Unfortunately, many high-quality applications to Independent Research Fund Denmark cannot be funded due to the strong competition for fundings. Applicants always receive a written explanation for the rejection, prepared by the Fund’s assessors in research councils or ad hoc committees. Here you can read about the principles governing the rejection decisions and the tools supporting them.
All applications to Independent Research Fund Denmark are assessed according to the assessment criteria, which are set out in the relevant call. The fund places emphasis on all criteria being fulfilled to the greatest extent possible, but the assessment will always be an overall assessment of the individual application. This means that different criteria may be fulfilled to a greater or lesser extent, that consideration is given to what is relevant to the individual application, and that not all criteria will be equally relevant to all applications. Due to the strong competition between applications, meeting all the criteria does not necessarily result in a grant being awarded.
All applicants whose applications are rejected receive a rejection letter. Under the Danish Public Administration Act, an authority is required to provide reasons when making a decision in which the applicant is not fully successful (in this case, a rejection).
The rejection letter sets out the main considerations underlying the rejection of the application. It also states whether the assessors considered the application to be in the top, middle or bottom third of the applicant pool for the relevant instrument or theme.
When the assessor provide reasons for rejection, they focus on the assessment criteria that the application did not meet to the same extent as other applications.
The reasons for rejection consist of two parts: a pre-formulated wording selected from a list of pre-formulated reasons for rejection, corresponding to one of the assessment criteria (the so-called 'rejection codes'), and typically a supplementary explanation specifying how the criterion was not met.
The list of rejection codes and their pre-formulated wordings is meant to ensure that rejections are based on objective considerations and aligned with the assessment criteria. The supplementary explanation ensures that the reason for rejection is tailored to the individual application.
A distinction is made between reasons for rejection relating to substantive shortcomings in the application and reasons relating to formal requirements. The numbers shown in the overview are used for technical reasons, as the codes are integrated into the fund’s assessment system e-grant.
Below you can find the overview of reasons for rejection for independent and thematic calls.
Download DFF’s overview of reasons for rejection for independent research calls (in Danish)
Download DFF’s overview of reasons for rejection for thematic research calls
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