Novo Nordisk Foundation
Funds long-term initiatives in science, education, and social impact through public mission-focused grantmaking.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an independent Danish enterprise foundation based in Denmark, founded in 1924, and one of Europe's largest charitable foundations by assets. In 2024 it awarded DKK 10.1 billion across nearly 1,800 projects, crossing DKK 10 billion for the first time, with DKK 2.8 billion delivered through open-competition grants. Its mission spans health, sustainability, and the life science ecosystem, and it operates through NORMA, its application portal.
The funding mix is broad and unusually large. Flagship routes in the current program set include Challenge Programmes with awards up to DKK 75 million, RECRUIT grants for international recruitment up to DKK 55 million, Investigator Initiated Clinical Trials up to DKK 22 million, NERD up to DKK 16 million, Data Science Investigator Programme up to DKK 14.7 million, Steno Collaborative Grants up to DKK 10 million, and the Tandem Programme up to DKK 13 million. The funded fields run through biotech, medtech, synthetic biology, materials, energy, climate, and data-heavy research.
Its position is strongest for Danish, Nordic, and international teams that can handle large thematic calls and long-horizon scientific work. The foundation combines open-competition grants with strategic initiatives and also invests through Novo Holdings A/S, which holds Novo Nordisk A/S, Novonesis, and other companies. That mix makes it both a major research funder and a capital-backed steward of the Nordic life science base.