and any images. References must be provided with detailed information about the source, links alone are not sufficient.

The collaboration 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 collaboration.

Research concept

Describe the research theme and the joint research questions within the collaboration. If you have stated that sex and gender perspectives are applicable, please describe how these will be included in the research concept.

Network description and mode of cooperation

Describe the following:

• actual collaboration projects and how these contribute to strengthening cancer research
• the contributions of the participating parties in relation to the research theme, and how they complement each other
• the collaboration structure, that is, leadership and role division among the participating parties.

Forms for collaboration

Specify planned activities, for example:

• coordination of research questions
• coordination and joint use of research data or infrastructure
• knowledge sharing and mobility between research teams
• joint seminars, courses or workshops.

Planned results

Specify clearly the planned result of the collaboration, for example the following:

• 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 after the end of the grant period.

Relevance

Describe how the research collaboration is relevant for the focus medical cancer research and how it is expected to promote the development of this field. Describe also how the planned activities support internationalisation and mobility between research teams in Sweden and USA.

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.

Description of merits

Describe how the merits you state in your CV and list of publications and other research outputs confirm your competence as project leader and responsible for implementing the proposed activities.

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.

Publications and other research outputs

The applicant’s publications and other research outputs

Please attach your list drawn up according to the headings and information below. The list may cover a maximum of 5 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins.

Sort the outputs 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. You cannot supplement the application with outputs after the deadline for the call.

1. Selection of research outputs

List the 10 publications or other outputs that are the most important for confirming your competence as project leader and responsible for implementing the proposed research activities. Describe how you contributed to each output, and its relevance to the research project described (maximum 4 lines per output). Highlight your name in bold in the author list/corresponding.

2. Relevant peer-reviewed research outputs from 2017–2025

In this part, the outputs listed under Item 1 shall also be included if they were published during the period in question. Sort them with your name highlighted in bold in the author list/corresponding under headings (type of output) in the following order:

• Original articles
• Conference contributions, the results of which are not included in other publications
• Edited volumes
• Research review articles
• Books and book chapters
• Artistic work
• Other outputs that do not fit under any of the headings above. Please note that intellectual property rights shall be shown in the CV section of the application.

3. Relevant non peer-reviewed research outputs from 2017-2025

In this part, the outputs listed under Item 1 shall also be included if they were published during the period in question. Sort them with your name highlighted in bold in the author list/corresponding under the respective headings (type of output) in the following order:

• Artistic work
• Publications including popular science books/presentations
• Preprints
• Other outputs that do not fit under any of the headings above. Please note that intellectual property rights shall be shown in the CV section of the application.

Participating researchers’ publications and other research outputs

Attach all the participating researchers’ lists, joined up into one file,

The list for each researcher shall include the 10 publications or other research outputs that are the most relevant for the implementation of the research activities 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.

The outputs may be of the following types and must be 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.

Peer-reviewed research outputs

• original articles
• conference contributions
• edited volumes
• research review articles
• books and book chapters
• artistic works
• other outputs

and

Non peer-reviewed research outputs

Budget and research resources

The grant is a standard amount and you therefore do not need to enter any budget applied for in the application form.

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.

Administrating organisation

Please state the administrating organisation and project site.

Review panels

Please request the review panel or panels (in priority order) that you wish to carry out the scientific assessment of your application.

The final allocation of applications is determined by the Swedish Research Council.

See the list of review panels

Participants

Here you invite the participating researchers (including the one given the role as international project leader) and any participating administrators to your application. You must distinguish the international project leader from other participating researchers in the table in the application form.

CV

Under this tab, please upload your relevant CV information from your personal account in Prisma. The information/merits shall confirm your competence as project leader and scientifically responsible for implementing the proposed research activities. Participating researchers must upload their own CV information to the application.

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 information on employment format)
• Longer relevant employment
• Post-doctoral visits (state also as employment if applicable)
• Researcher exchanges of relevance to the research described
• Any longer interruptions in the research that have impacted on your opportunity to gain merit as a researcher.

Merits and awards

• Docentship/associate professorship
• Persons you have supervised (postdoctoral and doctoral students; state the number of persons in each category and list the names of the maximum 10 most relevant)
• Relevant grants you have received in competition (list maximum 10)
• Your most relevant prizes and awards (list maximum 10)
• Any other merits of relevance to the application, such as invitations to lecture, leader assignments, representative assignments, membership of scientific organisations and similar.

Intellectual property rights

For example, patents and open access computer programs developed by you; state up to 10 of your most relevant.

How your application is assessed

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 for a network grant for collaboration with the USA in cancer research is evaluated by a specialised subject review panel where the members are Swedish and international researchers

At least four members review and grade your application individually. If extra competence is needed, your application might also be evaluated by an additional, external, reviewer. The entire review panel (not including any external reviewers) 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 Medicine and Health. A randomization procedure may be applied in the event that the allocated budget is insufficient to grant all applications within the same grade level.

Review panels

To allow for more in-depth discussions of applications with higher quality and a reasonable chance of being funded, not all applications are discussed in detail at the review panel’s meeting. The applications that are not discussed thoroughly are those that the panel members during their individual review have assessed having the lowest quality among the panel’s applications. Following the grant decision, all applications receive a final statement that includes the review panel’s grading of the application. The applications that have been discussed in more detail 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 joint 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.

Evaluation criteria and guiding questions

Your application is assessed according to the criteria Scientific quality of the proposed research and Relevance for the call. The criteria are assessed on a three-grade scale (Scientific quality of the proposed research) or a two-grade scale (Relevance for the call).

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 (1–3)

Guiding questions:

• To what degree is the collaboration likely to contribute to research of the highest scientific quality?
• To what degree can the collaboration contribute to innovative research in the cancer field?
• Do the collaborative partners have competence and sufficient research experience for implementation of the proposed project?
• Do the collaborative partners have unique complementary expertise with potential of creating synergy and added scientific value?
• Are the ethical considerations for the proposed project described and addressed properly? Does the applicant adequately consider risk/value/suffering for humans, animals, nature and/or society?
• Does the applicant adequately consider relevant legal and formal requirements for the proposed research, such as ethical permits and guidelines?
• If sex and gender is described as relevant to the research project, has the applicant considered sex and gender in the description of the proposed work, for instance as part of preliminary data, the choice of samples or study population, or data analyses?

Relevance for the call (1-2)

Guiding questions:

• Is the proposal relevant for medical research in cancer?
• Are the network activities relevant for the call in other respects?