• Ekhagastiftelsens application system

Application deadline is May 20 every year. The application system opens for applications April 1 and closes at midnight the night between May 20 and 21. It is possible to send in multiple applications during the same application round.

Instructions for the application system can be found in the document Guide to Apply.

The application can be made in Swedish or English. 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. However if the project does not have proficienty in Swedish it is better to make the application entirely in English. We do not recommend to use translation services.

An application to Ekhagastiftelsen consists of:
» General information about the application
» Letter of recommendation from department head
» Project description (uploaded through the application system)

General information about the application

In the application system you enter the general information about the project you are seeking funds for.

A part of the general information is a summary description of the project. It is important to write this in a popular scientific way (lay summary) so detailed knowledge is not needed 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 project contribute to improving the self-healing capabilities?

Information about which details are part of the general information can be found at the end of the document Guide to Apply.

Letter of recommendation from department head

A letter of recommendation from the department head (or eqivalent position) is required for all applications from an academic institution. The letter should not be longer than 3 pages and include the following information:
» Information about the applicant's competence
» Short summary of the project
» Assessment of how the project fits into the department's other research lines
» Confirmation that the department head or equivalent has read and approved the current application and the foundation's terms and conditions for funding.
» Confirmation (if applicable) that the institution is co-financing the project.

The letter of recommendation has to be uploaded in the application system by the applicant before the application is submitted. The letter of recommendation has to be signed. Digital signature is allowed.

Project description

A project description is uploaded as an attachment to the application in the application system. The project description has to be a PDF-file. A recommendation for the length of the project description (excluding space for pictures, tables, CV and publications) is that it should not be more than 10 pages. Absolutely not more than 20 pages.

There is no form or template for the project description. Below are some aspects that could be suitable for 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
» Originality of the project - is there ongoing research in this area?
» Material and methods for conducting the study
» 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 and list of publications.

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.

Terms for grants

When we award a grant, it is according to our terms and conditions for grants, which can be found on the page Terms for grants.

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 20-30 million SEK. Usually between 15 and 25 projects receive funding each year.

To get an understandig of the size of normal amounts we can grant we recommend you to have a look at our list of past grants. You find this list under the menu selection Research/Grants. Select the All years tab for a list of the grants and their amounts that have been granted 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.

Payment of funds

Ekhagastiftelsen will split up the payment of the grant in several payments according to the time plan of the project. 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 October-November).

Evalutation 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. In addition, experimental animals must not be subjected to unnecessary suffering.

Increase your chances

Many applications are rejected due to simple mistakes. Remember the following when compiling your application:
» The relevance of the project with respect to the aims of the foundation is clearly described both in the summary description and in the project description.
» The amount applied for is reasonable considering Ekhagastiftelsens funds available for grants. See more information under heading Amount that can be applied for in the application instructions.
» The budget summary in the general information is stated in SEK (Swedish Krona). It is OK to do the budget in the project description in other currency provided that a budget summary in the project description is made in SEK.
» Project start is planned for a date after the results have been announced (results normally announced in October or November).
» A common reason for an application not receiving funds is that the applicant has not followed our instructions. Read the instructions carefully.