What is the grant for?

The academic grant is for academic institutions to organise conferences, courses, group trips, or other activities that have a strong potential for strengthening Italy-Sweden ties.

 

The grant can cover costs associated with the implementation of the activity, such as travel, accommodation, venue rental, speaker fees. The grant cannot be used to cover the organisers’ salaries.

 

The start date should generally be no earlier than two months after the deadline. Activities that have already started are not eligible.

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Who can apply?

The applicant is the academic institution in Italy or Sweden that organises the activity. This would typically be the institution hosting the activity and receiving visitors from the other country. In other cases this could be an institution in the home country of the participants that organises a group trip to the other country.​

 

What is the grant amount?

The grant amount is between 25,000 SEK and 100,000 SEK. ​

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How do I apply?

Before you apply you need the following documents (which can be attached as PDF files, all in English):

• A one-page description of the activity (course, workshop, group trip, etc) detailing the topics covered, the actions/activities to be performed, and the projected outcomes for participants

• A list of the budget items that the grant would cover, as well as the remaining budget covered by other funding (without detailed breakdown).

 

You will also need to prepare answer the following questions about the activity:

• Brief description (max 1500 characters): What are the goals of the activity? What are the planned actions?

• Contribution to cultural exchange (max 1500 characters): How does this activity contribute to the cultural exchange between Sweden and Italy?

 

You submit your application through the web-based application by clicking the link on top of the page (the application form will open in a new window and will require registration).

The call is open every year during September-October.

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How is my application evaluated?

Applications are examined by a committee consisting of the representatives from the Italian Cultural Institute, Swedish Institute, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, Stockholm School of Economics, and Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. We ask you to indicate the general scientific field of the activity so that we could match your application with the evaluator having most relevant expertise.

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The following criteria are used:

• Scholarly value captures the overall academic quality of the activity

• Exchange value captures the potential of the activity to generate new ties between Italy and Sweden 

• Feasibility captures the likelihood the aims of the activity can be achieved given the the competences of the parties involved

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What happens after I apply?

After you have submitted the application you will receive the notification that it has been received.

Decisions for each application are made in December each year the applicants are notified before the end of the year.

 

What happens if I am awarded a grant?

You will receive a letter with the details of the next steps to take. This usually means that immediately after acceptance you can send us a request to pay the grant and provide the bank details. We typically administer payments within a week from receiving the request.

 

Within three months from the end of the activity we ask you to send us a proof that the activity was executed: the program, the list of participants, and the financial report certified by the institution’s financial office. We also require a one-page free-form report describing how the activity unfolded.

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The grant is withdrawn if not claimed within 24 months of the decision date. Failure to send the proof of activity execution or the final report after the grant has been paid would result in a requirement for you to pay back the grant.

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By accepting the grant the applicant also authorises the publication of their name in the list of beneficiaries as well as the publication of the report (complete or partial) on the Foundation's website.