About the grant

The purpose of SSMF Consolidator Grant is to give prominent researchers in medicine the opportunity to strengthen their position as independent researchers.

The grant is applied for by an individual researcher active at a Swedish university. Only Swedish universities and colleges can be specified as grant administrators in the application. Before the call opens, be sure to discuss the terms and budget details with your intended grant administrator to ensure that you have long-term support for your research.

The grant can be used for research in all medical fields. SSMF supports basic research as well as applied research.

The total grant amount is SEK 11,000,000 including indirect costs. The grant period is five years and the disposition period for the grant is six years. Awarded grants are commenced on January 1 the year following the application.

Application period

Applications for the SSMF Consolidator Grant is open March 15 – April 15. Please note that the application system closes on April 15 at 23.59 and it is not possible to register a new application, submit or make changes to an existing application after that. Note that both parts of the application should be submitted before the deadline of the application period.

Information about the application and a link to the application system can be found further down on this page.

Eligibility

With the SSMF Consolidator Grant, SSMF seeks to provide support to researchers who intend to advance an independent and previously initiated research trajectory. Applicants must demonstrate their eligibility for consideration within the consolidation phase, and the grant’s allocation should have a meaningful impact on the ongoing development of their research group.

To be eligible to apply for the SSMF Consolidator Grant, your doctoral degree must be awarded at least 7 years and no more than 12 years before the end of the application period. The time is calculated from the date of defense of thesis. Deductible time can be accepted with a total of 24 months for sick and parental leave, AT/ST service and military service.

Please note that the person who has been granted a consolidator grant from another national (e.g. VR) or international funding body (e.g. ERC) is not eligible for the SSMF Consolidator Grant. SSMF does not approve that applicants who are granted funding through SSMF Consolidator Grant and a consolidator grant from ERC, VR or grants of equivalent size in the same year, accept both grants. Consolidator grants that mainly cover the applicant’s salary (e.g. local consolidators such as KI consolidator, the Cancer Foundation’s 6-year senior investigator grant) and smaller grants intended for the target group 7-12 years after the defense can be accepted.

Amount of the grant and its terms and conditions

The total grant amount is SEK 11,000,000, including indirect costs.

If a grant is awarded, the recipient must be employed by or affiliated to (applies to researcher that are employed at a clinic) the grant administrator when the grant period begins and throughout the grant period. The activity level in the project must cover at least 50 percent of a full-time employment. Applicants do not have to be employed by or affiliated to the grant administrator at the time of application.

The grant may be used for all types of project-related costs within the framework of the regulations that apply to the grant administrator. SSMF assumes that the grant administrator, as the responsible employer, covers any costs in addition to the grant.

The grant is requisitioned semi-annually in advance by the administering institution. Scientific and financial reports must be approved for funds to be disbursed.

Review process

After submission, applications to SSMF Consolidator Grant are assessed in two steps. In the first step, a short application (Letter of Intent A) is reviewed by a larger group of experts in medical research. Each application is assessed by three reviewers who rate the application in different categories. In the second step, the highest-ranked applications from step one are assessed by SSMF’s review board. In this step, the main application (Full application B) is assessed by four reviewers. Innovation, the scientific quality of the project, the applicant’s skills and the practicability of the project are taken into consideration when assessing the applications. The different categories are graded on the basis of a 5-point scale: 1 not sufficient, 2 adequate, 3 good, 4 very good and 5 excellent.

In addition to expert reviews of submitted applications, the most highly-qualified applicants will be called for a personal interview with the SSMF Review Board. The purpose of the interview is to improve the selection process to identify the most suitable candidates. Six to eight applicants for each grant type are called for an interview, which includes a presentation by the applicant followed by a discussion. Participation in the interview is mandatory and the costs associated with the interview are covered by SSMF.

The applicants who have qualified for interviews are called at the end of August and interviews are conducted in Stockholm in September. Final decisions on the award of grants will be announced by e-mail.

Submitting your application

The application is submitted electronically and consists of two parts.

The first part, Letter of Intent A, must be completed and submitted before the applicant can proceed to the second part, Full Application B.

Only the applicant should sign Letter of Intent A. BankID is used for the signing procedure.

Full Application B should be signed by both the department head (prefect) and the applicant. Note that the application must first be signed by the department head for the applicant to subsequently sign and submit it. Any changes made to the application after it has been signed by the department head or the applicant will result in the breaking of the signature and it must be redone. BankID is used for the signing procedure.

Note that both parts of the application should be submitted before the deadline of the application period.

The application should be written in English.

In addition to the information specified in the application forms, the following documents must be attached in pdf format:

• Research proposal – Letter of Intent A. It must consist of a maximum of 2 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, with single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins, references and any illustrations included. Headings in the following order should be included: Title, Scientific scope (aim, hypothesis), State of the art, Work plan (methods and infrastructure), Significance (long term perspective), References (only the most important – minimum font 9).
• Applicant’s publication list. The list shall cover a maximum of 5 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing. List the publications in reverse chronological order under 1) The 10 most important publications 2) Relevant publications from the last 8 years.
• Research proposal – Full application B. It must consist of a maximum of 8 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, with single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins, references and any illustrations included. Headings in the following order should be included: Purpose and aims, Current state-of-the-art research, Significance and scientific novelty, Preliminary and previous results, Project description including theory and methodology, timetable and execution, brief description of the research environment and infrastructure, References (minimum font 9).
• The protocol from the defence of the thesis or the degree diploma.

Be sure to check that the correct documents are attached to the respective application forms!

Incomplete or incorrect applications will not be considered.

Please note that only one application per call opportunity may be submitted.

Reporting of grant

Two years after the start of the grant period, the grant recipient must submit a mandatory report. The report shall focus on the scientific progress that the grant has made possible, how the researcher’s activities have developed as well as expected results during the remainder of the grant period. The report must be approved by assessors appointed by SSMF in order for the remaining funds to be made accessible.

The financial reporting of the grant should be submitted annually in January. The reporting form is available for download at the bottom of the page.

Scientific and financial final reports are submitted after the completion of the grant period.

Financial and scientific reports are generated using SBS Manager, where the reporting deadlines are specified.