Instructions on funding applications for publication grants in 2026

15/12/2025

This funding supports the publication of research findings from projects funded by the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies. The purpose is to enhance the visibility and accessibility of research on the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe through open access publications.

Eligible to apply: Project managers and participants for research projects funded by the Foundation. Project managers for conference grants funded by the Foundation.

Intended for:

• Articles in journals; monographs and anthologies; and conference anthologies issued by publishers in conjunction with conference grants. Publishing must take place with immediate open access.
• Costs connected with publication of research findings, listed by written agreement with a publisher, including OA fees, and also for other services purchased — language editing, graphic design and illustrations, for example.

Grant availability period: Maximum of one year.

Grant amount: SEK 250,000.

Grant administrator: A Swedish higher education institution.

A.   Key dates

Calls for proposals – round 1

• The call for applications opens on 15 December 2025 at 9:00 am.
• The deadline for applications is 28 January 2026 at 3 p.m.
• Decision on application will be announced in March 2026.
• Start date: 1 July 2026. The grant availability period is one year.

Calls for proposals – round 2

• The call for applications opens on 17 August 2026 at 9:00 am.
• The deadline for applications is 29 September 2026 at 3 p.m.
• Decision on application will be announced in November 2026.
• Start date: 1 January 2027. The grant availability period is one year.

B.   General conditions

1. Grant administrator: must be a Swedish higher education institution. There may be other Swedish grant administrators, but the Foundation’s approval must be obtained before the application is submitted.
2. Approval: Applications must be approved by the grant administrator, through digital signature or a signed form (before the application is submitted). See more about signing and what it means under F. Instructions for application, Signatures. For publication grants based at Södertörn University, see Södertörn University’s checklist with the internal procedures.
3. Co-funding: The Foundation approves co-funding of publication grants with another research funder. Clearly indicate the Foundation’s contribution to the total budget in the application. If funds for the same or a similar publication are also applied for from another funder, this must be stated in the application. If funding is received from another funder for the publication, the Foundation’s secretariat must always be notified of this fact. Funds granted cannot be used for costs covered by another research funder.
4. Government’s request: The Foundation is complying with the Government’s request to ensure that contacts and collaborations with Russian and Belarusian state institutions cease immediately, and no new ones are initiated. The Foundation will not fund research collaborations linked to the state in Russia or Belarus.
5. Use of AI: The project manager is responsible for following Foundation’s Guidelines for the use of AI tools in the preparation of research grant applications.
6. Open access: There must be immediate open access. This applies to monographs as well.
7. Data Privacy Policy: The Foundation collects and processes personal data as part of the application process. The project manager must ensure that all participants in the application are aware of the Foundation’s Data Privacy Policy.
8. Website: The Foundation publishes information about the funds granted on its website.
9. Follow-up:
   • Final report:  A final report is due within four months of the last grant availability date.
   • Project monitoring may take other forms as well.

C.   Applicants

1. Eligibility: Only researchers with research projects or conference grants funded by the Foundation may apply for publication grants.
2. Application period: Funding for publication may be applied for during grant availability period and up to three years after submission of a final report.
3. Project manager’s role: The project manager is responsible for the ongoing work with the publication. The project manager is also the contact person for the project vis-à-vis the Foundation and the grant administrator when the application is created, during the assessment period and after a funding decision has been made.
4. Number of applications: It is possible to submit several applications for publication grants at the same time and to apply during ongoing projects. For more information see ‘Which grants may I apply for and have simultaneously?’.

D.   Assessment

Applications for publication grants are assessed by a specially appointed assessment panel. See the composition of the panel. The panel assesses the applications in competition and on the basis of the set assessment criteria and makes decisions on funding. Documentation for the assessment comprises the application and the written agreement with a publisher. The applicants are notified by email. No reasons for the decisions are given.

Assessment criteria

• relevance of the conference to the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe
• relevance to society

Relevance to the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe

The publication must be highly relevant to the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe. The same description of this relevance as the one applying to research projects is also applied with respect to publication grants.

Under the Statutes, the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies funds research related to ‘the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe’. The ‘Baltic Sea Region’ is the Baltic Sea itself and the surrounding areas. ‘Eastern Europe’ refers to post-communist Central, Southern and Eastern Europe (see further information on the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe). The Foundation does not fund research relating exclusively to Sweden or Swedish conditions. However, support may be provided for research that concerns Sweden, or countries entirely outside the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe in comparative studies when this is scientifically justified.

For the research to be judged highly relevant to the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe, it must make a specific contribution to our knowledge of this area. Research within the area involving collaboration with researchers, research institutions and other stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe is particularly relevant. Research with a more theoretical main question, in which the importance of the Baltic Sea Region or Eastern Europe is not explained in terms of the main question, or where the link to the region is indirect, is judged less relevant.

Relevance to society

The relevance of the research to society, where it can be applied, is another key criterion in the assessment of a funding application. Relevance to society can be interpreted both as the practical application of research results in society or as a question of how the results help us to understand societal phenomena, empirically or theoretically.

E.    Budget

1. Grant amount: The publication budget may not exceed SEK 250,000.
2. Publication types: Funding may be applied for articles in journals; monographs and anthologies; and conference anthologies issued by publishers in conjunction with conference grants funded by the Foundation.
3. Costs:
   • Funding may be applied for actual, specified costs connected with the publication.
   • Funds may be applied for to cover costs related to the publication, such as language editing, layout, images, printing and publishing with open access, and for indirect costs (overheads). Translation costs may applied for if specified in the contract with the publisher.
   • Funding of conference publications of two types, abstract collections and proceedings, should be applied for in an application for conference grants.
4. Budget commentary:
   • Please note that all costs must be specified and justified in detail in the space for ‘Budget commentary’. Specify the various costs of the publication, such as language editing, layout, images, printing and publishing with open access. Unspecified or unjustified costs are not approved.
   • The calculation of the amount of indirect costs must be stated in the budget commentary.
   • Note that the commentary is obligatory.

F.    Instructions for application

Important information

• Application system: Applications are submitted through Apply.
• Language: The whole application must be written in English. Applications partially in Swedish or incomplete will not be considered.
• Changes in a submitted application: Once submitted, applications cannot be modified by the applicant. Contact the Foundation’s secretariat if changes are needed.
• Mandatory attachments: Project description, references and CV must be uploaded as separate PDF files. No attachments may be included other than the PDF files requested in the application system.

Application form

Summary: may be up to 1500 characters, including spaces, in length. It must describe. It must describe the content of the publication and, in particular, its relevance to the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe and its target group.

Project description: must comprise a maximum of two pages of text (Times New Roman 12 points, line spacing 1.5, normal margins). It must cover the research task, especially its relevance to the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe; relevance to society; the content of the publication; and the target group.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide detailed justification of the relevance to the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe, as well as the relevance to society.

Agreement with a publisher: Upload an agreement with a single publisher only.

Signatures

The application must be signed by the project manager and the grant administrator’s authorised representative, who is usually the Head of the School (prefekt) where the project is intended to be based. Please note that applications cannot be submitted without the signature of the Head of School. The Foundation processes only signed applications.

The application is digitally signed with BankID in the application system Apply. If BankID is not available a special signature form is downloaded from the application system. Each party chooses the signing method in the application system.

The project manager’s signature represents confirmation that:

• the information in the application is correct and in line with the Foundation’s instructions
• the project manager will comply with all the conditions applying to the grant.

The grant administrator’s signature represents confirmation that:

• the grant administrator approves the cost calculation in the application
• the grant administrator will comply with all the conditions applying to the grant.

The parties must have discussed the above points before the project manager and the grant administrator’s representative approve and sign the application.