Applications open for Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Project Grant 2023

Projects must be based at a university or other non-profit research institution in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden.

Areas of Support

• The proposed research should address major challenges within plant, agricultural, and food science associated with developing sustainable agriculture and food production.
• The research should be fundamental in character with a clear and strategic outlook to improve sustainability and potential solutions. The proposed research should significantly extend existing knowledge beyond state of the art and may have a high risk profile. The research should be based on life science research disciplines.
• Non-exclusive list of prioritized areas:
  • Development of plants with high productivity, resiliency, and resource use efficiency for food, fiber, materials, fuel and energy, chemicals, or climate change mitigation.
  • Utilization of microorganisms to improve sustainability across the value chain from primary agricultural production to end product.
  • Development of agricultural, food, and forestry systems with higher productivity, circularity, and biodiversity, and with minimum impact on environment and climate.

Funding Information

• The total grant amount for this call is DKK 30 million. Applicants may apply for DKK 300,000- 1,000,000 per year for projects lasting 1-3 years (maximum DKK 3.0 million per project).
• Projects with a main applicant and a co-applicant located in different Nordic countries can apply for up to DKK 1.35 million per year (for these projects, the max. possible total amount is DKK 4 million per grant).

Eligibility Criteria

• Researchers with an independent research program at a university or other non-profit research institution in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden are eligible to apply for these project grants.
• Eligible candidates may be junior-level researchers, under the condition that they can document to have established themselves as independent researchers. As the grant does not cover salary of the grantee, the applicant must be guaranteed their own salary for the entire project period.
• In addition to the main applicant, applications may include one or more co-applicants who contribute scientifically to the project and will receive a financial share of the grant.
• A co-applicant must have an independent research program at a university or other non-profit research institution. There is no geographic restriction to the location of co-applicants. The project may also include research partners who do not receive funding from the grant. Those research partners may be located at a for-profit organization.
• The applicant has the main responsibility for developing the project, writing the application, and carrying out the proposed research.
• Applications from Master students and PhD students will not be taken into consideration.
• The application and any additional uploads must be written in English.

Ineligible

• NNF will not award funding for:
  • Commercial activities
  • Overhead
  • Double funding of projects:
    • If the applicant has received funding for parts of the project from other sources, in part or in full, this must be accounted for in the budget, as no budgetary overlaps are allowed.
    • If the applicant, after submission of the NNF application, receives funding for the project or parts of the applied project from others, NNF must be contacted as soon as possible.