Purpose
The purpose of the NERD programme is to support creative and ambitious researchers within the natural and technical sciences, at any career stage after obtaining the PhD degree. A NERD grant is aimed at supporting a single principal investigator (PI) with ample funding and a long time-horizon, providing the required long-term stability and continuity to explore truly exceptional ideas with potential application within the life sciences, health sciences or sustainability.
The NERD programme uses a two-stage evaluation procedure. At the first stage, applicants will remain anonymous to the evaluation committee, ensuring that emphasis is put on the proposed scientific ideas. The top-ranked applications will proceed to the second stage, where the CVs and publication lists of the applicants will be included to allow for feasibility assessment of the proposed projects.
In the year in which the NERD project begins, the applicant’s grant portfolio as Principal Investigator must not exceed an annual total of DKK 4 million, including potential overhead. Grants where the applicant is co-PI are not included in this total.
Eligibility
Researchers at any career stage after obtaining the PhD degree are eligible to apply. This includes for example independent researchers who have established their own line of research, and researchers who are in the process of establishing themselves as independent researchers. Applications from PhD students will not be taken into consideration.
Areas of support
The call supports fundamental research within the natural and technical sciences, including, e.g., physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science and technical sciences. Projects focused on areas covered by other calls from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, or which fall outside the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s 2030 Strategy, are not eligible for the NERD programme. See the guidelines for further information.
The application must describe how the outcome of the project may have potential future applications in the life sciences, health sciences or sustainability.
Funding
The expected awarding budget for the 2026 call is DKK 160 million.
The timeframe of a NERD project is up to 6 years, with a total grant size of up to DKK 16 million (pro rata for shorter projects). Projects with a duration of less than 5 years will not be taken into consideration.
Application process
The application must be completed and submitted using the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s electronic application and grant management system, NORMA, which can be accessed using the link “Apply” on top of this page.
It is important that the applicant carefully reads the Guidelines for Applicants before initiating the application process, as this document contains the complete call text as well as important instructions regarding the completion of the application.
