The bilateral agreements primarily concern research collaboration through joint research projects and workshops, access to research infrastructures, and researcher exchanges
The Swedish Research Council has found that bilateral research collaboration is usually handled most efficiently and effectively, at the researcher level. Hence, the Swedish Research Council intends to strengthen researchers' opportunities for bilateral collaboration, e.g. by working towards more and larger project grants.
In line with this approach, the Council's policy, in principle, is not to enter into bilateral agreements at a higher level. Priorities regarding the use of administrative and other resources may provide further reasons for this policy.
The position of the Swedish Research Council, should, however, not stand in the way of research collaboration between Sweden and other countries, but should help to eliminate potential obstacles of various types. Hence, bilateral agreements may be appropriate in some instances.
One reason to enter a bilateral agreement might be to support research collaboration with countries where such an agreement is a prerequisite for establishing collaboration. Another reason might be to provide Swedish researchers with access to infrastructures in other countries.
Bilateral collaboration with national research funding agencies and other bodies of key interest to research in Europe could also be a way to further strengthen coordination in European research.
Countries and regions we colloborate with
China
The collaboration between the Swedish Research Council and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, NSFC, has so far resulted in joint calls for networking grants and project grants where a researcher from a Chinese higher education institution and a researcher from a Swedish higher education institution submit a joint research application that is jointly processed.
France
The agreement creates opportunities for Swedish-French research collaboration and gives Swedish researchers access to French research infrastructure in the development of neutron instrumentation.
Germany
The agreement concerns structural biology and materials science. The aim is to strengthen research that uses neutrons and synchrotron light, and to stimulate the use of large research infrastructures already existing or planned in this field.
Italy
Since 2001, Italy and Sweden have had an agreement on scientific and technical collaboration. The Swedish Research Council is responsible for this.
South Korea
Within the framework of an agreement with the National Research Foundation, NRF, in South Korea, researchers there and in Sweden can apply for collaboration funding every two years. Seminars are also organised within the agreement.
Switzerland
The Swedish Research Council has signed an agreement with the Swiss National Science Foundation, SNSF. The cooperation concerns the “Money follows Cooperation Line”, which makes it possible for a Swiss PI to include a Swedish co-applicant in their applications to SNSF. If the application is granted funding, up to 50 per cent of the total project budget can be transferred to the Swedish co-applicant. In the same way, Swedish researchers can apply to the Swedish Research Council for funds for foreign partners.
Taiwan
The agreement with Academia Sinica in Taiwan focuses on facilitating research collaboration between Sweden and Taiwan.
UK
The Swedish Research Council has an agreement with ISIS Neutron Spallation Source.
United States
The Swedish Research Council has entered into an agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnership (TIP). The agreement makes it possible for Swedish researchers to take part in selected calls within the NSF's programme for Convergence Accelerator.
Within the framework of Sweden's agreement with the Department of Energy, the Swedish Research Council is also the coordinator for activities related to research collaborations in the energy field.
Collaboration within ASEAN
The EU initiative Southeast Asia-Europe Joint Funding Scheme on Research and Innovation makes it possible for researchers in Sweden and other European countries to collaborate with researchers from the Association of Southeast Asian nations, ASEAN. The Swedish Research Council has so far been involved in a call for applications within the field of antibiotic resistance.
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