Members of Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF) may, like all other researchers, apply to the fund for research grants. However, stricter requirements apply to the application process when the applicant is also a member of a DFF-research council, a DFF-thematic committee or the DFF’s Board of directors.
When members of Independent Research Fund Denmark apply for funding, their names are published on dff.dk after the application deadline. At the same time, applications exceeding DKK 1 million are submitted for external peer review.
It is crucial to DFF’s operations that its members are highly qualified researchers in their respective fields. It is equally important that qualified researchers find it attractive to serve as members of DFF. Therefore, members must be offered appropriate working conditions. The financial compensation does not reflect the number of hours required. Members must be given reasonable opportunities to maintain and develop their research field during their term of office.
Thus, DFF members – on equal terms with their fellow researchers – may apply to Independent Research Fund Denmark for research funding before, during, and after their term, as is common practice in comparable countries such as Sweden and Norway. A member who applies for funding is automatically disqualified from participating in the assessment of the application and will not be involved in any part of the evaluation process.
Danish society in general, and the research community in particular, rely on qualified researchers to serve on public research funding bodies for these to have the highest possible qualifications.
Members of DFF’s board of directors, research councils, and thematic committees are appointed in their personal capacity, with emphasis placed on broad scientific experience in both Danish and international research. DFF also encourages the appointment of active researchers.
This means that appointed members must be research-active, with a past and present research track record that makes them particularly distinguished. It also implies that they typically have a higher success rate in obtaining research grants than the general research population. This is confirmed by DFF’s ongoing statistics of its members’ applications and grants before, during, and after their membership.
As active researchers, members may still need to apply for research funding. However, this creates certain dilemmas for both the fund and the individual member, particularly in terms of the fund’s legitimacy and the potentially vulnerable position that both the member and the fund may be placed in. This is especially the case when research councils and thematic committees assess and decide on the allocation of competitive research grants, including applications from fellow members.
It is therefore DFF’s Board of directors’ position that members may continue to receive grants from DFF during their term of office, but that such grants should not exceed the funding level they received before joining the fund. This applies to members of both the research councils and the thematic committees.
DFF’s Board of directors has discussed whether DFF should set formal limits on members’ ability to apply for and/or receive grants. The board has decided against establishing such general restrictions, as it is not deemed to address the core issue. It has also been discussed whether the board should, as has previously been the informal practice to some extent, encourage members to refrain from applying during their term. This has likewise not been found appropriate as a general rule. However, DFF’s Board of directors does consider that members of the board itself and the chairs of the research councils and the thematic committee occupy a special role and position, and as such, these members are not expected to apply to DFF’s open or thematic calls while holding these positions .
DFF’s Board of directors expects members of the research councils and thematic committees to continuously balance their own need for research funding with the important responsibility of serving in the fund system. The board maintains an ongoing dialogue with the research councils and thematic committees on this matter and is also obliged to safeguard the fund system by ensuring that all work is conducted to the highest standard and in full compliance with applicable rules on conflicts of interest.
This revised code of conduct enters into force on 1 January 2024.
After the application deadline, DFF publishes a list of DFF-members who have applied for funding with their title, name, and the amount applied for. After grants have been awarded, DFF also publishes a list showing which applications resulted in a grant.
See the overview of fund members who have applied for or received funding from DFF here.
Board members are appointed by the Minister for Higher Education and Science in their personal capacity following an open call. Board members, including the chair, are appointed for a term of up to four years. Reappointment is possible up to a total of six years.
The board may establish and name up to six research councils at its discretion, tasked with awarding grants for specific research activities pursuant to Section 13(1) and providing advice under Section 16.
The board appoints up to 75 members, including chairs, to the research councils, cf. section 21(1), and must strive for gender balance in doing so.
The board appoints a restricted number of members to DFFs’ thematic committees including the chairs and must strive for gender balance in doing so cf. section 24. Members are appointed for a limited duration of time.
Read "Act on Independent Research Fund Denmark" (Lov om Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond) in Danish
