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  • 13.12.2021

    From digital border control to a new wealth elite – eleven projects have been selected by the research programme Future Challenges in the Nordics

    Eleven projects have been selected for funding as part of the research programme, Future Challenges in the Nordics – People, Culture and Society. The projects represent everything from digital health and law to climate research and cultural studies. The total amount of financing is about 10.5 million euros.

    Future Challenges in the Nordics is a seven-year research programme that stimulates research within humanities and social sciences in the Nordics. The programme focuses on the large societal challenges of the 21st century and how those challenges are understood and handled within the Nordic societies. During the spring, the programme received 449 applications for funding and now the final selection of 11 applications has been made.

    The research programme emphasises multidisciplinarity and cooperation across national borders in the Nordics. Researchers from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark will participate in the 11 selected projects, and around 30 research disciplines will be represented. Tom Moring, the chairman of the programme’s steering group, is very satisfied with the projects that are financed.

    “The chosen projects are multidisciplinary and they combine social sciences and humanities in a new way. They also have a clear relevance for society and represent a wide range of research disciplines. The interest in the programme among researchers was great and the applications were of such a high quality that all of the financiers chose to increase their original funding. In the last stretch of the application process we also welcomed a new financier, the Kamprad Family Foundation.”

    Tom Moring. Image: Janne Rentola/SLS

    The research programme is funded by the Finnish foundations The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland, The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, The Finnish Cultural Foundation and Stiftelsen Brita Maria Renlunds minne. In Sweden, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and The Kamprad Family Foundation are funders. The aim of Future Challenges in the Nordics is for scientifically sophisticated research undertaken under the auspices of the programme to also concretely benefit society.

  • 2.12.2021

    The Kamprad Family Foundation for Entrepreneurship, Research & Charity will join as a funder in Future Challenges in the Nordics

    The research programme Future Challenges in the Nordics – People, Culture and Society is getting a sixth funder as The Kamprad Family Foundation for Entrepreneurship, Research & Charity from Sweden joins. The programme will finance research related to the great societal challenges of our time. All programme funders have decided to increase their financial contributions and total funding now stands at about 10.5 million euros.

    Future Challenges in the Nordics is a seven-year programme for research within humanities and social sciences in areas that pose major social and cultural challenges. The programme’s main goal is to stimulate research across national and disciplinary boundaries and produce results that will concretely benefit society.

    Finnish foundations that are providing funding for the programme are The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland, The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, The Finnish Cultural Foundation, and Stiftelsen Brita Maria Renlunds minne. In Sweden, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and now The Kamprad Family Foundation.

    “We are happy to participate in the research programme, Future Challenges in the Nordics. Together, we can help support research that can make a difference by providing knowledge to society and value for citizens and policymakers, while strengthening cooperation among funders in the Nordics,” says Lena Fritzén, Executive Board Member for The Kamprad Family Foundation.

    Lena Fritzén,Executive Board Member for The Kamprad Family Foundation
    Lena Fritzén, Executive Board Member for The Kamprad Family Foundation.

    The Kamprad Family Foundation was founded in 2011 by Ingvar Kamprad and his family to support, stimulate and reward education and scientific research to promote entrepreneurship, the environment, skills, health and social development. The foundation puts a heavy emphasis on the belief that the results of research and education should benefit many people quickly and cost-efficiently.

    “We welcome The Kamprad Family Foundation as a funder of the research programme with joy and pride,” says Christer Kuvaja, coordinator of the research programme and Head of Research at the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland. “The fact that we have a new financial contributor and that the other funders want to raise their contributions shows that the research we will conduct within the programme is of a high quality and also necessary.”     

    The research programme was originally going to fund 6–10 projects with up to one million euros per project. After the application process during spring and summer, the financiers could see that there were so many high-quality applications among the 449 received that they wanted to raise the amount of funding. Now the total has reached about 10.5 million euros.

    The projects that will receive financing within the research programme will be announced in the near future.

  • 5.5.2021

    Twenty-eight applications proceed to stage two

    Future Challenges in the Nordics ­– People, Culture and Society received 449 applications in the first stage of the application process. Based on a shortlist drawn up by a panel of experts, the steering group of the programme has chosen 28 applications that will proceed to stage two.

    The panel of experts reviewing the 449 applications consisted of professors and emeritus professors, appointed because of their broad expertise beyond their main subjects. The applications were distributed so that each panellist received about 90 applications to evaluate, and each application was evaluated by two experts.

    The panel of experts selected 25 applications for an A-list and 26 applications for a B-list. The B-list was drawn up so that the steering group would have alternatives to the projects on the A-list. They would also be able to supplement the A-list with projects from the B-list if necessary.

    “The panel of experts agreed that these were 51 high-quality applications. In addition to these, 25 more were discussed but not placed on either of the lists. Those applications were also very good,” said Christer Kuvaja, Head of Research at the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland and coordinator of the research programme.

    Head of Research Christer Kuvaja. Image: Janne Rentola/SLS.

    Of these applications, the panel of experts nominated the top 15 applications on the A-list, which were considered outstanding. On the B-list, the top eight applications were nominated.

    Last week, the steering group, consisting of representatives of the programme’s financiers, met to choose which of the shortlisted projects would proceed to stage two of the application process.

    “The steering group decided that all of the 25 applications on the A-list would proceed to stage two. They also decided that three of the top eight applications on the B-list would proceed. Thus, 28 applications in total moved on to the second stage.”

    All of the proceeding applications were multidisciplinary. Sorted according to main field of research, nine represented political science or sociology, five law or ethics, five history, three communication and media, two pedagogy, two languages or literature, one economics and one ethnology.

    The applications proceeding to stage two will submit a full application and project plan between 15th May and 18th June 2021. The full applications will again be evaluated by the panel of experts, which recommends projects for funding to the steering group. The steering group will present a final proposal to the funders of the research programme in September. The funders will make their funding decisions in October or November 2021. The projects can start in 2022.

  • 23.2.2021

    Future Challenges in the Nordics receives 449 applications

    Head of Research Christer Kuvaja was pleasantly surprised by the amount of applications to Future Challenges in the Nordics. (Emma Tuominen/SLS)

    The first stage of the application process to the research programme Future Challenges in the Nordics – People, Culture and Society ended on February 15th. A total of 449 applications were submitted.

    Of the applications, 262 came from Sweden and 187 from Finland, since the project leader must have an affiliation to a university, Higher Education Institution or a research institute in Sweden or Finland. However, all the Nordic countries were represented among the project group participants.

    “We expected to receive 100–200 applications. It came as a pleasant surprise, both for me and for all the participating financiers, that as many as 449 applications were submitted,” said Christer Kuvaja, Head of Research.

    According to Kuvaja, the large amount of applications indicates that future societal challenges in the Nordic region is a theme that engages many researchers and is important to study.

    “Based on a quick review of all applications, questions about covid-19 and pandemics as well as the climate, AI, the elderly, children and young people, are the ones that dominate.”

    Evaluation process

    The programme’s steering group is currently reviewing the applications, in order to make sure that they fall within the purpose of the research programme. The approved applications will then be evaluated by a panel, which consists of external experts with a wide knowledge in culture and society.

    “The key criteria for the assessment of the applications are the academic quality of the research content, the feasibility of the project, the potential benefit for society and the leadership-qualifications of the project leader,” explained Kuvaja.

    The steering group will make the final decision on which 30 projects will continue to stage two, where they will submit a full application. The project leaders will be informed about the decisions by the end of April.

    Stage two runs from May 5th to June 18th 2021.

  • 26.1.2021

    Major investment in research aims at influencing the future of the Nordic region

    Five foundations and associations in Sweden and Finland are launching a major, joint research programme for social scientists and humanities scholars. The aim is for the research to help solve the major societal challenges of our time in the Nordic region.

    Political polarisation involving verbal threats and physical attacks, a global pandemic in which the world has been forced to adapt to a new reality, an ever-escalating climate crisis and a global trend towards urbanisation.

    Recent years have demonstrated the need to understand the turbulent world we live in today, in order to meet the challenges of tomorrow. This is why five foundations and associations in Sweden and Finland are launching a major research programme: Future Challenges in the Nordics – People, Culture and Society.

    The programme is a seven-year investment in humanities and social science research in areas that present major challenges in the Nordic region, both socially and culturally. Such areas may include migration, urban-rural polarisation, climate change, economic and technological developments or new ways of communicating.

    Research grants of up to 1 million euro

    The research programme is a collaboration between four Finnish foundations and associations: The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland, The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, The Finnish Cultural Foundation and Stiftelsen Brita Maria Renlunds minne, and the Swedish foundation Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. Together, the financiers want to make a tangible difference in society.

    “A research programme involving multiple foundations and associations will enable us to finance projects of a very high quality because we can award larger grants than usual, and researchers will have the opportunity to work within the programme for four years,” said Christer Kuvaja, Head of Research at the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland.

    The programme will fund five to ten research projects until 2026. The research grants are large – researchers will be able to apply for grants of up to 1 million euro for a project. Researchers are encouraged to cooperate across both national and disciplinary boundaries.

    Social scientists and humanities scholars needed to solve societal challenges

    The aim of the programme is that the research carried out will contribute tangible social benefits.

    “A lot of research is carried out into societal challenges, but the emphasis is often on medical and scientific issues. We will now gain a broad humanities and social science perspective on the challenges from people who understand the historical, cultural, social and political contexts that have brought us to where we are today. This knowledge will provide a good basis for those responsible for taking decisions about our shared future,” said Kuvaja.

    Decisions on which research projects are selected for the programme will be made at the end of the year. The projects may begin in 2022.