Clinical and independent research
All applications must contain a clear and explicit account of how the project falls under the theme “Clinical and independent research” as well as the expected or potential societal impact of the project.
Please note
This page presents the overall framework for the instrument. The full Call for Proposals - Thematic research 2026-2029 can be accessed here or under "Documents” in the right column. Please read this carefully before applying to DFF for funding. In case of discrepancies between the website and the Call for Proposals, the Call for Proposals applies.
Political framework and theme-specific requirements
Framework
Budget limitations
Up to DKK 5,000,000 excl. overhead
Project duration
Up to 5 years
Seniority
Applicant and Co-PI must have obtained a PhD degree or equivalent qualifications at the time of the application deadline.
Read more under “About the applicant and Co-PI”.
Starting dates
Earliest: 1 March 2027
Latest: 1 December 2027
About the applicant and Co-PI
The project must be led by an applicant and a named Co-PI. The applicant and the Co-PI must enter into a relevant and binding collaboration on a joint research project. The specific collaboration between applicant and Co-PI will depend on the individual research project, but the distribution of roles must be evident from the application. The applicant is main responsible towards the fund in the event of a grant.
As applicant as well as Co-PI, you must have obtained a PhD degree (or similar qualifications, e.g., positive assistant professorship evaluation) at the time of the application deadline.
Both the applicant’s and the Co-PI’s previous results will be assessed in relation to their career path and in relation to the scientific challenges of the project applied for.
About the application
When writing an application to the fund, you must pay special attention to ensuring that the application fulfils the objective of the theme and that it meets the fund’s assessment criteria.
The research project must be run by multiple researchers, including both an applicant and a Co-PI, and be characterised as being a coordinated and mutually binding collaboration on a well-defined research question. The research activities must establish synergy among any sub-projects.
There must be a sufficiently balanced relationship between the roles of all listed project participants (scientific/academic staff, technical/administrative staff, and whether DFF-funding or not), and the concrete role of the participants must be accounted for and justified.
The research project must be of a high, international standard and involve international collaboration to a relevant extent. If the research project is embedded in a specific, local context, it is expected that the project argues for this, similarly it must be argued if there is potentially limited internationalisation. In all cases, DFF expects applications to relate to the international state of the art within their area.
The application must be written in English.
PhD and postdoctoral scholarships
You can apply for funding for embedded PhD and postdoctoral scholarships, if these are well integrated into the project and fulfil a clear, independent function within the research project.
Embedded postdoctoral candidates must have obtained their PhD within the last 4 years at the time of the application deadline. If an embedded postdoctoral candidate does not have a PhD degree, they must have achieved equivalent qualifications, e.g., a positive assistant professorship evaluation (”adjunktbedømmelse”), within the last 4 years at the time of the DFF application deadline. Specific periods of leave must be deducted in the calculation of PhD age, cf. section 12.
If you, as the applicant, are not an associate professor and have not been awarded a positive associate professor assessment (“lektorbedømmelse”) and the project involves the education of researchers, you must account for how the relevant supervision will be provided, and how the research student’s scientific association to the project will be ensured.
If the application includes requests for funding for unnamed PhD students and/or unnamed postdoctoral participants, the application must include an account of the proposed recruitment process. If a named postdoctoral candidate is a PhD student at the time of application, the application must include a declaration from the student’s supervisor, stating that the student is expected to submit the PhD thesis within 6 months after the application deadline.
Budget
You may apply for up to DKK 5,000,000 excl. overhead. The budget must be completed in the mandatory budget template, which can be downloaded from e-grant.
There is no fixed lower limit for the budget framework. It is up to the applicant to assess how much funding must be applied for (within the maximum allowed budget framework), and which is necessary for the completion of the specific research project. The size of the project and applied amount has no significance for the assessment of the application, but the fund will place emphasis on whether the applied project has a clear alignment between budget, timeline and work plan.
Project description, thematic appendix and other appendices
Below is a list of the appendices that must be attached to your application. For some appendices, it is specified that they are only to be attached if relevant. You can read more about the general requirements for the content of the project description, thematic appendix, CV, publication list, etc. in section 10, and about the budget in section 11 . The definition of roles in the project is described in section 10.3.
Please note in particular that there are character and page limits for the project description and the thematic appendix and page limits for the applicant’s and the Co-PI’s CV and publication list. Exceeding these limits will result in an administrative rejection. It is always the character count generated by e-grant that applies. You can find more information in section 10.2.
- B10: Project description
The project description must not exceed 6 A4 pages (incl. figures, tables, etc.). The 6 A4 pages must not exceed 18,000 characters incl. spaces, figure captions, formulas, etc. It is recommended to use the DFF template “Project description”. - B10a: Thematic appendix
The thematic appendix must not exceed 1 A4 page (incl. figures, tables, etc.). The 1 A4 page must not exceed 3,000 characters incl. spaces, figure captions, formulas, etc. It is recommended to use the DFF template “Appendix”. - B11: List of references/bibliography
One joint list of references/bibliography for the project description and the thematic appendix. - Budget
Must be completed in the mandatory DFF budget template downloaded from and uploaded to e-grant. - B20: Applicant’s CV
Must be compiled using the mandatory DFF CV template and must comply with the specified formal requirements (see section 10.7). Your CV must not exceed 3 A4 pages. - B21: Applicant’s list of publications (track record)
Must be compiled using the mandatory DFF track record template and must comply with the specified formal requirements (see section 10.7). Your track record must not exceed 3 A4 pages. - B25: Co-PI’s CV
Must be compiled using the mandatory DFF CV template and must comply with the specified formal requirements (see section 10.7). Your CV must not exceed 3 A4 pages. - B26: Co-PI’s list of publications (track record)
Must be compiled using the mandatory DFF track record template and must comply with the specified formal requirements (see section 10.7). Your track record must not exceed 3 A4 pages. - B40: Participant's CV and list of publications (if relevant)
CVs and publication lists must be attached for all named project participants, including the principal supervisor (if relevant). Participants may choose either to submit a CV and publication list without using the DFF template, with a combined maximum length of 2 pages, or to use DFF’s templates for CV (B20) and track record (B21), combined into a single PDF. - B41: Named PhD’s (if relevant)
In the case of PhD positions for named individuals, the following appendices must be attached: CV, list of publications (if the candidate has already published scientific work), and a complete transcript of records/diploma. The candidate may choose either to submit a CV and list of publications without using the DFF template, with a combined maximum length of 2 pages, or to use DFF’s templates for CV (B20) and track record (B21), compiled into a single PDF. - B42: Named postdocs (if relevant)
In the case of postdoctoral positions for named individuals, the following appendices must be attached: CV list of publications, and PhD diploma. The candidate may choose either to submit a CV and list of publications without using the DFF template, with a combined maximum length of 2 pages, or to use DFF’s templates for CV (B20) and track record (B21), compiled into a single PDF.
If the candidate does not have a PhD diploma, you must submit documentation showing either: a) that the thesis has been accepted for defence, b) positive assistant professorship evaluation (“adjunktbedømmelse”), c) qualifications corresponding to PhD level achieved in another manner or d) declaration from the supervisor on submission of the PhD thesis within 6 months of the application deadline (PhD students) must be submitted. - B52: Collaboration/support letter (if relevant)
If a collaborator is significant for the project’s completion, a collaborative statement/letter of support must be enclosed. It must be specified how the collaborator contributes to the project (max 1 page from each). There is no template. - B63: De minimis declaration (if relevant)
If funding for private companies is included, a de minimis declaration must be attached in the mandatory DFF template. - B90: Budget confirmation
Administrator’s confirmation of the budget, etc., in the mandatory DFF template “Budget Confirmation”.
Supplementary information
Timeline
| Deadline | 2 June 2026 at 12:00 PM (noon) |
| Decision | September 2026 |
| Expected reply | October 2026 |
Templates
The budget template must be downloaded in e-grant.
Questions about your application?
Contact the secretariat
Weekdays from 9 am - 12 pm
Tel.: +45 72 31 82 00
Email: dff-opslag@ufm.dk