Instructions
On this page you can read our instructions on how to submit an application for funds.
Detailed information about which types of applications Ekhagastiftelsen can give funding to can be found on the webpage Purpose of the foundation. We recommend to read this page first!
An application to Ekhagastiftelsen must consist of three documents:
» Application form
» Application data sheet
» Project description
All three documents have to be sent together in an e-mail message to info@ekhagastiftelsen.se.
For applications from Sweden: A printed and signed application form has to be sent by regular mail to
Ekhagastiftelsen, Box 34 012, SE-100 26 Stockholm, Sweden.
For applications from outside Sweden: A printed and signed application form has to be sent as a scanned PDF-file (fourth document) by e-mail together with the other three documents.
Application deadline is May 20th every year, which is the day we must have received the application (including the form sent by regular mail if you are in Sweden - postmarked date is not valid). If May 20th is a Saturday or Sunday the application must be received on Friday. For the email message you have until 23:59 on May 20 to send the message.
NOTE! Messenger or courier services can not deliver to Post Office Boxes. If you want to deliver the application personally or by courier, please contact us by e-mail or by telephone (+46 70 240 81 81) at least one week before the deadline so we can give you a current delivery address.
The application can be made in Swedish or English, but it is probably a slight advantage to write in Swedish (if possible) as most people on our scientific advisory council have Swedish as their mother tongue.
1. Application form
Every year an updated application form can be downloaded from our website - see link at the bottom of this page. There you will also find detailed instructions on how to fill in the form as well as a checklist.
The summary of the project has to describe the application in a popular scientific way (lay summary), meaning that you should not need to have detailed knowledge of the subject in order to understand the application. It is also important to describe in which ways the project contributes to public health, why the application is relevant for Ekhagastiftelsen and how it matches our prioritized research areas. For example how does the application contribute to improving the self-healing capabilities?
2. Application data sheet
The information from the application form is also to be entered into the application data sheet (Excel-template) that can be downloaded - see link at the bottom of this page.
Note! The application data sheet must be sent as an Excel-file in Excel-format (.xlsx or .xls)!
3. Project description
There is no form or template for this document. The following aspects should be described in the project description:
» What problem or which question is to be solved/answered? Which idea or vision is to be tested or further developed?
» What is the hypothesis?
» Goal or purpose/aim
» How it the project relevant with respect to the aims of the foundation?
» Present situation, current international knowledge/research (including references) and conclusions.
» Material and methods
» Expected results and their importance/significance. How are the results to be evaluated? How will the project be documented and disseminated?
» Time plan
» Budget and information about financing from other organizations.
At the end of the project description the qualifications and references of the applicant and co-applicants should be stated, especially within the area that the foundation supports. This is often done through a CV
The project description including any appendices and supplements has to be sent as one (1) PDF-file.If the project description is sent in any other data format or as more than one file the application will be returned.
Description of relevance
The project description must include a section that describes why the application is relevant for Ekhagastiftelsen, how it matches our prioritized research areas and in which ways the project contributes to public health.
Budget
Information about our budget requirements can be found on the page Budget.
Please also note our rules regarding when grants can be paid out. In most cases the grant will be split up in several payment and it is always so that 20 % of the grant can only be paid out after the final report has been submitted and approved by the foundation. More information is available on the page Requesting funds.
Applications from outside Europe
Since 2019 it is no longer mandatory for applications that do not come from Europe to have a cooperation with a swedish institution. However we strongly recommend that you have a reserach cooperation with a swedish institution where the partner is involved in the research project. Please be sure to describe the details of the cooperation.
Financing from other organizations
Ekhagastiftelsen can award grants to projects where the foundation is one of several funders. Usually the foundation does not support projects where our contribution would only be a small part of the total budget.
In the application form the applicant has to state information regarding grant received or applied for at other organizations.
In the project description the applicant has to further elaborate this and for example answer some of the following issues and questions:
raquo; How is a project/subproject interrelated when funds are applied for at Ekhagastiftelsen and other organizations for the same research area? What is Ekhagastiftelsens role/part of a larger funding?
» What happens with the project if requested funds are not granted by Ekhagastiftelsen or other funders? Does the project need to receive financing from all funders in order to be carried out?
» If grants are applied for at both Ekhagastiftelsen and other organizations and all applications are approved, can the funders contributions be reduced as the project has received more funding than needed to carry out the project?
» When the project is already ongoing, for what/which parts is it that funds are sought?
» What other funds have already been received and what have they been used for?
» If Ekhagastiftelsen is only funding an early part of the project (for example: funds asked for are for data collection, but analysis is carried out later and funded by other organization) - which type of reporting is possible for the part of the project funded by Ekhagastiftelsen? When will the total project be finished and Ekhagastiftelsen able to receive information about the very final report?
» To write that you are glad for and can make use of any amount received is not a relevant answer, but something we have actually heard from applicants.
Amounts that can be applied for
There is no maximum amount that an application should not exceed. Please note that in the last years the total amount awarded has been in the range 10-20 million SEK. Usually between 10 and 20 projects receive funding each year. Under the menu selection Research/Grants choose the All years tab for a list of the amounts that have been granted to specific projects in the past.
If it is evaluated that the project can manage with a reduced budget, it can be that such an amount is awarded. If a grant recipient receives funding from other funders for the same project Ekhagastiftelsens grant can be reduced.
| Year | Granted applications | Total granted funds | Received applications |
| 2022 | 20 | SEK 21 860 000 | 170 |
| 2021 | 18 | SEK 20 305 000 | 155 |
| 2020 | 14 | SEK 12 230 000 | 129 |
| 2019 | 17 | SEK 15 810 000 | 91 |
| 2018 | 15 | SEK 12 825 000 | 95 |
| 2017 | 15 | SEK 12 345 000 | 99 |
| 2016 | 15 | SEK 12 460 000 | 88 |
Payment of funds
Information on how awarded funds are paid out can be found on the page Requesting funds.
Evaluation of applications
Applications are evaluated and prioritized by our scientific advisory council. Based upon the council's recommendations, the board takes decisions on awards of funds at its meeting in the fall (usually September-October).
Prioritization criteria are:
» The relevance of the project idea with respect to the aims of the foundation.
» The framing of question for the project
» The scientific quality of method and execution, including the applicants competence for the project and the time plan and budget presented.
When evaluating the applications, the United Nations' sustainability goals are also taken into account. Projects that are to receive grants must not be in conflict with the UN's sustainability goals.
Assessment of relevance
The most important evaluation criteria is the relevance of the application with respect to the aims of the foundation. For detailed information about Ekhagastiftelsens aim and prioritized research areas see the page Purpose of the foundation.
Here we want to make some clarifications regarding relevance.
» Research in animal husbandry is generally not prioritized. However, grants can be awarded if it can be assumed that there is a connection between animal husbandry and the health quality of food.
» Research regarding the environment is of lower relevance for the foundation. Support can be relevant to the extent as this has a positive effect on the capacity of the agricultural system (organic matter and biodiversity) in the long run to deliver ecosystem services that can reduce the need for chemical pesticides and fertilizers as well as securing the quality of agricultural products.
» Regarding the medical field, it should be mentioned that the founder Gösta Videgård repeatedly expressed a certain distrust of mainstream medicine. What he reacted against was particularly the use of drugs and medicines containing such agents which in his opinion could not be considered natural.
» Gösta Videgård was opposed to artificial substances and poisons of all kinds.
Clinical animal testing
Ekhagastiftelsen has a restrictive attitude towards scientific research where clinical animal testing is used. This does not mean that such research can not be funded by Ekhagastiftelsen, but such research must have high relevance with respect to the aims of the foundation and not be able to carried out without animal testing.
Downloadable files