Project field

Applicants may apply for projects within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, research on the didactics of natural science and experiences with natural science and technology in leisure time. This includes funding for projects focusing on sustainability, climate, energy production, green transition and health including the following subjects: Crafts and Design (Håndværk og Design) and Food science (Madkundskab)

Education projects may target childcare centers, primary and lower secondary schools and upper secondary schools as well as Bachelor of Education (teacher education) and Bachelor of Social Education (pedagogue education). It is furthermore possible to include students from the Bachelor of Education and the Bachelor of Social Education in projects if the projects are aimed at collaborative practice in childcare centres and/or primary and lower secondary schools.

For example, applicants may apply for grants for:

• Developing and implementing methods, materials and resources for science pedagogy as well as teaching in natural and scientific subjects, including mathematics
• Science competitions, special offers for talented students and activities targeting specific groups of children and students
• Development projects for improving the competencies of teachers and early-childhood educators.
• Projects focusing on artificial intelligence, computational thinking and democratic digital education

Research on the didactics of natural science carried out through projects or fellowships must be based at a university or university college in Denmark.

Leisure projects may target children, young people, families and/or the general public. For example, applications may cover natural science activity centers, museums, leisure activities or summer schools.

The project activities must be addressed to target groups within the Danish Realm.

Funding

A total of up to DKK 50 million is available in fall 2024, for grants between DKK 100.000-6,000,000 for projects of up to 6 years duration.

Applicants may apply for funding for the following types of expenses directly related to the project:

• Salary for employees or affiliated personnel at all staffing levels, including project man-agement;
• Salaries for substitutes or paying the salaries of replacements for teachers so that they can develop projects. Please note that salaries for substitutes in connection with continued education (efteruddannelse) cannot be applied for in this call. Reference is instead made to Efteruddannelsespuljen
• Researchers in permanent positions at universities and university colleges may apply for funds for salaries for research employees to be hired in connection with the project but may not apply for funds for their own salaries;
• Researchers in permanent positions may apply for funds to pay for substitutes for the time they use in a development project if the project extends beyond the description of their duties in their position (such as communicating natural science research or devel-oping educational material for target groups outside the university or university college);
• Researchers not in permanent positions may apply for a research fellowship to cover their own salary for up to 2 years. Applicants for a research fellowship may not simultaneously be responsible for a major research project;
• Operating expenses: Direct expenses for developing, implementing, and operating the project, including materials and equipment;
• Travel expenses in relation to the project, e.g., conference and workshop participation and presentation of results derived from the project;
• Communication and outreach in the form of conferences, books, articles, and other dissemination directly related to the project;
• Evaluation and follow-up research in connection with the project;
• External auditing costs if the administering institution is not subject to public audit. Institutions that are not subject to audit by public authorities must carry out external audits, and the expenses for this must be included in the budget;
• Administrative expenses (up to 5% of the applicant’s overall budget and included in the budget) to cover administrative expenses directly related to the project. Please note, all administering institutions can apply for administrative support, including Danish universities. In this call it is not possible to apply for project supplement.

The project may be an independent, delimited project or a part of a larger project that is also supported by other partners.

The Foundation will not award funding for:

• Commercial activities
• Overhead/indirect costs (such as rent, electricity, water and maintenance)
• Double funding of projects:
  • If the applicant has received funding for the proposed project from other sources, in part or in full, this must be accounted for in the budget, as no budgetary overlaps are allowed
  • If an identical or overlapping project proposal has been submitted to other funding institutions than the Foundation, it must be noted in the application
  • If the applicant receives funding for the project, or parts of the project, from other sources following submission of the application to the Foundation, the Foundation must be informed immediately.

Language

The application system is in English, but applications can be submitted in either Danish or English. The language chosen will not influence the assessment of the application.

Application process

The application must be completed and submitted using NNF’s online application and grant management system, NORMA.

Before applying, it is important that applicants read all information in the ‘Guidelines for applicants’ as they contain detailed information on the application process. Please note that the section regarding administrative support (under section 1.4 Funding) has been updated in the guidelines for applicants on 2 August 2024.

To be eligible for a grant for a research project or research fellowship, the applicant must upload a commitment letter for hosting from an administering institution, which must confirm that the applicant will be employed during the grant period.

Assessment criteria

The Foundation’s Committee on Science Education and Outreach will assess the applications based on the following criteria:

• The project’s consistency with the purpose of the call for applications
• the capacity and qualifications of the applicant and the applicant’s institution
• The quality of the project for the discipline
• the relevance and importance of the proposed project, and how it builds on any existing knowledge and initiatives
• the project plan, method and feasibility of the project to be implemented, including plan for evaluation and knowledge-sharing
• Expected benefit for the target group and in relation to knowledge building
• the capacity and qualifications of any co-applicants and collaboration partners
• if relevant to the application, the embeddedness, originality, scalability and opportunities for disseminating the project throughout Denmark
• If relevant, the research environment and research excellence.