External review

It is always the research council or ad hoc committee that makes the final decision about funding based on its assessment of the applications and a prioritisation of the overall field of applicants. However, Independent Research Fund Denmark also makes use of external review as an extension of the basis for the research councils’ decision-making.

When is external review used?

When the fund utilises external review, the applications are assessed by either an international assessment panel or individual external peer reviewers. To the extent possible, the fund submits all applications for the instruments Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant and DFF-Research Project2 for assessment in external panels.

When applying to the funding instruments Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant and DFF-Research Project2, you must select a relevant scientific panel in the application form in e-grant, in which you want your application assessed. In case the panel you have chosen does not have the required scientific competency to assess your application, the application will be assessed by another relevant scientific panel, or submitted for individual external peer review. 

Moreover, the fund always carries out an external review for all applications where:

• A member of the council or committee, which is going to assess the application, is an applicant or participant in an application, the budget of which exceeds DKK 1 million, excluding overhead, or
• The council or commitee, on account of conflicts of interest or other reasons, does not possess the necessary scientific expertise to assess a given application.

Certain reservations are made in cases where it proves impossible to find qualified external reviewers within the assessment deadlines.

As an alternative to individual external peer review, it is also possible for the thematic expert committee to request a scientific statement from one or more of the research councils at Independent Research Fund Denmark. This will be in cases where the committee does not possess the necessary scientific expertise to assess a given application. 

Identification of external reviewers

Independent Research Fund Denmark strives to find external peer reviewers who are competent researchers with broad scientific expertise. Potential reviewers are selected based on an overall assessment of qualified reviewers, their availability within the deadlines, and whether the review will be carried out as an individual peer review or in a panel.

When DFF makes an enquiry to a researcher about being an external reviewer, the fund always specifies

• the fund’s rules concerning conflicts of interest,
• that the application material is confidential,
• that the applicant will be made aware of the review as well as the reviewer’s identity,
• and that the applicant will be offered the right to comment on potential mistakes or misconceptions in the external review. 

Individual external peer review is typically carried out by two researchers, who each complete an assessment independently of one another. In the panels, the researchers (typically 8) meet and assess the applications together. You can read more about the panels’ guidelines here.

Consultation procedure 

If your application has been submitted for external review, you will always receive a copy of the review, enabling you to comment and respond (consultation procedure). DFF will be entitled to make a decision about your application without waiting for your comments, if the deadline for submitting your reply has passed. The external reviews serve as an extension of the council's basis for decision-making and the reviews are simply indicative. The final decision rests with the research councils and is based on the criteria described in the call and the prioritisation of the overall field of applications.

Read panel guidelines