Purpose

The Novo Nordisk Foundation wants to support general science education and cultivate interest, knowledge and competencies in natural science and technology among children, young people and the general population in Denmark.

Project field

Applicants may apply for projects within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, research on the didactics of natural science and experiences with natural science and technology in leisure time.

Education projects may target childcare centers, primary and lower secondary schools and upper secondary schools. It is possible to include students from the Bachelor of Education and the Bachelor of Social Education in projects if the projects are aimed at collaborative practice in childcare centres and/or primary and lower secondary schools.

For example, applicants may apply for grants for:

• Developing and implementing methods, materials and resources for science pedagogy as well as teaching in natural and scientific subjects, including mathematics;
• science competitions, special offers for talented students and activities targeting specific groups of children and students; and
• development projects for improving the competencies of teachers and early-childhood educators (note that applicants may only apply for grants to participate in continuing education programmes that have been developed in the development project for which a grant has been applied).

Research on the didactics of natural science carried out through projects or fellowships must be based at a university or university college in Denmark.

Leisure projects may target children, young people, families and/or the general public. For example, applications may cover natural science activity centers, museums, leisure activities or summer schools.

The project activities must be addressed to target groups within the Danish Realm.

Eligibility

During the grant period, the applicant must be a leader at or responsible for a project at the administrating institution for the project applied for. The administrating institution for the project must be a public institution and/or nonprofit organization, including educational institutions, municipalities, research institutions, museums or associations in the Danish Realm.

Private companies may apply for grants for noncommercial projects with nonprofit aims. In this case, the company will be the administrating institution for the project.

The Foundation has four calls for applications in 2022 within natural science education and outreach. A person may only be the main applicant for one application in these four calls. Co-applicants are not subject to similar rules.

Projects which fall within the call for Project grants for natural science education and informal learning environments – Spring 2022, Project grants for innovative science communication and debate – 2022 or Project Grants for vocational education and training – 2022 will not be considered in this call.

The information and guidelines for applicants provide more information on the general rules for applications.

To be eligible for a grant for a research project or research fellowship, the applicant must have a PhD degree or similar qualifications and have a commitment for hosting from an administering institution. Applicants for a research fellowship may not simultaneously be responsible for a major research project.

Funding

A total of up to DKK 50 million is available in fall 2022, for grants between DKK 2,000,000-6,000,000 for projects of up to 6 years duration.

The project may be an independent, delimited project or a part of a larger project that is also supported by other partners.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation will not award grants for:

• Commercial activities;
• buildings; and
• overhead (such as rent, electricity, water and maintenance)

The information and guidelines for applicants provide information on which types of expenses applicants may apply for funding for.

Language

The application system is in English, but applications can be submitted in either Danish or English. The language chosen will not influence the assessment of the application.

Application process

The application must be completed and submitted using NNF’s online application and grant management system, NORMA.

Before applying, it is important that applicants read all information and guidelines for applicants as they contain detailed information on the application process.

To be eligible for a grant for a research project or research fellowship, the applicant must upload a commitment letter for hosting from an administering institution, which must confirm that the applicant will be employed during the grant period.

Assessment criteria

The Foundation’s Committee on Science Education and Outreach will assess the applications based on the following criteria:

• The project’s consistency with the purpose of the call for applications;
• the capacity and qualifications of the applicant and the applicant’s institution;
• The quality of the project for the discipline
• the relevance and importance of the proposed project, and how it builds on any existing knowledge and initiatives;
• the project plan, method and feasibility of the project to be implemented, including plan for evaluation and knowledge-sharing;
• Expected benefit for the target group and in relation to knowledge building
• the capacity and qualifications of any co-applicants and collaboration partners;
• if relevant to the application, the embeddedness, originality, scalability and opportunities for disseminating the project throughout Denmark; and
• If relevant, the research environment and research excellence.

Information and Guidelines

Read more in “Information and Guidelines for applicants”.