Frequently asked questions and answers relating to the call.

Agenda 2030 has a wide scope. Do you have any priorities? 

The call will not make any priorities within Agenda 2030. The broad concept of sustainable development is covered in the call. However, the application should specify which specific sustainable development goal(s) the project focus(es) on. The relevance will be assessed based on the following question: In what way is the project relevant to the formation of new knowledge that supports a transformation of society towards sustainable development, the fulfilment of the Agenda 2030 goals and the specific sustainable development goals the project focuses on?

Each project must involve three faculties. Which are the faculties at Lund University?

Faculty of Engineering (LTH)
Faculty of Fine & Performing Arts
Faculties of Humanities and Theology (count as one faculty)
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Medicine
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Social Sciences
School of Economics and Management

Researchers at shared departments at Faculty of Engineering (LTH) and Faculty of Science will name the faculty in the application to which they are organizationally located. This faculty will count as one. 

IIIEE and MAX IV do not constitute faculties. IIIEE and MAX IV can, however, participate in the call as specified in the call text (see next question).

Can researchers from MAX IV or IIIEE participate in an application?

Yes, MAX IV or IIIEE researchers can be main and/or co-applicants and/or participate in the projects. The requirement that each project is to involve three faculties remains. 

Can MAX IV or IIIEE staff be main or co-applicant?

Staff from MAX IV or IIIEE who fulfills the requirements can be co-applicants, but not main applicants.

Who qualifies as main and co-applicant?

The main applicant is to be either professor or senior lecturer (“lektor”).
Co-applicant researchers must have a permanent position or be an associate senior lecturer (“biträdande universitetslektor”) at Lund University. 

Can main and co-applicant be involved in more than one application?

Each main and co-applicant researcher can only participate in one application. Other participating researchers can participate in several applications. 

Should there be a co-applicant in addition to the main applicant from the main applicant’s faculty?

Update 2022-11-17: 
The call text does not exclude the inclusion of more than one co-applicant per faculty, including a co-applicant from the main applicant’s faculty. However, it is far from obvious that this would be beneficial for the project. It will require that the applicants are fully funded by other means and that it benefits the project more than it complicates its governance.

Previous answer, 2022-11-08:
No, there should not be a co-applicant in addition to the main applicant from the main applicant’s faculty. The previous English call text had an error regarding this. A corrected version of the English call text has been uploaded on the website.

The call text states the following: 

Det ska finnas en huvudsökande från en fakultet, vilken dessutom är projektledare. Därutöver ska det vara en medsökande per fakultet från övriga deltagande fakulteter.

There is to be a main applicant from one faculty, who is also the project leader. In addition, there should also be one co-applicant from each other participating faculty.

How many postdoctoral/BUL positions can one project apply for?

A project can apply for a maximum of 10 positions (postdoctoral and/or BUL), which would be if all eight faculties, IIIEE and MAX IV would be part of the project application. A project can only apply for one postdoctoral or BUL position per faculty.  

What is the minimum number of postdoc/BUL positions that you can apply for? 

There must be a minimum of three positions per project, divided into one postdoc/BUL position per participating faculty. No participating faculty can receive more or less than one position per project.

Is there a maximum amount granted per position in terms of salary?

You specify the actual monthly salary of the position but reduce the percentage working time by the amount that will be reserved for teaching and professional development in teaching and learning in higher education. Example: If 10% time is reserved for teaching then 90% of the actual salary for the position should be requested in the budget.

What type of costs are funded in the projects?

You can apply for funding for the research included in the position for the postdoc or BUL per participating faculty (+ MAX IV and IIIEE). Each project also receives funding for the main applicant corresponding to 10% of a full time position. 

In addition, you can apply for a maximum of 100 000 SEK plus indirect costs for other costs of performing the research such as travel costs, operating costs, equipment and external services per postdoc. 

All other costs must be co-funded (direct and indirect costs). 

Is it possible to apply for funding of PhDs in the call? 

No, you can only apply for funding of postdoc or BUL positions. 

Who will constitute the external panel? 

The external panel will constitute of internationally recognised researchers, who together possess a broad expertise in sustainable development.

If there is a difference in the Swedish and English call text, which call text applies?

The Swedish call text applies. 

Does the requirement for co-applicants to be permanently employed exclude BUL position co-applicants?

A BUL position (“biträdande universitetslektor” in Swedish) or associate senior lecturer is a time-limited career development position. The associate senior lecturer shall, upon application, be promoted to a permanent position as senior lecturer, if the associate senior lecturer is qualified for such employment and is deemed suitable for an examination. Following this question at the information meeting on 11 March 2022, the call text has been revised in order to make it possible for also associate senior lecturers to be co-applicants (revised call text dated 21 March 2022).

Are the funded proposals from last year’s call publicly available? 

The funded proposals from last year’s call have not been published on the Lund University website. However, according to the principle of public access to official documents (“offentlighetsprincipen” in Swedish) the project applications are public documents and have as such been registered in the University’s document registration system. At a request for disclosure, the requested document will be made public to the questioner. 

Can researchers, employed at another Higher Education Institute and external to Lund University, participate in the project?

Yes, researchers external to Lund University can participate in the project as participating researchers. However, they cannot apply for funding. Instead, their project time must be co-funded via other sources of funding. 

Each participating faculty receives through the project funding for a postdoc or BUL position for three years, including indirect costs. Does this mean, that if there are 3 faculties plus MAX IV (or IIIEE), each would get the funding and there would be a total of 4 postdocs/BUL employed within the project?

Yes.

Is there a limit in length for the application (updated answer 20.4.2021)? 

Yes. The application is to be a maximum of seven pages, of which sections 1-6 are to be a total of six pages. The maximum number of pages is including a reference list. The maximum number of pages is excluding appendices. 

Are there guidelines for formatting?

Please bear in mind that the reviewers will read many applications. The application must be readable for the reviewers. Use a font size of 11 or higher.

How are the assessment criteria valued? Are all assessment criteria as important or are they ranked? Do you assess the assessment criteria on the same scale? 

Please see the feedback form

Is there a requirement regarding the time since obtaining the PhD, i.e. if a 2 or 3-years rule since completing the PhD applies for the postdoc positions within the call?

The faculties’ terms of employment will apply. The details regarding terms of employment will be published in the call for postdoc fellowships on 30 August 2023.  

Regarding the calls for postdoc positions to be announced on the 30 August 2023, for how long will the postdoc calls be open? Would it be possible to apply to the call, even if a PhD student will defend the thesis after the announcement of the positions?

The faculties’ terms of employment will apply. The details regarding terms of employment and other specific conditions will be published in the call for postdoc fellowships on 30 August 2023.