Formas — Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development

Funds Swedish sustainable development and public-interest innovation through competitive research support and environmental problem-solving programmes.

Formas, the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development, is a government research council in Sweden's national research-funding system. It funds research and innovation in environment, agricultural sciences, and spatial planning, and it also develops strategy, analysis, and evaluation work around sustainable development. The agency's annual funding scale is about SEK 1.8 billion.

Its routes include the annual Explore open call, the Career Grant for early-career researchers, Biosociety calls for resilient bio-based production, and Impact Innovation water-sustainability initiatives. Eligible applicants include universities, colleges, research institutes, private companies other than sole proprietors, associations, municipalities, county councils, and other government agencies. Funding decisions are made by Formas' Scientific Council, with some projects up to SEK 10 million annually delegated to department heads.

Applicants submit through Prisma, Sweden's national application system, which makes the process centralized and highly standardized. Formas suits researchers and organizations that can combine scientific quality with clear societal relevance in sustainability. The strongest proposals are usually interdisciplinary, clearly anchored in the agency's remit, and built around Swedish-led work that can be administered cleanly through an eligible host organisation.