Keep the following in mind:

• Do not start too late! With some foresight you will be able to solve potentially time-consuming problems.
• Read and follow all instructions. Please note that FAS regularly updates the instructions. Make sure you have the latest versions (the ones available in eKlara).
• Technical problems may be caused by the configuration of your computer. Try working from another computer.
• Instructions in the system are in Swedish. The English translations have been supplied in brackets in these guidelines. If you need further clarification, please contact the FAS secretariat.

User account in eKlara

To be able to use eKlara you need a user account. Anyone who at some point delivered an outline or an application to FAS is the owner of an account. If you do not have a user account, go to För att skaffa användarkonto (Create user account) on the eKlara start page and follow the instructions.

An application should always be created from the eKlara user account of the project leader/applicant. Please make sure that your personal information is correct before writing an application by logging into eKlara and go to Hantera konto (Handle account). Change any information that may be outdated, including your e-mail address.

User accounts that have not been used for the last four months will be removed.

To apply for grants from FAS

Applications to FAS must be submitted electronically via eKlara. A printed and signed copy of the application should be sent to FAS that same day. In some cases the applicant may need to add other documents to the application, e.g. publications. Such requirements are included in the instructions.

Every type of grant has a unique application form available in eKlara. A number of appendices have to be added to the application form and sent to FAS. Required appendices in the case of most grants are: budget, personnel, project description, and a CV.

The eKlara start page has a list of FAS’ different types of grants. The list provides particular information about each type (grant coverage, eligibility, assessment criteria, preparations and FAS’ decision processes), application dates and instructions.

Instructions for applications

Instructions in Swedish and a link to instructions in English are available on the eKlara start page. Instructions in Swedish can also be found in the application form under Anvisningar till denna sida and the blue icons (use ctrl + p or right click + skriv ut to print the instructions in the application forms). 

The instructions are updated before every new call is announced. The budget and personnel templates are similarly updated on a regular basis. Make sure always to use the latest versions, i.e. the ones available in eKlara.

An application always comprises two parts – an application form and electronic supplements (the number of supplements varies depending on the type of grant).

The application form

The applicant should fill in the project title, the home institution of the project, the requested amount, an abstract of approximately 2,000 characters and whether the applicant has applied for or received additional funding from other sources. The information will be stored in FAS’ project database upon submittal of the application together with information about the applicant retrieved from the user account.

Electronic appendices to the application

The number of appendices is as a rule four: budget, personnel, project outline and a CV. Appendices should be written on the applicants’ computer, using the appendix templates available in eKlara. Some appendix templates have to be filled in (budget and personnel), others are blank MS Word documents (project description and CV).

Each template is labelled with a code at the tope of the page where it says Här sätter systemet in data (This is where the system adds data). The code identifies the document when you send in your application to FAS. It is impossible to submit a document that does not carry this code. If you destroy the code, for instance by writing or copying text across the code, this will also prevent you from submitting your application. Therefore, make sure that your text begins in the right place in the appendix template.

Work process when submitting an application via eKlara

When writing an application, begin by retrieving the appendix templates at the bottom of the application form under Bifoga dokument (Attach document) and save them on your own computer. Please do as follows:

• Click on the link Mall (Template), select Save
• Name the document (it must have the file extension .doc), save it in a convenient location on your computer by clicking Save

You will then write the different parts of your application directly on your own computer. After having finished writing all the appendices, go back to eKlara. Please note that you must do the last check of the different parts of your application on your computer before submitting the application. Once the application has been submitted to FAS you cannot change it.

Lastly, fill in the form, write or copy the short version of your text, attach the appendices and click Skicka in (Send).

Please note that you will be automatically logged off if you have not been active for more than an hour.

To attach the appendices, please do as follows:

• Go to Bifoga dokument (Attach document) in the application form
• Click Bläddra (Browse)
• Find the file you need in your own computer, mark it and click Öppna (Open)
• The file is attached

In the field to the left of Bläddra (Browse) you will see the path to the attached file.

If any information or appendix should be missing, if the data code at the top of the appendix templates has been damaged or if they lack the file extension .doc (for an MS Word file), the application cannot be submitted. If a pop-up blocker has been installed on your computer, this may also disturb the submittal.

eKlara will notify you if anything is missing by way of a text message in red appearing in the form (in rare cases the configuration of your computer may prevent you from seeing the red text).

FAS cannot help you with problems related to the configuration of your computer or your local network. Try sending the application from another computer or contact your local system administrator.

Printing the application

Once you have submitted the application, a new page will appear in eKlara with the application’s registration number. This page contains links to the documents you have submitted to FAS.

Click on Ansökans förstasida (Application's first page) to print the first page of your application, which contains information from your eKlara user account and from the application form as well as empty text fields for signatures. Then use the links to print the appendices. The printouts of the appendices will have the application registration number at the top of the page, your name and the project title (40 characters).

The first page printout, duly signed, and the appendices should be sent to FAS by postal mail with all other necessary information in accordance with the instructions.

It is also possible to print your application using eKlara / Mina projekt (My projects). If the submittal has been successful, your application will be visible here. Click on the registration number of the application and proceed with the printouts in the same way as described above.

The application's errand status

Under Mina projekt (My projects) you can also see if your signed copy of the application has reached FAS. Once arrived, the errand status will change from Registrerad (Registered) to Inkommen (Received), alternatively Beredning (In process).

An approved outline is a prerequisite for all project grant applications. The outline and the application will get the same registration number. When an application has been submitted electronically, the errand status changes from Godkänd (Approved) to Registrerad (Registered) and when FAS receives the signed copy, the status changes to Beredning (In process). 

Recommendations for html-printouts

Your application will be available in eKlara to the FAS board members, evaluation committees and external experts. They download the applications they want to read from eKlara during the preparation phase. They also use eKlara as a source of information about the content and status of previously submitted outlines and applications by the applicant to FAS.

When FAS board members and the expert panels handle large volumes of printouts, they may choose to print out the applications in html-format. Transferring text from MS Word to html may affect the layout of the appendices. The following recommendations will help you improve the look of your html-printouts of an outline or an application:

• Use the font Arial 10p
• Clean your text of the format Body text
• Use tables instead of the tabulator

Many write CVs using tabulators, which don’t work in the html printout. For a better result, write your CV as an MS Word table instead.

To clean an MS Word file from the template Body text, select Format in the Word menu, then Styles and formatting.

Project summary and final report

Messages from FAS agreeing to fund an applicant contain information on whether the project leader should submit a popular science project account in Swedish and English or not. Such accounts should be submitted to eKlara.

To send in a popular science project summary, log into eKlara, select Mina projekt (My projects), click on the reference number of the grant and select the tab Populärsammanfattning (Popular science project summary). Write your text directly into the text box and save. Instructions are available under Instruktioner för denna sida (Instructions for this page) and under the blue icons.

To submit your final report, enter in the same way Mina projekt (My projects) and the tab Slutrapport (Final report). Add information about the project results in Swedish and English as well as information about publications, then click Save.

The button Skriv ut (Print) in the tab Slutredogörelse (Final report) will give you a printout of the text fields together with a first page containing space for budget accounts and signatures. The signed printout should be sent to FAS and constitutes, if no other information has been given, the final report of the grant. 

The text fields in Populärsammanfattning (Popular science project summary) and Slutredogörelse (Final report) can be updated whenever the project leader wishes to do so. This is possible also after submitting the final report if the project leader wishes to update information, for instance about publications.

FAS project catalogues and eKlara

FAS offers two project catalogues on the FAS web site, one in Swedish and one in English. The catalogues contain information about most grants awarded by FAS. If FAS has asked you to deliver a popular science project summary in the decision statement, your contribution will subsequently be available in the project catalogues.

The project catalogues retrieve on-line information from the FAS project database. Popular science project descriptions and final reports submitted to eKlara therefore become immediately available to visitors of the FAS web site.

The project catalogues are among the most frequently visited parts of the FAS website. They constitute an important means to disseminate information about FAS-funded research to society at large. Journalists, researchers and other funding agencies, politicians and decision makers in general use the FAS project catalogues.