Grant support at GPH

For budget assistance: 
Anna Bengtsson Jemt and Sakis Papadopoulos, GPH Economy, ekonomi.gph@ki.se

For document and department signatures: 
Emma Thorell, GPH Department coordinator, emma.thorell@ki.se

For EU and EDCTP grant management (pre- and post-award): 
Sonia Hammi, GPH Project coordinator, sonia.hammi@ki.se
(Be sure to also contact Grants Office when applying for EU funding.)

Every year KI announces research grants from a large number of foundations, funds, travel grants, stipends, prizes and awards (approximately 40 calls per year in various research areas). See the various opportunities to apply for internal funding at KI below.

• KI Foundations & Donations Calendar
• Prizes & Awards
• Internal KI funding for doctoral education
• Calls for doctoral students

Additionally, KI Grants Office offers research development support to Mayo-KI teams. 

The Faculty Board helps fund Assistant Professor positions and Consolidator grants for junior researchers at KI. See their announcements for recruitment information and eligibility requirements. 

KI's Strategic Research Areas (SFOs) are investments initiated by the Swedish government in certain selected areas that have been ongoing since 2010. Karolinska Institutet has received funding for six fields: stem cells, diabetes, neuroscience, cancer, epidemiology, and health care science. See the most relevant SFOs to GPH below for details on available grants and funding opportunities.

• Strategic Research Programme in Diabetes (SRP Diabetes)
• Strategic Research Area in Epidemiology and Biostatistics (SFOepi)
• Strategic Research Area Health Care Science (SFO-V)

As part of the International Relations Office, the Internationalisation Board periodically announces research grants to strengthen ongoing international collaboration or to establish new collaborations. 

Be sure to reach out to Grants Office, grantsoffice@ki.se, directly when applying to EU, US, or other international grants. The following guidelines apply when contacting Grants Office for assistance:

EU funding: Contact GO at least a few weeks before the deadline for budget and strategic advice.

US federal funding: Contact GO at least 4 weeks before the application deadline for Prime applications. Concerning Sub-award applications, contact GO at least 2 weeks before the application deadline.

Other US/international funding: Contact GO at least 2 weeks before the deadline.

Step 1: Grant application
Step 2: Grant preparation & agreement
Step 3: Grant management & reporting

Some lists of external funding sources (see below) can be viewed alphabetically or by type, such as project grants, funding for PhD students, post-doc and junior research grants, travel grants, and for conferences, among others.

• Pivot-RP KIs new database for global funding opportunities
• Current internal and external funding calls highlighted by Grants Office
• List of external funding sources

Find information on external funding and the support offered by GO below:

• Swedish & Nordic research funding
• European research funding
• US federal funding

Grants Office manages a KI internal prioritization process for several external Swedish funders, including various Wallenberg foundations and STINT, as they can require that all project proposals are first prioritized internally by the university. Alternatively, there may be limits to the number of applications that can be submitted per institution.

The Compliance & and Data Office provides researchers with support, advice, and guidance for research documentation, data management, KI research grants & awards, US compliance, clinical trials management and support, and system management.
Contact: compliance@ki.se

KI Foundations & Donations
CDO manages the internal KI grants and awards calls and is responsible for the organisational account in Prisma.

US compliance support
The US compliance team is responsible for coordinating the US-funded research projects awarded to KI researchers (i.e., post-award). As US compliance specialists, CDO assures compliance with the US, EU, and Swedish legal requirements.

They assist with project management and ethics and manage non-financial compliance and the KI Institutional Review Board. 

The External Engagement Office, provides guidance and support for setting up and managing industry collaborations, including contracting, intellectual property rights, impact, and other related questions.
Contact: richard.cowburn@ki.se 

Impact support
A growingly important section of grant applications includes those involving descriptions of a project’s impact and societal relevance. Impact advisors at EEO organise inspirational activities and provide support to help researchers achieve impact, use of their knowledge assets, and express how their research can address United Nations Agenda 2030 goals.

The Development Office provides professional support for fundraising work and the management of donations. They provide resources and advice as well as help researchers navigate existing regulations. 
Contact: do@ki.se 

Case for Support
One way to access funding “outside normal calls” through donor funding is by writing a Case for Support. This is a short (maximum 2 pages) popular science summary with emphasis on the societal value and impact of the project.

• Write your Case for Support using the DO’s template (Swedish is preferred) and send it to do@ki.se.
• DO will save the Case for Support in their portfolio of projects seeking financing.
• While DO cannot promise that a Case for Support will receive funding, they will do their best to have your case in mind if they meet a potential donor with an interest that aligns with your research project.

Read more about what DO can support with, their top tips for successful fundraising, and the Case for Support process in this interview with Sophie de Geer Josefsson.

DO contact person for GPH: Sophie de Geer Josefsson, Project manager

When writing a grant application, it can be helpful to read and evaluate successful applications. There are several ways to track down previously awarded projects.

The Swecris database enables you to search, compare, and produce statistics for Swedish research projects. Information from several Swedish research funding bodies is gathered here in one place. 

Within Pivot-RP, the "Awarded Grants" tab on the top menu will direct you to a database of detailed information about awarded grants from selected Swedish, Nordic, European, and US/international funders.

Some previously awarded grants can be found through KI’s own webpages, such as all awarded Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions projects at KI, including Postdoctoral Fellowships.

For information on any awarded projects at GPH submitted through Prisma, you can also contact GPH Grant strategist, Erin Flanagan, erin.flanagan@ki.se

Academic writing support is available to students of all levels through the University Library (KIB). Please note that while KIB does offer support to doctoral students, this does not extend to faculty holding a PhD; however, post-docs may attend KIB’s workshops.

Hands-on services for students include individual appointments for help with all types of academic writing, including grant applications, and workshops on academic writing, such as writing a popular science summary. 

KIB does offer a series of workshops on various topics for doctoral students and researchers through KIB Talks. All KI researchers can benefit from reviewing KIB’s academic language guidelines and popular science writing resources.

Additionally, the summarized tips from GPH’s own popular science workshop can be helpful to read through before writing a popular science summary.

Clinicum is a coordinated network offering free scientific advice and methodological support to researchers at KI or Region Stockholm in the planning and execution of their research projects. The scientific advisors have expertise in biostatistics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, and other method-intensive disciplines. You can discuss study design, choice of statistical method, data orders, and the description of the methods section in applications to ethics review authorities or to grant providers, among others.

Although Clinicum maintains a strategic focus on early support (the earlier the better), they can provide support anytime throughout a project.

Finding research partners
There are several different ways to find partners or collaborators for a research project or find missing expertise when coordinating a consortium. The most efficient method may be to use or expand upon any networks that you and your current partner(s)/collaborator(s) already have. 

Participating in brokerage events (which can be organised by KI Grants Office or EU programmes themselves) or using the Partner Search tool on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal are also ways to find partners. 

Additionally, KI is a member of the Crowdhelix network, which can help you extend your professional network, find partners for your next research project, and advertise your expertise to become a partner in others’ projects and consortia. All KI employees can set up an account and use the platform. 

For identifying key actors of already funded projects, the EU database Cordis may be useful. Other organisations, such as the Idealist Partner Search from the Horizon Europe digital National Contact Point (NCP) network, also have tools that are available for everyone.

KI’s partnerships, collaborations, and networks
The University Alliance Stockholm Trio, a partnership between Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Stockholm University, aims to strengthen collaboration, promote interdisciplinary research, and support joint action. 

Generally, international collaborations are initiated and organised at the departmental level; however, some university-wide international partnerships, collaborations, and networks are coordinated by the International Relations Office. 

Platforms for fellowships, internships, and other opportunities
EURAXESS, a network aiming to provide assistance to circulate and collaborate across borders, sectors and disciplines, maintains a web portal where research positions and funding, fellowships, and hosting opportunities are shared. Similarly, KI subscribes to GoinGlobal, a platform with country profiles, job ads, internship tips, and employer overviews, among others.