About FAS’ project grants
The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS) promotes and supports basic and applied research in its areas of responsibility: working life, public health and welfare. A large share of the research funding is granted to research projects in open competition following a yearly call.
Applications to FAS for research project grants are made in a two-step process. In the first step, the applicant submits a project outline. Researchers with approved outlines are subsequently invited to submit a complete project application.
As a rule, project funding is granted for a maximum of three years. Eligible applicants must have defended their doctoral thesis by the time they submit a complete application.
For more information about FAS’ areas of responsibility, please refer to: http://www.fas.se/aboutfas
Submitting a project application
For application deadline please go to eKlara's start page.
The application should be submitted electronically via eKlara, http://eklara.fas.se. A printed hard copy should be posted to FAS, Box 2220, 103 15 Stockholm, Sweden. The hard copy should be signed by the project leader and by the department head or equivalent, thereby guaranteeing sufficient available local resources for the project. If the project has been approved by the ethical review board, a copy of the approval should be attached.
Applications which have not been received by FAS in a signed hard copy version will not be taken into consideration.
Processing
Applications are assessed by FAS’ evaluation committees, to which researchers and representatives of the public interest have been appointed. The evaluation committees also request comments from external experts. Scientific quality and relevance to society are important criteria in the assessment. Assessments are based on e.g.:
- Scientific quality of the project (originality, theoretical framework, relationship to previous research and the forefront of international research)
- Competence of the project leader and the research group
- Methods and data. Feasibility of answering the research questions
- Personnel and budget
- Need of ethical approval
- Scientific and practical implications of the expected results
- Relevance of the project in relation to FAS’ areas of responsibility
Decisions are normally taken in November.
Ansökningsformulär och anvisningar (Application forms and instructions)
Application forms are available in eKlara/Söka medel (apply for grants)/Projekt (research project). Complete instructions for the form and the appendices that should be submitted to eKlara – Personalbilaga (personnel), Projektbeskrivning (project description) and Meritförteckningar (CV) – can be found below and in the application form under the link Anvisningar till denna sida (Instructions for this page) as well as under the blue icons.
The working process of writing and submitting an application is described in Handledning för eKlara (eKlara guidelines) on eKlara's start page.
FAS contact persons
Questions are answered by FAS’ research secretaries, www.fas.se/huvudomraden, or by
Professor Erland Hjelmquist, Secretary-General, e-mail: 
.
Associate Professor Kenneth Abrahamsson, Programme Director
Tel. +46 8 775 40 91, e-mail: 
Questions concerning eKlara:
Susanne Gabrielsson, Programme Administrator
Tel. +46 8 775 40 84, e-mail: 
, or
Ninnie McCabe, Programme Administrator
Tel. +46 8 775 40 98, e-mail: 
Instructions
Instructions can also be found in the application form under Instructions for this page and under the blue icons.
The eKlara work process is described in Handledning för eKlara (eKlara guidelines), which can be downloaded from the eKlara start page. The guidelines contain important information that is not repeated in the instructions.
To be able to submit an application via eKlara you need a user account. A person who has previously submitted an outline or application to FAS has a user account. To create a user account, go to För att skaffa användarkonto (To create a user account) on the start page.
Log into eKlara, go to Söka medel (Apply for grants). After having read the instructions on the page Söka medel (Apply for grants), go to the form Projekt (Research project).
Ansökningsformuläret (Application form)
The application form must have been preceded by an approved outline. Fill in the reference number of your approved outline in the form and click on Hämta skiss (Retrieve outline). The reference number, project title and other information will then be retrieved from the system for your perusal while writing the application.
Projektledare (Project leader)
The project leader has the scientific responsibility for the project and is expected to represent the project in all contacts with FAS. The applicant must have a PhD title. Only one person can be project leader.
Projekttitel på svenska (Project title in Swedish)
The project title should indicate what the project is about; it should also give people outside the specialist area an idea of the content of the project. The title is often used on its own in many different situations, which is why it should be chosen with care. It should be in Swedish and may not exceed a maximum of 200 characters including spaces. The title of your approved outline will appear in the text field. You are allowed to make minor changes to it but not change the title completely.
Projekttitel på engelska (Project title in English)
Fill in the English translation of the Swedish project title, maximum 200 characters including spaces.
Projektets hemvist (Home institution of the project)
The home institution of a project is where most of the project activities will be carried out. If several institutions collaborate in the project, the home institution is where most of the research takes place.
The registered home institution will appear automatically in the electronic form. If you wish to change this information, please mark the box Annan organisation (Other institution) and fill in the new project home (university/college, institution or equivalent) in the appearing empty field.
Söks hos FAS (Amount applied for from FAS)
Fill in the amount you request from FAS divided into budgetary years, in Swedish crowns (SEK), without any spaces or signs between the numbers. The amounts should include social fees as well as indirect costs (see below).
Sammanfattning (Abstract)
The purpose of the project abstract is to inform FAS’ evaluators and decision makers about the project. The abstract should be able to stand on its own, which is why you should make no references to other parts of the outline. It is also important that laymen can understand the abstract.
In some cases the outline abstract appears in the text field. You are allowed to make minor changes to this.
The abstract must not exceed 2,000 characters including spaces.
Andra bidragsgivare (Other sources of funding)
Indicate here if you have received or applied for funding for this project from any other source. Specified information should be filled into the appendix Projektbeskrivning (Project description).
Ekonomibilaga (Budget appendix)
Use the eKlara appendix template Ekonomi (available in Swedish as well as in English). Please follow the instructions available in Handledning för eKlara (eKlara guidelines) regarding how to handle the appendix templates etc.
In the form, please specify the applied amounts, information about additional funding and other important information, e.g. if the project is a continuation of another project funded by FAS.
Specifikation av sökta medel (Specification of funding applied for)
Personalkostnader (Personnel costs)
Fill in the total costs including social fees for personnel that will draw salary from the project grant.
Material och utrustning (material and equipment)
Fill in the amount needed to finance purchases of project equipment. Equipment financed by the grant must not be available elsewhere in the home institution. If the equipment will be used for other activities, the application may not cover any other costs than the estimated usage within this project. If the equipment is an investment, only mortgage and interest may be included in the application.
It is not allowed to include costs for the purchase of computers or other normal office equipment.
Resor (Travel)
Costs for foreign travel may be included in the budget if used for international research collaboration or international conferences where you will inform about the project. Specify the foreseen travel plans and explain why the trips are warranted.
Övriga kostnader (Other costs)
Specify costs for smaller consultant services, literature searches, data costs, dispensable material (not office material). External costs for larger data collections, purchases of data or data analyses, should be supported with a quotation.
You should also specify costs for scientific publication, if applicable, and costs for planned knowledge sharing activities outside the scientific community, if applicable.
Please also specify direct costs for office space under this heading.
Indirekta kostnader (Indirect costs)
As of January 1, 2020 there is no agreement between FAS and SUHF (The Association of Swedish Higher Education ) concerning indirect costs for external research grants. This means that in the current application proceducre there are no pre-set percentages for indirect costs. Under this heading the percentage calculated for the project should be entered. The model used for calculating the indirects costs should be described under heading Kostnadsplan och finansiering (Budget plan and funding) in the Projektbeskrivning (Project description).
Andra bidragsgivare (Additional donors)
Fill in all funds that have been applied for or received by the project. This includes e.g. funding from private foundations, funding from universities and county councils. Any additional funding received after submitting the application must be communicated to FAS.
A more detailed account of how you plan to use the grant in relation to other sources of funding, should be provided in the appendices Budget and Project description.
Övriga upplysningar (Additional information)
If the application is a continuation of a previously FAS funded project, please mention this here and indicate the reference number of the previous grant.
If the project period of the application does not coincide with the calendar year of this particular call, please indicate the project period here.
Personalbilaga (Personnel appendix)
The personnel appendix should be written using the eKlara template Personalbilaga (available in Swedish as well as in English). Template 1 is for 1–7 persons, template 2 is for 1–12 persons. Please follow the instructions available in Hänvisningar till eKlara (eKlara guidelines) regarding how to handle the appendix templates etc.
Fill in all participating project personnel including consultants and fill in the salaries that will be financed by the project grant. The salaries should be calculated into fulltime monthly salaries excluding social fees. The estimated approximate workload should be presented as number of fulltime person months (without any decimals). Fill in name, year of birth and gender as well as year of obtaining the Ph.D. and subject area of thesis, so that it is clear who has finished his/her post-graduate study. With subject area of thesis, we mean the research discipline, e.g. sociology, and not the title of the dissertation.
Persons involved in the research that are already employed cannot be fully financed by the project grant and the applications may not include any compensation for supervision of doctoral students. Applications to fund the salary of professors require specific motivation in the project description.
Projektbeskrivning (Project description)
The appendix should be written using the eKlara appendix template Projektbeskrivning (Project description). Please follow the instructions available in Hänvisningar till eKlara (eKlara guidelines) about how to handle the appendix templates etc.
The project description must not be longer than eleven A4 pages including the list of references and include a model for calculating indirect costs (approximate equivalent of 50,000 characters including spaces). Addictional pages will not be accepted (the printing of applications after submission of the application can sometimes spill over to an additional page with a few lines, which we accept). Project description text exceeding eleven pages will not be considered in the evaluation of the application.
The project description may be written in English. The description should cover the following aspects:
Bakgrund, syfte och relevans (Background, purpose and relevance)
Describe the background of the project, problems the project will focus on, and hypotheses that will be tried. Describe the significance of the project for research in this area, its relevance to society and possible areas where the results may be useful.
Make a brief overview and analysis of the theoretical framework for the project and the relationship to previous research in the area. Comment if a gender perspective is of relevance.
Anknytning till tidigare project (Connection to previous projects)
If the project builds on a previously finished or still on-going project, you should describe how the two projects are related to each other. It should be clear what was done within the framework of the previous project and what is new in the project you apply for this time.
Results and publications from preceding projects with connection to this one should be presented. If FAS financed the previous project, please indicate the FAS reference number.
Metod och arbetsplan, etiska frågor (Method and work plan, ethical issues)
The work plan should clearly describe what will be done and how the work will be carried out. Please present your choice of method and data, how the data collection will be carried out and the principles and methods for data analyses. The work plan should be detailed enough for experts to be able to assess the quality and feasibility of the project.
Present ethical questions that may come up in the project and how you plan to handle those. Comment if the project:
- Lacks ethical problems
- Needs certain ethical considerations
- Will be submitted to an ethical vetting committee
- Has been approved by an ethical vetting committee
When the project has been approved by an ethical vetting committee, a copy of the approval should be submitted to FAS. The copy should be marked with the FAS reference number of the project application.
Rules for ethical vetting and the vetting organisation are described in detail at http://www.epn.se/.
Kontakter och samarbete i detta project (Contacts and collaboration in this project)
Supply information about collaborating partners with whom you work or plan to work with, in Sweden or abroad. This is particularly relevant if the project will be included in a larger international collaboration effort.
Vetenskaplig publicering och kunskapsförmedling utanför vetenskapssamhället (Scientific publication and knowledge transfer outside the scientific community)
Fill in your plan at this stage regarding scientific publication and how information about the project and its results will be spread outside the scientific community.
Kostnadsplan och finansiering (Budget plan and funding)
The budget plan should cover the whole project period and also take expected cost increases into consideration, since FAS normally does not grant additional funding.
Budget lines provided in the appendix Ekonomi (Budget) should be presented and explained in greater detail, line by line. The model used for calculating the indirects costs should be described under this heading.
You should also describe how you plan to use funding applied from FAS and from other funding sources. This description should clearly indicate who is going to finance what in the project. The proportion (in per cent) of the total project costs applied for at FAS per year should be specified here as well.
If the applicant is from an environment which has recently received a large grant from FAS (FAS-centres or programme grants) during the past three years, a brief description of how these funds are being used in relation to the amount applied for in this application should be given.
Meritförteckningar (CVs)
The appendix should be written using the eKlara appendix template Meritförteckningar (CVs). Please follow the instructions available in Handledning för eKlara (eKlara guidelines) about how to handle the appendix templates etc.
Include brief CVs of of the project leader and other researchers in the project with a Ph.D. degree (maximum two A4 pages per person, CVs exceeding two pages per person will not be considered in the evaluation) . The CVs should then be compiled into one document.
The CVs should include information about education, employment and earlier larger research grants (project title, funding agency, amount, year) and relevant publications from the project, notably international ones, from the past five years.
If the project leader intends to simultaneously lead other projects, the CV should include information about the other projects and their sources of funding.
Submit and print the application in eKlara
When the form has been filled in and the appendices are in place, click on the button Skicka in (Submit). As a confirmation of receipt to FAS, a page will appear in eKlara indicating the FAS reference number of the application and instructions on how to print the hard copy that should be signed and sent by post to FAS.
