Eligibility

Applicants must be actively involved in natural science education and/or natural science outreach.

The applicant may be a public-sector or nonprofit organisation or an individual person.

An individual person applying for a grant must be based at an educational institution, knowledge institution, association, municipality or the like in Denmark (a host institution) during the grant period.

Applications must provide details for any co-applicants and collaboration partners.

Project fields

Applicants may apply for grants for projects within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching, research on science education and natural science outreach.

For example, applications for grants may include funding for developing and applying inspiring teaching methods and resources for science teaching and improving the competencies of teachers. Learning projects and research projects on science education may focus on initiatives at childcare centres, primary and lower-secondary schools, upper-secondary schools, business academies and university colleges in Denmark. The research on science education must be based at a university college or university in Denmark.

The Foundation will also consider applications for funding such initiatives as talent competitions, natural science activity centres, recreational initiatives, outreach projects and science journalism. These types of initiatives may focus on children, adolescents and/or the general public.

Funding

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

A total of up to DKK 100 million is available in 2018 for funding:

• Project grants between DKK 100,000 and DKK 5 million for projects of up to 4 years in duration (the main applicant may be an organisation or an individual person)
• Project grants between DKK 5 million and DKK 20 million for projects of 2–6 years in duration (the main applicant must be an organisation)

Applications for grants that are outside these categories will not be considered.

Each main applicant may be linked to only one application in an application round.

Applicants may apply for a grant to pay for the following expenses:

• Salaries for employees or affiliated personnel at all staffing levels, including project management; however, researchers in permanent positions may not receive funding for their own salary
• Operating expenses: direct expenses for developing, implementing and operating the project, including materials and equipment
• Scientific outreach and knowledge sharing in the form of conferences, books, articles and other outreach directly related to the project
• Administrative support of up to 5% of the applicant’s overall budget (and included in this budget) to cover administrative expenses
• Follow-up research in connection with development projects

The Novo Nordisk Foundation will not award funding for:

• Commercial activities
• Buildings
• Overheads (such as rent, electricity, water and maintenance)

If the applicant has applied for or been awarded co-funding, the applicant must state this in the budget.

Assessment criteria

The Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Committee on Science Education and Outreach will assess the applications.

The applications will be assessed based on:

• The capacity and qualifications of the applicant and their institution
• The scientific quality and originality of the project and the project design and methods
• The relevance and importance of the proposed project
• The ability of the project to be implemented
• The potential impact, scalability and opportunities for knowledge dissemination and outreach and nationwide adoption in Denmark
• The significance of the research and the research community if this is relevant to the application
• Confirmation of support from other funders if this is relevant to the application
• The capacity and qualifications of the co-applicants and partners if this is relevant to the application.