Call for planning grants 2027

The Centre for Welfare Studies (CVS, for its Swedish name, Centrum för välfärdsstudier) is a research centre for contemporary welfare issues. Its activities are interdisciplinary, university-wide, and take place in collaboration with external actors. With a special focus on governance, organisation, and management, current challenges and opportunities facing the welfare society are analysed. As part of developing cutting-edge expertise and increasing the proportion of external funding linked to the centre's activities, CVS annually announces planning grants. The planning grant will be used to prepare a project application in 2027 that will be adapted and submitted to at least two external research funders.

Conditions

The planning grant comprises SEK 125,000 including overhead costs. The applications for research funders will be prepared during 2027.

Grants can be applied for by researchers at the University of Borås. A condition for obtaining a grant is that the project accommodates collaboration outside the original research environment, i.e. between different Faculties/centres/platforms at the University of Borås, or collaboration with another higher education institution or other external organisation.

The project should address the transformation of the welfare society from a governance, organisation and management perspective. The project must fall within one of three focus areas of CVS:

• Cross-sectoral collaboration
• Skills supply in welfare
• The challenges and opportunities of digitalisation

Read more about CVS's three focus areas

If the application prepared with the support of the planning grant receives external funding, the project is expected to be linked to the CVS research environment and related to previous and ongoing CVS-funded projects and publications, thereby contributing to a cumulative development of knowledge. 

Additional conditions:

• The applicant Project Leader must not have ongoing CVS funding. Previous CVS funding must be reported before a new application for planning grant can be granted.
• Normally, the support must not lead to a reduction in the applicant's time for professional development.
• The funds do not cover premises costs.
• If the proposed research funder does not allow full cost coverage, the applicant is responsible for ensuring that the issue of possible co-funding is anchored at their own Faculty.
• Planning grants are not awarded for the preparation of two outline applications. At least one of the applications to external research funders must be a complete application.
• The person who is awarded a planning grant must present their ongoing application at CVS's research workshop in December 2027 to receive views before completion.

Form of the application

The application must contain:

• a summary of no more than 1,000 characters including spaces
• a project description of no more than 4,500 characters including spaces
• a timetable for when the applications are to be submitted to the external research funders
• the project manager's CV of no more than 2,000 characters including spaces. Personal identity numbers should not be provided.

The project description must state:

• the purpose and planned implementation of the project
• the social relevance of the project
• the research group's competencies
• planned partners
• intended research funders and why these are relevant in relation to the focus and purpose of the project
• how the project relates to CVS's area of activity and, if it receives external funding, how it contributes to the development of knowledge within CVS.

Mark your application with the reference number FO2026/308.

The summary, application and CV are to be merged into one document and sent to cvs@hb.se, by 27 November.

Assessment

The application is assessed by the CVS steering committee based on:

• the project's relevance to CVS's focus areas
• the scientific quality and societal relevance of the project idea
• the research group's competence and planned collaboration
• the prerequisites for obtaining external funding
• project's expected contribution to the development of knowledge within CVS.

Applications that do not follow the instructions will not be assessed.

After the grant has been awarded

After the grant has been awarded, a conditional appendix is signed between the project manager and their Faculty/department and CVS regarding the funds and their conditions.

After that the research funders has announced its decisions the person who has received a planning grant is to, in writing, report on the outcome to CVS via the form that CVS provides. Copies of the applications that have been submitted to the research funders must also be sent to CVS.

During this year, the researchers who receive planning grants are invited to CVS research workshops, which provide a supportive forum so that the application that is being developed is in line with CVS's main issues and focus areas. Researchers who receive planning grants are also encouraged to turn to the Grants and Innovation Office (GIO) for advice and comments on the application.