Grants for Postdoctoral Positions in Sweden

These grants give researchers holding a Swedish doctorate, or equivalent foreign degree, the opportunity for temporary placement at a higher education institution (HEI) or research institute in Sweden. The placement must be at an HEI or faculty different from the one where you received your doctorate (or equivalent).
 
The research project that you plan to conduct must differ substantially from your previous research. In this context, “substantially" refers to new directions, new innovations, or new orientations in relation to your previous research.

Conditions


 

Applicant

 


Individual researchers may apply for Grants for Postdoctoral Positions in Sweden.

Required qualifications

 
You must hold a Swedish doctoral degree or equivalent foreign doctorate awarded not more than 3 years before, but not later than, the closing date for applications. Even if you were awarded your doctoral degree earlier, you could be considered if special circumstances interrupted your period of active research.

“Special circumstances" refer to leave due to:

  • sickness
  • military service
  • positions of trust in trade union organisations and student organisations
  • parental leave, or other similar circumstances
  • medical residency (up to 24 months)
  • maximum of 24 months of continuing education/specialist training for categories of clinically active professionals.

If you request a time deduction you must specify the amount on your application form. In your CV, clearly specify the reasons, dates, and amount of time to be deducted. We cannot consider your request unless the reasons are clearly described. We strictly apply the 3-year rule and may request additional information from you to verify the information provided. 
 

Grant period

 


The grant can be awarded from the Swedish Research Council for 6 to 24 months, and the period must begin during the first 6 months of 2012.  
 

Costs and grant amount

 


A standard amount is awarded for postdoctoral positions. The grants must be used to cover salary costs.
 

Administration

 
The grant is normally administered by a Swedish university or higher education institution, or another organization in Sweden engaged in research (administrative entity).

The Swedish Research Council requires that a final financial report be submitted for every grant. Starting with the 2011 round of applications, we will check to confirm that the project leader has submitted a final financial report from every previous grant received. If a final financial report is missing, the current application will be rejected. If you have questions concerning the financial report, please contact your representative of the administrative entity.

Note! This applies to final reports dated 31 March 2011 or earlier.

Employer and terms of employment

 


You must be employed by the administrative entity unless the Swedish Research Council and the administrative entity agree otherwise. The institution determines the type of employment. Read more in the European Charter for Researchers.

Read more in the European Charter for Researchers on the EU websitesexternal link, opens in new window

By signing Appendix S, the administrative entity´s representative confirms its commitment.  

Application content

The application should be written in English and must contain the following:

  • Summary
  • Popular science description
  • Research programme (Appendix A)
  • CV (Appendix B)
  • Publication list (Appendix C)
  • Grants for Postdoctoral Positions in Sweden (Appendix Q)
  • Signatures (Appendix S)  

Summary


The summary of the research programme should be written in English and contain a brief description of:
  • what will be done
  • how the research will be conducted, what scientific methods will be used
  • what has been done previously
  • what is important about the planned research.
 
The text should quickly orient the reader to the purpose and implementation of the research. Write in a style that allows people from other research backgrounds to easily comprehend the information.
 
Fill in the summary on the form in the application system.  
 

Popular science description


Describe the project in a popular science style so that even those who are not familiar with the topic can understand.
  • Describe what will be done and why.
  • Emphasise the basic research.
  • Explain in what way the new knowledge can be important.

The popular science description, which must be written in Swedish, is an important tool when the Swedish Research Council informs others about the research we finance. If we award funding for your application we have the right to use the description for informational purposes.
 
Fill in the popular science description on the form in the application system.  

Research programme (Appendix A)


 Appendix A must present a brief but complete description of the research objective (maximum of ten A4 pages, including references). Please note that any pages beyond the number allowed will not be considered in the evaluation.
 
The research programme must include the following information, under separate headings:
  • Purpose and aims. Present the overall purpose and specific goals of the research project (or equivalent).
  • Survey of the field. Summarise your own and others´ research and previous findings in the research field. Provide key references.
  • Project description. Summarise the project´s design. Describe theory, methods, timetable, and implementation.

Present the following under a special heading, if relevant to the application:

  • Equipment. Describe the basic equipment for the project that you and your group have at your disposal.
  • International and national collaboration. Describe the collaboration that you and your group have with foreign and Swedish researchers and research groups. Report on international collaboration that you participate in, or are associated with, through your research.
  • Ethical considerations. Present the ethical issues that the project (or equivalent) faces, and describe how they will be addressed in your research.

CV/Scientific qualifications (Appendix B)


You must submit a CV (maximum of two A4 pages). List your publications separately in Appendix C.

Specify under the following numbered headlines, in this order:
 

  1. Higher education degree(s) (year, subject area)
  2. Doctoral degree (year, discipline/subject area, dissertation title, and supervisor).
  3. Postdoctoral work, (year and placement).
  4. Qualifications as research fellow/associate professor (year).
  5. Current position, period of appointment, share of time spent in research.
  6. Previous positions and periods of appointment (specify type of position). State here if you have previously held a Postdoctoral Position, and if so in what subject area.
  7. Special circumstances regarding time deducted from active research time.  Accurately specify reasons (parental leave, sickness, positions of trust in trade union organisations and student organisations, military service, residency, specialist training), dates, and number of months.
  8. People who have completed their doctoral degree under your supervision (name, year of disputation [i.e. oral public defence of PhD thesis]).
  9. Students for whom you have been the primary supervisor (name, time).
 
Lastly, provide other information of importance to the application. Items that do not apply to you should be left blank.  

Publication list (Appendix C)


List your publications. Mark your five most important publications with a single asterisk (*).
 
Categorise the publications under the numbered headings, in the following order:
  1. Peer-reviewed articles
  2. Peer-reviewed conference contributions
  3. Review articles, book chapters, books
  4. Patents
  5. Open access computer programs that you have developed
  6. Popular science articles/presentations

Note! Include only articles (or equivalent) that have been published or accepted for publication.  

Appendix Q — Grants for Postdoctoral Positions in Sweden


Include the following in Appendix Q:
 

Degrees

  • Date you were awarded your initial degree (the degree you received before postgraduate studies commenced, e.g. Master's degree).
  • Date you were admitted to postgraduate studies.
  • Date you were awarded your doctoral degree.
 

Host institution/department

  • Contact person at the host institution (first name and surname, telephone number, and e-mail address of the contact person, normally the same person who wrote the letter of invitation).
  • Host institution´s faculty and postal address (in the following order: host university/institute, Faculty, department, address).
  • Describe how the research at the host institution differs from the research at the institution where you engaged in postgraduate studies and obtained your doctoral degree.
  • Describe the potential importance of the postdoctoral position and how you expect to benefit from it.
  • Describe the results you expect from the project.
  • Describe why you selected this particular host institution (describe your opportunities to develop your expertise as a researcher).

Duration of stay at host institution

 
Indicate the dates you plan to start and conclude your stay at the host institution. The grant can be awarded for 6 to 24 months, and the period must begin during the first 6 months of 2012.
 

Additional attachments 


Do also attach the following documents (in pdf format) to Appendix Q
  • Your doctoral diploma.
  • Certification from the host institution in Sweden showing that you are welcome to conduct the planned research there.
 
Certification from the host institution must also include:
  • A presentation of the host institution and the research group
  • A description of the group´s current area of activity, including research quality and expertise in the research area
  • A list of the research group´s most relevant publications and patents in the research area
  • A description of host institution´s arrangements on your behalf (opportunities for further qualifications and development, available resources, equipment, etc)
  • A statement about your planned research
  • The research group´s reasons for hosting you. 
 

Signatures (Appendix S)


Appendix S is generated automatically when you register your application. Print out Appendix S and sign it. The signatures confirm that:
  • the described research, position, and equipment will be allocated space in the institution
  • you have reported your side-line occupations and commercial ties, and nothing has emerged that would conflict with good research practice.
  • necessary permission and approval have been granted to the project, e.g. regarding ethical review.
 
Send Appendix S by regular mail to the Swedish Research Council.
 
Remember! Appendix S, complete with signatures, must be received by the Swedish Research Council not later than 3 working days after the closing date for applications.
 
You will find the address and closing date for applications in the section, “When and how to apply". 

Instructions for applying


Apply electronically via the Swedish Research Council´s application system (VR-Direct) by completing an application form. On each page of the appendixes, enter your name, personal identity number, and appendix designation. Send Appendix S (paper form), complete with signatures, to the Swedish Research Council.
  • You are responsible for the completeness of the application, i.e. that all application forms and appendixes are filled in properly. The Swedish Research Council does not process incomplete applications. Failure to comply with the instructions will be taken into account in the evaluation.
  • We do not accept additional information after the closing date for applications (apart from such information that we expressly request).
  • If funding from another funding body is awarded for the same or similar purpose described in this application, notify the Swedish Research Council as soon as possible.
  • Attach only the material that we expressly request. Other material, e.g. letters of recommendation or offprints will not be evaluated.
  • You may submit only one application for each project and type of grant.
  • In your application, specify the higher education institution (or equivalent) where you intend to conduct your work.
  • Write the application and appendixes in Swedish or English. The Swedish Research Council may need to use international reviewers. The obligatory popular science description and your address should be written in Swedish. Write the project title in both Swedish and English.
  • Write the appendixes in A4 format, using a 25mm margin and Times New Roman 12 font. When we print out the applications, we use a resolution of 200-300 dpi and possibly greyscale. Hence, you should adapt your images to that standard. Remember that the pdf files must not be password protected.
  • The application form automatically requests the required appendixes.  

General terms and conditions for applications


It is important for you to become familiar with the Swedish Research Council´s general terms and conditions regarding grant applications.
Applicants in Artistic Research should use the form for Humanities and Social Sciences.

Read more about the general terms and conditions for applicants:

Ethical guidelines
Public access
Commercial interests
Collaborating to construct and phase out databases
Misconduct in research

Evaluation and decisions


Active researchers conduct the scientific evaluation of applications. Using the assessment criteria of the Swedish Research Council, these researchers evaluate your application in competition with other applications. The application will be evaluated based on the competence and future potential of the applicant, scientific quality of the project and the scientific quality of the research group. Indicate on your application form the evaluation panel that should review your application. 

Evaluation panel
Addressing conflicts of interest at the Swedish Research Council 
 
Decisions
In late November 2011, the Swedish Research Council will publish its funding decisions on the website. The decisions and comments will be sent to all applicants.
 
Disbursement of awarded funds will begin in January 2012 at the earliest. 

When and how to apply


 
Submit your application electronically via the application system no later than 12:00 midnight (24.00) on Thursday, 25th of August 2011. The Swedish Research Council is open until 4 p.m. (16.00) on the closing date for applications.
 
You are responsible for the completeness of your application.
 
Send Appendix S (paper form), complete with your signature, to the address below. Appendix S must be received by the Swedish Research Council not later than the 30th of August, 3 working days after the closing date for applications.
 
Swedish Research Council
Box 1035
101 38 Stockholm  
 
Please note!
Previously we have experienced overload problems in our application system during the final days before the application deadline. Hence, we encourage you to submit your application in good time. 
 

Contact


Questions about application content:
 
Humanities and Social Sciences, Educational Sciences and Artistic Research and Development
Janet Eltebo, e-mail: janet.eltebo@vr.se, Telephone: 08-546 44 290

Medicine and Health
Paola Norlin, e-mail: Paola.Norlin@vr.se, Telephone: 08-546 44 311  

Natural and Engineering Sciences
Sung-Za Ödelycke, e-mail: sung.za.odelycke@vr.se, Telephone:08-546 44 307

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Contact: webbredaktör
Updated: 2011-07-05

Information

Area of science:
Humanities and Social Sciences, Medicine and Health, Natural and Engineering Sciences, Educational Sciences, Artistic Research and Development
Last application date:
2011-08-25

Grants for Postdoctoral Positions in Sweden will be available for the last time


This is the last time that the Swedish Research Council will make grants for postdoctoral positions in Sweden available. Starting next year, the Swedish Research Council will make available a new form of grant — the International Postdoc. The aim is to provide young researchers with an attractive international start.
Read the full article
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