Closed call 2024-06-14: ISPP Mobility Grants

This is a call for ISPP Mobility Grants within Digital Futures. Please note that only KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) researchers are eligible to apply for this call.

Important dates

This is a reoccurring call with applications possible every three months.

Upcoming deadlines:

14 June 2024

Expected decision on projects: Two weeks after the application deadline.
Expected start of projects: Directly after the decision.

Purpose

ISPP Mobility Grants are targeted at preparing/initiating new interactions between Digital Futures faculty and representatives of ISPP members. The grants are meant to incentivize the exploration of new constellations and thematic orientations and are meant for a dedicated (short-term) time period targeting a specific outcome. The outcome shall be oriented according to the main goals of the ISPP, being to (I) position Stockholm as a leading area in the field of digitalization, (II) to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities related to digitalization for different players (private companies, public authorities), and (III) to foster the creation of novel and innovate project consortia that can address challenges and grow into larger consortia and initiatives. A major part of the industrial and societal impact and dissemination of Digital Futures is intended to take place through the ISPP.

Scope

ISPP Mobility Grant applications are welcome in all areas of digital transformation (represented by the Digital Futures research matrix, see below figure).

Digital Futures Strategic Research Programme: The three research themes Trust, Cooperate and Learn cut across the four contexts Smart society, Digitalized industry, Rich and healthy life, and Educational Transformation.

Eligibility

Applicants and Constellation

ISPP Mobility Grants are applied for by one academic partner (at KTH for this round, at later stages also Stockholm University and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden) in conjunction with one or multiple ISPP member representatives. The following positions/titles/roles are eligible to apply as recipients of a ISPP Mobility Grant:

Assistant Professor
Associate Professor
Full Professor
Permanent full-time Researcher (”tillsvidareanställning”) with a PhD degree and 80% employment or more at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Applicants do not need to be Digital Futures faculty when applying but will become Digital Futures faculty in case of a successful application.

A special case relates to the involvement of already established adjunct professors. They are considered regarding ISPP Mobility Grants as ISPP member representatives. Thus, they cannot receive funding through this programme.

For ISPP Mobility Grants, only representatives from established ISPP members (Ericsson, Scania, Skanska, City of Stockholm, Region of Stockholm, Astra Zeneca and Saab as of February 2023) as external partners qualify as partners.

Grant Duration and Funding Conditions

ISPP Mobility Grants relate to an exploration phase that is maximum six months in duration. An ISPP Mobility Grant provides 50 kSEK in cash for the academic recipient. An applicant can receive at most one ISPPP Mobility Grant over a 12-month period.

An ISPP Mobility Grant is meant as an incentive for the applicants to meet on a regular base and introduce their respective environments, interests and activities to each other. This interaction might lead to immediate joint activities such as joint research, or it might target later activities as offered under the Digital Futures ISPP project funding scheme. The specific implementation of this exploration/exchange phase is up to the applicants to define and implement and must be outlined in the application. It is an obligation for applicants to determine upfront the conditions and requirements for the exploration/exchange phase. Digital Futures does not provide template contracts that govern this type of relation.

Examples of a joint exploration/exchange phases suitable to be supported under an ISPP Mobility grant are as follows (not precluding other ideas or directions):

A Digital Futures faculty would like to expand her/his research portfolio regarding industrial or societal impact. The faculty established a contact to a research department of one of the ISPP industrial members, or an innovation department of one of the ISPP societal members. Together in this new constellation, they plan to meet once per week for half a day at the Digital Futures Hub to exchange ideas, have some in-depth research discussions etc. – for a duration of three months. The goal is to identify research interests and work out an application for an ISPP postdoc project.
An ISPP member representative has met at a matchmaking workshop a Digital Futures faculty, and together they see the opportunity to organize a Digital Futures focus period in 15 months. They intend to meet on a regular base over a period of 3 months to map out the area, contact other ISPP members, as well as DF faculty and pull together a Digital Futures focus period application. For this, the Digital Futures faculty will send on a weekly base a postdoc from her/his group to the premises of the ISPP member for detailed discussions while joining this meeting time by time via Zoom.
A Digital Futures faculty would like to dedicate time on working out a certain idea together with a ISPP member representative that she/he got to know recently. They would like to target a joint publication, which later one can serve as a starting point for ISPP project application. The DF faculty and ISPP representative have figured out how to handle the jointly created IP, and would like to meet biweekly over six months for 2 hours, in order to drive the research. Both parties bring additional staff (co-workers, postdocs, PhD students etc.) to the meetings.

After the exploration/exchange phase – incentivized by an ISPP mobility grant – is over, the DF ISPP will approach grant holders for written or oral reporting.

Applicable Funding Policy for Digital Futures Faculty

No restrictions on previously received Digital Futures funding will be applied for this call.

Application & Evaluation

Interested parties in ISPP Mobility Grants are supposed to turn in a one-page description outlining the novel ISPP Mobility Grant applicant constellation and involved parties/persons, the planning of activities, as well as the relation to and benefit for Digital Futures. CVs are supposed to be appended, as well as a letter of intent from the involved ISPP members.

ISPP Mobility Grants are evaluated by the Digital Futures Executive Committee concerning their eligibility, fit to Digital Futures, as well as their potential to contribute to the Digital Futures Industrial and Societal Partnership Programme.

How to apply

Prepare your application according to the project description template: ISPP mobility template
Send your application file together with all supplementary material to: call@digitalfutures.kth.se, and include “ISPP Mobility Grant” in the subject of your email.

Contact & Questions

Contact call@digitalfutures.kth.se for further questions. Please include “ISPP Mobility Grant” in the subject of your email.

Background

Digital Futures is a cross-disciplinary research centre that explores and develops digital technologies. We bring solutions to great societal challenges in Sweden and globally. We generate knowledge, innovations, and future leaders of high industrial relevance and strategic importance. Digital Futures is jointly established by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. Find out more about Digital Futures here.

One key goal of Digital Futures is the establishment and continuous interaction with industrial and societal stakeholders in the environment around Digital Futures. The Industrial and Societal Partnership Program (ISPP) is addressing this goal and was established in April 2022. Strategic funding schemes like Societal and Industrial Innovation Projects (SIP and IIP) have been launched since 2021 and are essential to the ISPP. The ISPP Mobility Grant is a further funding scheme meant to seed & stimulate the interaction between Digital Futures faculty and ISPP members. Digital Futures faculty (only from KTH in this call) and representatives from ISPP members are encouraged to be active under the ISPP mobility grant scheme.