Research Environment Grant — Humanities and Social Sciences

Research Environment Grant — Humanities and Social Sciences

Funds collaborative humanities and social science teams in Sweden to sustain community-focused research environments.

The Research Environment Grant in Humanities and Social Sciences is Vetenskapsrådet's collaborative group grant for researchers in the humanities and social sciences. It funds projects that require a long-term perspective and a collective effort exceeding the capacity of a single researcher. Awards range from SEK 1,500,000 to SEK 3,000,000 per year for project durations of four to six years, with projects beginning July 2027. The 2026 call is open from 6 May 2026 through 18 August 2026 at 14:00 CET, with decisions expected by the beginning of April 2027.

The applicant must be an individual researcher with a Swedish or equivalent foreign doctoral degree, employed at a Swedish higher education institution or approved Swedish organisation at minimum 20% full-time equivalent. The research team must include between two and six participating researchers, all holding doctoral degrees or equivalent competence. Applications are submitted through VR's Prisma system in English (except for the popular-science description, which must be in Swedish). The research plan is limited to 10 A4 pages, requiring tight framing for a multi-year group programme. Budget justification and a section addressing ethical considerations are both required components.

The programme is one subject-area variant within VR's Distinguished Research Environment Grants pattern, which runs parallel calls across multiple scientific domains. Applicants should ensure their proposal clearly articulates what makes the research theme better addressed by a collaborative environment than by an individual project grant. The long review cycle — decisions in April 2027 for projects starting July 2027 — means applicants have limited time to make budget revisions after award, so financial planning should be finalised before submission.