All 2026 calls are now open

All calls for proposals for independent and thematic research funding in 2026 were published on the website on 27 March 2026. The 2026 calls contain important changes for applicants to the fund.

Find the fund’s calls for proposals for research funding in 2026.

»We must create the best possible framework to support excellent researchers at all career stages and ensure high quality in Danish research. The number of applications to the fund has increased significantly since 2022 – by approximately 20% per year – without a corresponding increase in funding,« says Søren Serritzlew, Chair of the Board of Independent Research Fund Denmark, and continues:

»This means that the fund spends a considerable amount of resources assessing and processing applications. Too many strong applications are rejected, and with the new Act, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science has enabled the fund to introduce reasonable application-limiting measures, which will take effect already this year. For the research community as a whole, this will hopefully result in less time spent on applications that have no realistic chance of receiving funding, and more time spent on activities that create value for research.« 

»At the same time, the government's 'work programme' has imposed requirements to reduce administrative costs within the fund. This has made it necessary for the Board to reduce the fund’s activities, including the range of instruments offered. Among other things, this means that three of the smaller instruments will no longer be offered, and that the use of external peer review will be limited,« says Søren Serritzlew.

Key changes in 2026

The changes, introduced as a consequence of the new executive order for the fund from March 2026 (in Danish), apply to all applications submitted to the fund in 2026. The most significant changes are:

• Applicants may submit a maximum of one application per year across all instruments.
• Applicants holding two or more active grants from the fund are not eligible to apply.
• External peer review will only be used in cases where a council member is an applicant or participates as one of the other scientific/academic staff members in an application exceeding DKK 1 million (excluding overhead) submitted to that member’s own council, or where the research council does not possess the necessary expertise to assess a given application.
• The following instruments will no longer be offered: Exploratory Network | Culture and Communication; Shared Positions | Health and Disease; and Research Stay Abroad | Society and Business.
• As part of the fund’s implementation of the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (CoARA), new requirements for applicants’ CVs and publication lists are introduced, including mandatory templates.
• The fund will host a webinar for all interested parties on the application opportunities and the changes on 22 and 27 April. 

See the new webinar dates

On the page Current funding opportunities, you will find an overview of the eight independent instruments and 13 politically determined themes available in 2026. The full framework for applications – including limitations on applications and grants, as well as CV requirements – is described in the calls for proposals for independent and thematic funding, which are available in PDF format on the relevant instrument pages. Here, you can also find an overview of the funding pools offered in 2026, as well as those already planned for 2027–2029.

Going forward, the fund’s calls will be published at the beginning of the calendar year.

See what you can apply for in 2026 under Current funding opportunities.

Read the new executive order here (in Danish).

Read questions and answers about the executive order and the related changes.

Read more about the changes related to CoARA, including new requirements for CVs and track records, here.