News item

New Call for Proposals for independent research funding published

Independent Research Fund Denmark has now published its call for proposals for independent research funding for the autumn 2025 and spring 2026 application rounds. The call has been restructured, with the most important information about each individual funding instrument now gathered in one place. It also includes several other changes. For instance, the fund’s external peer review process is being adjusted, and the budget limits for certain funding instruments have been increased.

The new call features ten funding instruments that researchers may apply to in the autumn 2025 and spring 2026 rounds.

This year, the format of the call has been changed and is now divided into two parts. The purpose of the new format is to make it easier for applicants to find relevant information, such as the requirements for appendices, for the specific instrument they are interested in. This information is presented in Part A of the call. Part B contains the general requirements and guidelines, which applicants must also read before applying to the fund.

View the full Call for Proposals for autumn 2025 and spring 2026 here (pdf).

Applicants can also access the call via each individual funding instrument on the fund’s website.

View the individual funding instruments on the website

Changes to external review process

The new call also introduces a change in the fund’s use of external review. Applicants to Sapere Aude: DFF-Research Leader in particular have requested individual external peer review, and the fund accommodates this request with the new call.

As of the autumn 2025/spring 2026 call, all Sapere Aude: DFF-Research Leader applications will be submitted for individual external review with the aim of providing more subject-specific feedback on these applications. On the contrary, applications to DFF-Research project2 will no longer be systematically submitted for external review. The fund expects that this change, over time, will help reduce the processing time for this instrument.

Please note that the fund's external reviewers provide advisory input only and do not make funding decisions. These decisions rest solely with the fund’s research councils.

Increased budget limits and PhD age requirement for DFF-Research Project1

The new call includes increased budget limits for several of the fund’s instruments. This applies to:

  • Non-university Research Education (PhD)
  • DFF-Research Project1
  • DFF-Research Project2
  • Sapere Aude: DFF-Research Leader
  • Pre-graduate Scholarships | Medical Sciences

Additionally, a lower PhD age requirement of minimum three years has been introduced for the DFF-Research Project1 instrument. Previously, it was stated that applicants typically were expected to have at least three years of independent research experience. The fund continuously works to clarify the profiles of its funding instruments to better support both early-career research talents and more experienced researchers.

View the full call for proposals for autumn 2025 and spring 2026 here (pdf).

Learn more and ask questions

Independent Research Fund Denmark is holding information meetings about the new call.

In week 24, the fund will hold in-person meetings in Odense targeted at administrative staff, research support units, and others, with a focus on the new call. Read more about the meeting in this news item.

After the summer holidays, the fund will host a webinar open to anyone interested in learning more about the call. Keep an eye on the fund’s website, dff.dk, where a news item and link to the webinars will be published later.

Contact

If you have questions about the call or the application process, please contact the fund’s office by email: dff-opslag@ufm.dk or by phone +45 72 31 82 00 on weekdays between 9:00 am. and 12:00 noon.

For press enquiries, please contact Special Adviser Berit Bader Lemming by phone +45 72 31 95 08 or email: bbl@ufm.dk.