The Foundation announces grants for research and development aimed at enhancing the quality of life and autonomy for individuals living with disabilities.

The Foundation’s mission is to foster the development and dissemination of technical aids, with a particular emphasis on enhancing mobility, alongside supporting scientific research to create new aids and restore mobility and communication capabilities for individuals with disabilities.

The objective of Promobilia Fellowships is to provide talented individuals, passionate about disability research, the opportunity to initiate a research career within this domain.

By fostering the establishment of more researchers in this vital field, it is our aspiration to bolster and advance disability research, thereby contributing to greater prospects for individuals with disabilities to lead active and independent lives.

Promobilia Fellows become integrated into a network of researchers, invited approximately once a year to the Promobilia Fellows Symposium to exchange insights and foster collaborative endeavors.

Promobilia Fellows are anticipated to present their research at one of these symposia.

The fellowship is awarded for two years, with the possibility of a one-year extension. The annual personal grant for a Postdoctoral Fellowship is SEK 1,000,000.

The fellowship must be affiliated with a Swedish higher education institution, where the fellow must be employed for the duration of the grant period.

National and international mobility is encouraged when it clearly contributes to skills development, network building, or methodological advancement.

International research visits should be justified based on their scientific value and their contribution to the applicant’s career development.

The application must include a clear plan for the researcher’s continued career and research development beyond the fellowship period.

For international applicants, the host researcher at the Swedish higher education institution may serve as the formal applicant when Swedish electronic identification (BankID) is required.

To be eligible for a Promobilia Fellowship, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• You must have been awarded your doctoral degree (PhD) no later than 31 October in the year of the application.

or

• Your PhD must have been awarded within the three years preceding the application deadline. Periods of parental leave are not included in the three-year eligibility window.

The grant amount is applicable for full-time employment; however, part-time research (minimum 50%) is also permissible, with the duration of the grant adjusted accordingly.

The grant encompasses salary, associated employer contributions, as well as university overhead costs (up to a maximum of 20% of the total amount).

Any potential extension following the initial grant period is determined by the Foundation’s Technical and Scientific Committee subsequent to the submission and evaluation of the application and progress report.

All research involving humans or experimental animals must be approved by a research ethics committee before it can begin. This ensures that the project adheres to strict ethical guidelines and laws, and protects the rights and well-being of participants.

Projects resulting in medical devices are subject to specific regulations to ensure quality and safety, in accordance with the EU Regulation 2017/745 (MDR). For more information and the definition of a medical device, please visit the Swedish Medical Products Agency’s (Läkemedelsverket, LMV) website: Is it a medical device?

The Promobilia Foundation encourages early consideration of LMV’s requirements during the development process and adherence to all specified requirements before any clinical trial of a medical device is initiated. Please note that different rules apply depending on whether the product to be tested is CE marked or not.

1. Personal information, including contact details for your certifying manager (Head of Department or equivalent).

2. Popular science summary in Swedish.

3. CV of the applicant and host researcher.

4. Research plan according to the provided template (download the template here or from the application system by starting a new application).

The application includes two sections. Together, they describe both the proposed research project and how a Promobilia Fellowship will contribute to the applicant’s career development and to the long-term advancement of the research field.

The Scientific Project Description and Career Development sections together may comprise a maximum of 16,000 characters (including spaces), corresponding to approximately five A4 pages.

1. Scientific Project Description

• Research Plan

1. Need and Significance: Describe the societal and scientific needs that motivate the project. Explain how the project will contribute, in both the short and long term, to improving active and independent living for people with disabilities.
2. Aim and Objectives: Describe the overall aim of the project and its specific objectives.
3. Project Description and Methodology: Describe the project’s theoretical framework, methodology, analysis plan, study participants, materials/data sources, and study design.
4. Timeline and Milestones: Provide an overview of the project’s implementation year by year. Include key activities, intermediate objectives, milestones, and expected outcomes. (A timeline table should be included as an attachment.)
5. Risk Assessment and Ethical Considerations: Describe the scientific, practical, and ethical risks associated with the project and how they will be managed. Briefly explain ethical considerations and whether ethical approval is required. For medical device projects, specify the CE marking status and, where applicable, notification to the Swedish Medical Products Agency.
6. Impact and Utilisation: Describe how the project’s results are expected to benefit people with disabilities, for example through new treatments, assistive technologies, or improved accessibility and independence. Identify the target groups, expected outcomes, implementation strategy, dissemination activities, and how impact and real-world utilisation will be evaluated.
7. Research Plan Attachment: You may attach figures, a timeline table, and/or a reference list. The reference list may include a maximum of 10 scientific publications of particular relevance, preferably with PubMed or DOI links. The attachment may not exceed three A4 pages, using Arial 11 pt, single line spacing, and 2.5 cm margins.

2. Career Development

• Researcher’s Development

1. Skills and Career Development: Describe the knowledge and skills you aim to develop during the fellowship, how these will strengthen your scientific competence and career progression, and the goals you intend to achieve. Also explain how the fellowship will support your development as an independent researcher.
2. Leadership and Academic Development: Describe your experience of supervising students, leading research projects or research groups, and how you plan to develop your academic leadership during the fellowship. Also explain how you will contribute to the development of junior researchers, students, and research environments.

• Research Environment

1. Choice of Research Environment: Describe the research environment in which the project will be conducted and explain why you have chosen the host institution and research environment. Describe the expertise, infrastructure, and methods available, and explain how the environment will contribute to your scientific development.
2. Collaborations and Networks: Describe collaborations with other researchers, research groups, universities, or clinical environments, nationally or internationally, that are important for your project. Explain how these collaborations support both the project and your professional development.
3. Mobility Plan: Describe any planned research visits during the fellowship period. Include the host institution, purpose, duration, extent of the visit, and the knowledge, methods, and networks that will be developed.

• Long-term Development of the Research Field

1. Plans After the Fellowship: Describe your long-term career goals over the next 5–10 years and explain how the fellowship will help establish or strengthen an independent research programme, enable future research funding, and support the continued development of your research after the fellowship.
2. Contribution to the Research Field: Describe how you intend to strengthen, in the long term, research on disability and functioning, build research capacity, and develop national and international research networks. Also explain how you will contribute to strong and sustainable research environments in Sweden.

Download the complete list of headings and instructions in this document.