The Novo Nordisk Foundation has allocated DKK billion over the next 10 years (2025–2035) to support specific projects and initiatives that can especially contribute to land conversion that supports nature and biodiversity to benefit people throughout Denmark based on the agreement in principle with the Government of Denmark announced in June 2024.
The funds are expected to be used for projects in which public and private actors collaborate and for projects the Foundation supports alone or in collaboration with other foundations and private actors. The framework has been formulated in collaboration with the Government of Denmark and is available in Danish here.
Grants will be awarded on a rolling basis under the following three categories:
- Land conversion
- Research and innovation
- Community engagement
Land conversion
The plan is to allocate about 75% of the funds, corresponding to about DKK 7.5 billion, to projects focusing on land conversion, mostly to accelerate the creation of large coherent natural areas and afforestation.
The grants will mainly support projects carried out by established operators and foundations that already have the necessary skills and experience. The Foundation will therefore not purchase and convert land with its funds.
Grants will mainly be awarded for two types of projects:
- Preliminary investigations
The purpose of this type of project is to finance or co-finance and support feasibility studies to determine the natural, environmental and climate potential of individual projects. These projects could, for example, emerge from local green tripartite agreements. - Establishing nature areas
The purpose of this type of project is to finance land conversion projects when they are mature and ready to be implemented. This could be existing or upcoming projects. One example is rewilding the lower reaches of the Kongeåen river (in Danish), which received a grant in December 2024. The project is being implemented jointly by the Municipality of Esbjerg, Jysk Landboforening and the Danish Nature Fund and has been developed in collaboration with local landowners and stakeholder organisations to ensure broad local support.
For further information on land conversion, please contact Lars Hansen, Project Director for the Green Tripartite agreement at [email protected].
Research and innovation
About 15% of the total funds, corresponding to about DKK 1.5 billion, is expected to be used for research and innovation projects.
The grants for these types of projects will focus on developing and implementing knowledge and technology to be used to support the visions of the Green Tripartite agreement while ensuring the sustainable development of agriculture in Denmark, especially in developing plant-based foods. The projects will focus on applied research, including testing new and existing technologies. The goals and framework will largely be defined by the Green Tripartite agreement, but projects with a European scope will also be relevant.
The projects will focus on work in fields and on farms as well as scaling up early in the process. These projects will have room for high risk and the opportunity to adapt the projects on an ongoing basis to maximise impact. The projects that will be supported within the framework of the Green Tripartite agreement should be effective as soon as possible and within the next 10 years.
Grants will mainly be awarded under the following themes:
- Accelerating the development of practical solutions for agriculture and forestry in which innovation is driven by open access to data and knowledge, supported by large-scale demonstration projects.
- Reducing the use and loss of nitrogen from agricultural systems by implementing existing solutions and testing and validating new technologies.
- Developing standardised methods for calculating the quantity and functionality of biodiversity in ecosystems and for calculating greenhouse-gas emissions for each farm.
- Strengthening the entire value chain related to plant-based foods, including establishing innovation platforms and the necessary infrastructure.
For further information on research and innovation, please contact Thomas de Bang, Senior Scientific Lead at [email protected].
Community engagement
About 5% of the total funds, corresponding to about DKK 500 million, is expected to be used to support community engagement.
Implementing the Green Tripartite agreement is a complex task that will require collaboration from many partners such as the municipalities, civil society organisations and landowners. The Foundation has therefore set aside funds to support community engagement and democratic participation in connection with the changes that will take place in Denmark’s communities over the coming decades.
Grants will mainly be awarded for projects that focus on creating:
- A high level of knowledge among everyone involved, especially volunteers
- Democratic participation of the affected citizens and the general population
- Competencies to balance local and national interests
One example of a project that aims to strengthen community engagement is a grant awarded in November 2024 to the Frej Think Tank, which aims to engage young people and motivate the food industry to change.
For further information on community engagement, please contact Janus Porsild Hansen, Senior Scientific Lead at [email protected].
The Foundation has preliminarily allocated the remaining 5% of the total funds as a contingency to be awarded depending on how the initiatives within the three categories develop. Likewise, the overall allocation of funds between the three categories could change over time.
