The Council was established in 2001 through a merger of the Swedish Council for Social Research and the Swedish Council for Work Life Research.
Mission and objectives
To promote the accumulation of knowledge in matters relating to working life and the understanding of social conditions and processes through
- Promotion and support of basic and applied research.
- Identification of important research needs.
- Dialogue, dissemination of information and transfer of knowledge.
- Promotion of cooperation between researchers both nationally and internationally, particularly in EU programmes.
Research funding
The Council's support for research takes various forms. The main one is grants for projects. Proposals are submitted by researchers and their scientific merit and societal relevance are assessed through a peer review process. To stimulate research within specific areas the Council may award longer period grants to research programmes at academic departments of excellence. The council also creates research positions at Swedish universities and provides grants for visiting researchers as well as scholarships for post-doc studies abroad.
The research funded by the Council covers the following areas:
- Chemical and physical hazards at work including electromagnetic fields
- Stress, work and health
- Work organisation
- Labour market issues
- Public health and health services
- International migration and ethnic relations
- Social policy and social insurance
- Social welfare
- Family and children
- The elderly
- Disability
- Drug abuse
Of particular interest is multidisciplinary research and research that addresses topics relating to equality between the sexes.
Research strategy and international strategy
FAS has drafted a research strategy for the period 2009 to 2012, Research on people's working life, public health and welfare. The work has been conducted in cooperation between the Council’s Board of Directors and its Secretariat. Read the research strategy or order it free of charge via e-mail. FAS has also drawn up an international strategy for the same time period: International strategy for FAS 2009–2012.
Grants data base
This data base contains all FAS-funded grants exceeding SKr100,000 where information in English is available.
Newsletter
The Council publishes a Newsletter in English. You can read it on this website or order a paper version of it free of charge. Send an E-mail with your address to 
.
Evaluation reports
The Council is often commissioned by the Government to evaluate research carried out by various state-funded organisations. Follow this link to find evaluation reports available in English.
Organisation
The Board of the Council consists of the chairperson and 12 members each with a deputy. Seven members are elected by the scientific community. The chairperson and five members representing the public interest are appointed by the Government.
The main responsibility of the Board is the allocation of research grants. For this purpose the Council has set up seven peer review committees. The Council also has a publications committee.
The Secretariat of the Council comprises 22 persons and is headed by the Secretary-General.
Chairperson: Managing Director Ewa Ställdal
Secretary-General: Professor Erland Hjelmquist
Programme Director: Associate Professor Kenneth Abrahamsson
Head of the Communications Unit: Ms Anna-Karin Engvall
Administrative Director: Mr Olle Sköld
Budget for 2011
Research budget: SKr436 million; approx. €48 million
Administrative budget: SKr25 million; approx. €2.7 million
Some facts about FAS
A folder with basic facts about FAS can be downloaded as a PDF file.
Mailing address:
Box 894
SE-101 37 Stockholm
Visiting address:
Wallingatan 2
Stockholm
Tel: +46 8 775 40 70
Fax: +46 8 775 40 75
E-mail:
EURAXESS Sweden
The European researcher's mobility portal provides on-line information and practical assistance to researchers.
Sweden.se – the official gateway to Sweden
Sweden's official Internet portal. It contains a wide variety of information, ranging from basic facts about Swedish society to business issues, politics, news, cultural life and current affairs.
Other research-financing agencies in Sweden
Click here (right-click to download, 667 KB) for a brochure about some of the main research-financing agencies in Sweden.