Call for Proposals: Seed funding for Innovation and Collaboration Projects

Södertörn University hereby invites applications for project funding aimed at initiating or developing innovation and collaboration with external organisations. The call is open to faculty members and teachers with permanent employment at Södertörn University.

The purpose of this funding is to support the development of new ideas, methods, and solutions that contribute to knowledge utilisation and societal impact. Projects may serve as early-stage initiatives that evolve into deeper co-production and co-creation with external partners. Deadline is March 31st, 2026.

How much can you apply for?

You may apply for up to SEK 150,000 (including overhead).

What types of activities can be funded?

Examples of eligible activities include:

• Pilot initiatives, testbeds, or co-creation processes with users or target groups.
• Activities that help identify suitable collaboration partners for idea development.
• Meetings for idea generation and project planning ahead of joint applications for external funding.
• Conferences or other events that facilitate knowledge exchange and building of new or stronger relations between academia and external actors.
• Creating meeting spaces or arenas that can lead to research commissions, collaborative projects, or student assignments.
• Developing contract education (commissioned courses) together with an external organisation.

If you are unsure whether your idea fits the call, book a consultation at samverkan@sh.se.

Who can apply?

• Faculty members and teachers with a permanent position at Södertörn University.
• Members of the Strategic Collaboration Council are not eligible to apply.

Who can be a collaboration partner?

• Organisations outside academia, such as those in the public sector, private sector, or civil society.
• International partners are allowed.
• Another higher education institution cannot be a collaboration partner.

Is cofunding required?

Yes. The external partner is expected to:

• cover its own costs, including any personnel costs
• contribute to other relevant expenses, which should roughly correspond to the amount requested from Södertörn University

Please briefly describe which costs are covered by the university and which by the partner, to demonstrate reciprocity. (No full cost accounting is required for the partner’s personnel costs.)

How to apply – step by step

1. Book a consultation with an innovation or collaboration advisor via
   samverkan@sh.se(online or on campus).
   This ensures that your idea aligns with the call before you prepare your application.
2. Consult your head of department (must be cc:ed upon submission).
3. Prepare a full cost calculation for Södertörn University’s salary costs, including all indirect costs and overhead.
   -The calculation must be signed by the applicant, the head of department, and the financial officer.
   - The overhead rate depends on whether the project relates to research or education collaboration.
   - Contact projektansokningar@sh.sewell in advance for assistance.
4. Label your application with Dnr 1045-3.2-1-2026.
5. Submit your application, along with the signed full cost calculation, to samverkan@sh.se no later than March 31st

What should the application include?

Maximum 2 pages, with the following headings:

1. Description of the idea and motivation for the chosen collaboration partner
2. Purpose and objectives
3. Implementation plan and timeline
4. Expected results, potential challenges, and possible effects
5. Plan for dissemination of results
6. Plan for possible continuation and sustainable impact
7. Contact person at the external organisation
8. Preliminary budget, showing expected costs for Södertörn University and the partner
9. Full cost calculation (see instructions above)

Assessment criteria

The Strategic Collaboration Council (or a group appointed by the council) will assess applications based on:

1. Purpose and reciprocity
2. Level of innovation or novelty (if applicable)
3. Feasibility
4. Expected results and impact
5. Potential for continuation

Followup and reporting

• Projects must be completed during 2027.
• A brief report must be submitted within three months of project completion.
• Funded projects are expected present their results at internal or external events, such as a workshop or conference.

Contact

Petra Norling, Collaboration Coordinator, AVM/External Relations
Email: samverkan@sh.se

Apply for a planning grant to prepare an EU-application!

This internal funding scheme aims to provide seed funding for applicants to larger international calls, most importantly within the EU framework program Horizon Europe. Funds are meant to be used for consultancy services, salary costs, travel, as well as other well-motivated costs that can help develop a competitive application. A requirement for this planning grant is that Södertörn University is the main applicant for the call of interest. Generally, only calls that require an international consortium will be considered for funding. Note that planning grants for ERC calls are subject to a separate application process (see the plusbox below).

Applications are administrated by the Internationalisation Council. The Council accepts applications at any time and makes funding decisions on occasions throughout the year. The upcoming cut-off dates for getting your application evaluated:

• At the May meeting: May 12, 2026

Please note that smaller application planning cheques can be applied for on shorter notice with a more expeditive application process. These mainly aim to fund late-stage consultancy input on developed applications which are too close to the submission deadline to benefit from the regular grant application window.

Click here External link. to access the application portal.

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact grantsoffice@sh.se

Apply for a planning grant to prepare an ERC application!

In 2024, Södertörn University started an initiative to help researchers develop competitive applications to the European Research Council (ERC).

What is ERC?

The European Research Council is the largest funder of frontier research at the EU level. ERC grants External link. are open to scholars in all areas of research and at all career stages (starting two years after completion of a doctorate) and provide up to five years of generous funding for project leaders and their teams. They diverge from most other research funding in that they require an innovative and ground-breaking project idea that is expected to provide high scientific returns despite involving some risk. ERC proposal writing can therefore be very different from what many researchers are used to and it can require a great deal of work to be successful. While the excellence of the project itself is the main evaluation criterion, the researcher is also expected to have a track record that suggests scientific creativity.

Södertörn's ERC initiative

Aspiring ERC applicants at Södertörn University can receive substantial support in preparing their application. Applicants with promising project outlines can be awarded funding for consultancy services and writing time to prepare their proposals. Other activities are likely to be organised to support applicants.

The call opens before the summer of 2026

The application portal for ERC planning grants are expected to open at the end of the spring term and close in the early fall term. You can sign up for Grants Office's newsletter External link. to stay informed about the call. You are also welcome to contact Grants Office directly if you have any questions or wish to discuss a project idea.

Apply for Internationalisation funding

Once a year, the Internationalisation Council opens a call for projects that aims to promote the internationalisation of research and education at Södertörn.

Funding can be applied for in three categories:

1. International cooperation and blended mobility in teaching
2. International cooperation and mobility in research
3. Teacher mobility
   

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. Read more about the call and how to apply on the page Responsible internationalisation and exchanges (in Swedish, but the application document is available in English).

Application for a Grant for Participation in Academic Events Relevant to Baltic Sea and Eastern European Studies

The grant is administered by CBEES in cooperation with the Schools.
The funding is provided by the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen). The evaluation, handling and reporting are conducted jointly between the Schools and CBEES. The funding and its detailed administration are handled at the School of the respective awarded applicant.

The basic criterion for evaluation is the relevance of the event and its links to the Baltic Sea and/or Eastern European Studies.

For more information and conditions, please download the application form (PDF). The file should be opened with Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you cannot find answers to your questions in the document, please contact Vit Kysilka.

Announcement: CBEES funding for organising conferences and workshops – Application round spring 2026

The Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) provides funding for organising conferences and workshops related to the university’s Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe profile.

Researchers, doctoral students and teachers who are active at Södertörn University are eligible to apply for funding for conferences and workshops.

Before applying for funding, applicants must contact one of the CBEES professors, -research coordinators or -postdocs to discuss target groups, implementation, relevance and how the conference contributes to strengthening the university’s Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe profile External link. – please see this webpage for more details.

It is very important to note that applications can only be uploaded to the online form here External link.. In addition, applications must follow the Guidelines for applications for CBEES for funding for conferences, workshops.

The guidelines, a budget template and a link to the online report template are available on this webpage.

The final application deadline is 21 February 2026. Applicants will be contacted about the outcome around 7 March 2026.

CBEES Professors:
Joakim Ekman
Kirill Postoutenko
CBEES research coordinators:
Julia Malitska
Johanna Mannergren
Ramona Rat
Adrienne Sörbom
Postdoctoral Research Fellows:
Anna Balazs
Cagla Demirel
Olena Podolian
Mariia Semashyna

Please see documents with information, guidelines and budget template for applicants: