Eligibility

The applicant must engage in natural science education and/or outreach within the Danish Realm. 

In the grant period, the applicant must be a leader or project responsible at a public sector and/or a nonprofit organization, including educational institutions, knowledge institutions, associations or municipalities in Denmark (the host institution).  

Private companies may not apply in this call.

Details for co-applicants and collaboration partners must be provided for in the application (see the application guidelines). 

Project field 

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

Education projects may be aimed at childcare centres, primary and lower-secondary schools, and upper secondary education in Denmark. For example, applications for grants may include funding for development and implementation of methods, materials and resources for STEM-teaching, for improving the competencies of teachers or pedagogues in development projects, and for science competitions or activities for gifted students. 

Outreach projects may be aimed at children, youth and/or the general public. For example, applications may concern natural science activity centres, summer schools, science communication and public debate. 

Funding 

A total of up to DKK 25 million is available in Spring 2019, for grants between DKK 100.000-3.000.000 for projects of up to 5 years in duration. 

Applications for grants that are outside this category will not be considered. 

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

Each applicant may only be main applicant or co-applicant for one application in this application round. 

Applicants may apply for a grant for the following expenses in the project: 

• Salaries for employees or affiliated personnel at all staffing levels, including project management.
• Salaries for substitute teachers in relation to development and/or participation in projects.
• Operating expenses: direct expenses for developing, implementing and operating projects, 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 (up to 5% of and included in the applicant’s overall budget) to cover administrative expenses directly related to the project being based at a host institution.
• Evaluation in connection with the development project.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation will not award funding for: 

• Commercial activities 
• Buildings 
• Overhead (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. 

Application process 

The application must be completed and submitted using the Foundation’s application system (NORMA). The application system is in English, but applications may be submitted in either Danish or English. Choice of language will not influence the assessment of the application. 

It is important that applicants read this application guideline in its entirety as it contains detailed information regarding the application process. Please find the guideline here.

Assessment criteria 

The Novo Nordisk 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 application
• The capacity and qualifications of the applicant and their institution
• The quality of the project for the discipline
• The relevance and importance of the proposed project
• The project plan, method and feasibility of the project to be implemented, including plan for evaluation and knowledge dissemination
• Expected benefit for the target group and in relation to knowledge building
• If relevant to the application, the capacity and qualifications of the co-applicants and collaboration partners
• If relevant, the embeddedness, originality, scalability and opportunities for dissemination of the project throughout Denmark