The Inge Lehmann Programme

Objective

It follows from the political agreement that the purpose of the Inge Lehmann Programme is to support a more balanced gender distribution in research environments, with a focus on the career stages where inequality begins to emerge.

The programme is open to all scientific areas and to men as well as women, but through exemption pursuant to section 3 of the Equal Opportunities Act, DFF will, as a general rule, choose female applicants over male applicants in case of equal qualifications between two applicants. An objective assessment will, however, be made, taking into consideration all specific criteria regarding applicants, regardless of gender. 

In 2026, a total of DKK 81.8 million has been allocated to the programme. An Inge Lehmann grant has a budgetary framework of up to DKK 2,550,000 excluding overhead, whereby DFF expects to award approx. 22-23 grants in 2026.

The Inge Lehmann Programme aims to provide talented younger researchers with the opportunity to develop their research ideas as well as their competencies as independent research leaders. 

Based on the political agreement, DFF has decided to focus the Inge Lehmann Programme on the early stages of the research career, as documentation shows that this is where the imbalance in the gender ratio in research environments sets in. In order to support lasting talent development and capacity building, it is moreover a prerequisite for obtaining funding that the applicant has obtained employment as an assistant professor/associate professor, researcher/senior researcher, fellow or similar, cf. the requirements below.

A DFF-Research Project1 (Inge Lehmann) is characterised by having a clear and well-defined research question, where the research activities are expected to be of a high, international quality. The duration of a DFF-Research Project1 (Inge Lehmann) is typically 3 years, but it is possible to apply for a project of up to 4 years’ duration if the project includes one or more PhD student(s).

About the applicant

An Inge Lehmann grant should contribute to a significant strengthening of your career opportunities at a Danish research institution. The target group consists of the most capable researchers in the beginning of their research career, who can develop their potential as independent research leaders through the management of a research project.

Applicant’s PhD age

As an applicant, you must have obtained a PhD degree within the last minimum 2 and maximum 6 years at the time of the expiration of the application deadline. If you have not obtained a PhD degree, you must have obtained equivalent qualifications, e.g., a positive assistant professorship evaluation (“adjunktbedømmelse”) within the last minimum 2 and maximum 6 years at the time of the expiration of the application deadline (see section 12 concerning calculation of the PhD age). You must possess substantial independent research experience corresponding to minimum 2 years after having obtained the PhD degree.

Applicant’s employment category 

As an applicant, you must be employed as an assistant professor/associate professor (adjunkt/lektor), researcher/senior researcher (forsker/seniorforsker), or fellow (docent) at a Danish research institution, which is covered by a job structure at the (Danish) Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the (Danish) Ministry of Culture, the Danish Ministry of Defence, or the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities. This requirement will support lasting talent development and capacity building at Danish research institutions, cf. section 6.1. 

If, at the time of application you are not employed in one of the abovementioned employment categories, you can apply if you have entered into an employment agreement within one of the abovementioned employment categories. In this case, you must attach the letter of appointment in your application (appendix B65). The employment must not be conditional on obtainment of the Inge Lehmann grant. 

If, at the time of application, you are employed at a research institution, which is not covered by the job structures at one of the abovementioned ministries, e.g. as a clinical doctor, you may still fulfil the application criteria, if you are employed in a different job category which involves research and the opportunity for career progression. You will need to account for the ways in which the position fulfils these criteria. DFF will make a specific assessment of employments at research institutions that are not covered by the job structures mentioned above. 

Employment as a postdoc does not meet the requirements for the applicant’s employment category. 

The administrating institution’s management must sign a confirmation (appendix B64), which confirms that you are employed in the stated employment category. 

You must uphold employment at a Danish research institution throughout the entire project period. It is possible to change your employment category during the grant period, e.g. from assistant professor to associate professor or from researcher to senior researcher. If your employment expires during the planned project period and the administrating institution will extend your employment on condition of the grant, the administrating institution’s management must confirm the extension in the confirmation (appendix B64).

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 funding instrument and that it meets the fund’s assessment criteria. 

You must write up an ambitious and realistic research plan, which clearly demonstrates how an Inge Lehmann grant will contribute to boosting your research leadership competencies and your research career with an independent international profile. The application must describe how you plan to strengthen your leadership abilities and which specific activities you have planned in relation to internationalisation, e.g. in the form of collaboration, development of networks, or research stays abroad.

The project description must include an account of the proposed content of all sub-projects, including any PhD and postdoctoral 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 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 can apply for up to DKK 2,550,000 excl. overhead. The budget must be completed in the mandatory budget template, which can be downloaded from e-grant. 

Project description and 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, 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 page limits for the applicant’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 5 A4 pages (incl. figures, tables, etc.). The 5 A4 pages must not exceed 15,000 characters incl. spaces, figure captions, formulas, etc. It is recommended to use the DFF template “Project description”.
• B11: List of references/bibliography
  List of references/bibliography for the project description.
• 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.
  
• B22: Applicant’s PhD diploma 
  PhD diploma must be attached. If you do not have a PhD degree, you must include documentation showing either: a) positive assistant professorship evaluation (“adjunktbedømmelse”) or b) qualifications corresponding to PhD level achieved in another manner. 
  
• B40: Participant's CV and list of publications (if relevant)
  CVs and list of publications 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.
  
• B64: Documentation of employment status. 
  You must attach a confirmation from the institution in the mandatory DFF template stating that your employment fulfils the requirements outlined in section 6.3.3.
  
• B65: Documentation for potential future employment (if relevant)
  If you have entered into an employment agreement within one of the valid job categories, but have not yet started in the position, you must attach the letter of appointment. (See section 6.3.3). There is no template.
  
• B90: Budget confirmation
  Administrator’s confirmation of the budget, etc., in the mandatory DFF template “Budget Confirmation”.