Ragnar Söderberg Foundation - Ragnar Söderberg Projects in Economics

What the grant covers

You will receive funding for a research project in the field of economics. The amount comes from your own budget and is not a fixed sum; it will be paid out over a period of up to 4 years. Previous projects in this field have each received around 5 million SEK (approximately 460,000 EUR). The funding can be used to pay the salaries of the project leader and team members. It also covers direct costs such as equipment, data collection, travel to conferences and research stays abroad. The Foundation also provides a lump sum to cover overheads. The funding comes from the Ragnar Söderberg Foundation, a Swedish private research funding body, and is aimed at small teams of early-career researchers.

Who can apply

• Your degree: You must hold a doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign doctoral qualification awarded no more than ten years ago (for the current round in 2015 or later). Doctoral students are not eligible to apply.
• Field: Economics in the broad sense, including macroeconomics, business administration and economic history. The project leader must hold a PhD in one of these fields. In the interests of interdisciplinary work, other team members may hold a PhD in a different field.
• Team size: You are applying as a group of two or three researchers, one of whom will lead the project.
• Where you work: You must be employed by a Swedish research organisation at the time the funding commences. You may apply before you are resident in Sweden, but you must have entered into an agreement with a Swedish host institution by the time the funding commences.
• Nationality: Open to all nationalities.
• Commitment: The project manager allocates at least 30% full-time equivalent to the project.
• One application: You may only take part in one application per round, whether as a leader or as a team member.

You can postpone the funding period to allow for parental leave, long-term illness, caring for a close relative or clinical work in the medical sector.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted via the Foundation’s online platform, and the entire application must be written in English. The deadline for applications is 7 October at 15:00. Before submission, your head of department must also sign the application digitally. A panel of Swedish and international reviewers will assess each project in terms of scientific quality, originality and feasibility. The Foundation’s Board will make a decision in December.

How realistic are your chances?

This funding scheme is very narrowly defined: you need to have recently obtained a PhD in economics, have a small team and be affiliated with a Swedish host institution, which means that the pool of eligible applicants is limited. However, the funding amount per project is substantial, and as only a handful of projects are selected, competition for each one is fierce. If your project idea is truly innovative and your team has a strong track record, you stand a real chance. An ordinary application will not stand out.