SSMF Starting Grant Program – Sweden

This support is aimed at those with postdoctoral qualifications, and covers salaries and associated operating expenses.

The grant is applied for by an individual researcher with the aim to establish independent research in Sweden. Only Swedish universities and colleges can be specified as grant administrators in the application. Before the call opens, be sure to discuss the terms and budget details with your intended grant administrator to ensure that you have long-term support for your research.

The research can be carried on a full-time basis. It can also be carried on on a half-time basis, in combination with half-time clinical practice, for medical practitioners who undertake research.

The grant can be used for research in all areas of medicine. SSMF supports both basic research and applied research. The grant period is four years and the disposition period for the grant is five years. The position begins no earlier than 1 January and no later than 1 July of the year after the application.

Funding Information

• The grant covers the cost of salaries for employment as a researcher or the equivalent. For full-time employment, the amount is SEK, 800,000 per year. For half-time, salary costs equivalent to 50 percent of current clinical practice are covered, though up to a maximum of SEK 800,000 per year, and this is combined with half-time clinical practice. In addition to funds for salary, the grant recipients receive SEK 900,000 per year as a grant to cover operating expenses.
• A maximum of 20 percent of the grant might be used to cover indirect project-related costs. The grant is a framework grant and if a grant recipient is awarded additional grants for their employment at their higher education institution during the term of the agreement, the SSMF funds intended to cover their own salary may be used for other purposes within the research project, however no earlier than one year after the beginning of the grant period.

Eligibility

• Researchers who intend to carry out research on a full-time basis and who were awarded a doctoral degree at least 2 and no more than 7 years before the end of the application period are eligible to apply.
• Researchers in clinical practice who intend to combine the research on a half-time basis with half-time clinical work and who were awarded a doctorate at least 2 years and no more than 10 years before the end of the application period are eligible to apply.
• The time is calculated from the date of defense of thesis.
• This period may be extended by a maximum of 24 months for sick leave or parental leave, medical internship/specialist residency (AT/ST service) or military service.
• A person who holds a teaching position (lecturer, professor) at the time when the research grant agreement is signed, is not eligible for the SSMF Starting Grant. SSMF allows simultaneous funding from a maximum of two national Starting Grants, including the SSMF Starting Grant. The grants shall constitute financial support early in the research career and are intended to promote development towards scientific independence. Together, the grants provide the opportunity to cover both salary and operating costs. Examples of other starting grants that can be combined with the SSMF Starting Grant are VR Etableringsanslag, Wallenberg Academy Fellows, SciLifeLab fellows och Ragnar Söderberg Fellows in Medicine, and faculty specific Starting Grants.

For more information, visit Swedish Society for Medical Research.