The 21st century has brought on a number of grand societal challenges. New ways of communication, altered mechanisms in opinion formation, economic, social and technological development, migration, polarisation between cities and the countryside, climate change and pandemics are only a few examples of such challenges. The aim of the research programme Future Challenges in the Nordics – People, Culture and Society is to examine how these challenges are understood and handled in the Nordics. What can we do today to create a brighter future?

The research programme funds humanities and social science research in areas that pose major challenges, both socially and culturally, for people in the Nordics in the 21st century. These challenges are often global in nature and can lead to different transnational, national and local solutions. There's a great deal of current research about societal challenges on a more generic level, but the aim of this programme is to stimulate research into how these challenges can be understood and handled in the Nordics – societies that fundamentally have a lot in common but also clear differences.

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The projects must touch on big societal challenges of the future with relevance for the Nordics, preferably so that at least two Nordic countries are included in the study. The research should have a relevance for several Nordic countries and connections to Finland or Sweden. Research project applications can be intradisciplinary, but multidisciplinary projects are encouraged. The project duration can be up to four years with a maximum budget of 1 million Euro.

The application process comprises two stages. Applicants are asked to submit a Letter of Intent in stage 1. After evaluation, the shortlisted projects are invited to submit a full application in stage 2. The application period for stage 1 runs from 1st January to 15th February 2021.

Read more about the application process and apply at futurenordics.org.