Guide for applicants

In this guide, you will find information on how to prepare for your application and how to fill in the application form in Prisma.

Make sure you fulfil our requirements

Read what the requirements are for you to be eligible to apply for a grant. They can, for example, relate to career age, focus, activity level, or collaboration. The requirements are always shown in the specific call text. We carry out checks and will reject applications that do not fulfil the formal requirements for the call.

General information about our requirements

You are responsible for ensuring your application is correctly filled in

Follow the instructions in the call text and in this Guide for applicants about what the application shall include, and how different sections and appendices shall be designed. It is your responsibility to ensure the application form is correctly filled in, and that you have attached the correct appendices. If an application is not completed according to our instructions, this will be weighed into the assessment.

Follow good research practice when drawing up the application

We assume that you as applicant will comply with good research practice when drawing up your application. This means that you do not include false, manipulated, invented or otherwise incorrect information, or that you leave out significant information. This applies to all parts of the application; for example that the merits listed are true, that the research plan or similar does not include any form of plagiarism, and that the publication list is correct.

When signing the application, you confirm that the information stated is correct and complies with the Swedish Research Council’s instructions. If we discover serious deviations in the application we will contact you and the administrating organisation that has signed the application. The starting point is that applications that do not comply with good research practice are rejected.

Read more in our publication “Good research practice”

Guidelines for the use of AI tools in applications

1. Create an account in Prisma

Start by creating a personal account in our application system Prisma External link, opens in new window. and input your personal and CV data. You do not need to input any publications in your account – they should be appended in a PDF file when you fill in the application.

Prisma is the joint application system for the Swedish Research Council, Formas and Forte, which means that you can manage applications to all three research councils via a single account.

You only need to input the data once, and can thereafter supplement or change them as required. The persons assessing applications do not have access to the information in your account – when you fill in an application, you yourself upload the data needed for the grant you are applying for. As many of the persons reading and assessing applications do not speak Swedish, we recommend that you input all descriptive texts in your CV in English.

Your administrating organisation also needs an account

To enable you to apply, the organisation that is to receive and administer the grant must have been approved as an administrating organisation and have created an organisation account in Prisma.

Remember:

  • Familiarise yourself with the application system Prisma, and input your data before the call opens.
  • Do not input any publications in your account – you should append them in a PDF file when you fill in the application.
  • Make sure you have support for your project from your prospective administrating organisation, and discuss budget details with them, such as indirect costs.

2. Create an application in Prisma

  • Fill in the application form.
  • Upload information from your personal account.
  • Attach appendices.

Here follows a general description of the various tabs on the application form, with instructions on what should usually be included under each tab. Please read the call text for more specific instructions.

An asterisk (*) in the form means that the information asked for is mandatory.

Some text fields can be formatted

You can change the font and font size, and adjust the text in some text fields. You can also insert tables and symbols. However, you cannot insert images. If you insert text written using a word processing program (such as Microsoft Word), you may need to use the tools in Prisma to adjust the formatting after insertion. We recommend that you use the font Arial.

All text fields have a maximum number of characters. You can see how many characters remain in the counter at the bottom right hand of the field. If you use too many characters, the application cannot be registered.

You will need to attach an appendix to some fields

You can only attach a file in PDF format. If you have several documents to include in the appendix, you must merge these into one single file. There is a maximum limit for the file size and number of pages for the appendix – the limits that apply are shown in the appendix instructions in the call text.

Remember:

  • Start your application in good time. It is a good idea to begin the research plan before the call opens.
  • Read the information on how the application will be assessed and refer to this when writing the application.
  • Make early contact with and invite other researchers who will be participating in your application, so that they can contribute their details in good time.

3. Registering and signing

Your application is registered when you click on the “Register” button. You can de-register you application and make changes to it as long as the call is open. Just remember to re-register your application again when you have finished.

You are responsible for ensuring your application is complete

It is your responsibility to ensure the application form is correctly filled in, and that you have attached the correct appendices. If an application is not completed according to our instructions, this will be weighed into the assessment.

You must only submit the appendices and the information we expressly ask for. We do not accept any additional information after the deadline, except when specifically requested.

When you register the application, you also sign it as project leader. When the call closes (at 2 p.m. on the deadline date of the call), the registration of your application is automatically finalised and your application is given a registration number.The administrating organisation shall sign the application within one week

The administrating organisation shall sign the application within one week

Your registered application is sent on automatically to an authorised representative of the administrating organisation, who shall sign the application in Prisma. Only when the representative of the administrating organisation has signed your application will it be complete, and can be included in our review process. The person signing is dependent on how your administrating organisation has chosen to design its organisational structure – but normally it is the head of the department where the research will be carried out.

The administrating organisation has one week (7 calendar days) in which to sign the application. Once the application is signed, you will receive an email. It is also shown in your account in Prisma, under “Application status”.

Remember:

  • Use the preview function before registering your application. Feel free to ask a colleague for an opinion.
  • Register your application in good time before the call closes. This means you have a chance to discover and correct any errors.

4. What happens next?

After you have registered your application, you will find information about the status, registration number and signature in your account in Prisma, under the tab “Applications and grants”.

If you are responsible for an organisation application at the administrating organisation, you can find information under the tab “Organisation applications”. If you are the project leader for an organisation application, you can find information under the tab “Applications and grants” in your account in Prisma.

Other researchers assess the application

Researchers with a high level of expertise in the field assess the scientific quality of the application in competition with the other applications, on the basis of the Swedish Research Council’s assessment criteria. External link, opens in new window.

Information on who is assessing your application, the design of the process and the assessment criteria used by them can be found in the call text, under “How your application is assessed”.

All who take part in the assessment process must follow the Swedish Research Council’s gender equality strategy and conflict of interest policy.

Read more about how we safeguard quality in the assessment.

Grant decision

Shortly after the grant decision is made, we publish a list of the persons awarded grants, here on our website.

A few days later, you can see the decision and final statement for your application under the tab “Applications and grants” in your account in Prisma. The statement consists of a grading and, in some cases, written comments.

If you are responsible for an organisation application at the administrating organisation, you can find the decision and final statement under the tab “Organisation applications”. If you are the project leader for an organisation application, you can find the decision under the tab “Applications and grants” in your account in Prisma – but you cannot read the final statement linked to the decision.

Good luck with your application!

This is the final step in our guide for applicants. Information on the steps that follow if you are awarded a grant can be found in your grant decision.

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If you have any problem

Prisma has a user manual that describes what to do in most steps.

Cannot find the answer to your technical question? Then you can contact Prisma’s technical support. It may take 1 to 2 working days to get an answer.

Prisma’s technical support External link, opens in new window.

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