- Home
- Actors and coordination
- Research funders
Research funders
Research funders that contribute to the transition to open science.
Formas works nationally and internationally to promote the transition towards an open science system, with a focus on:
- open access to scholarly publications,
- open access to research data, and
- the development of research assessment and merit systems.
For publications, the goal is immediate open access to publicly funded research results. Formas supports Plan S, launched by Coalition S, and participates in joint funder networks and consultations on research funding. Since 2021, Formas has required immediate open publication and funds agreements with publishers of fully open journals. They are also engaged in the Open Research Europe (ORE) publishing platform as an alternative to publisher-based models.
For research data, Formas requires that all funded projects include a data management plan. Formas is a member of the Swedish Research Council’s reference group on open access to research data and, through that group, follows developments within the EU initiative European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), which works to harmonise the storage, management, and sharing of research data.
In the area of research assessment, Formas has signed the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and is a member of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). This entails commitments to recognise diverse contributions, prioritise qualitative evaluation, avoid the misuse of bibliometrics, and refrain from institutional rankings. Assessment criteria are to include open science, collaboration, and gender equality. Formas actively develops its assessment practices within its research funding framework and contributes to the national implementation of these principles through the Swedish chapter of CoARA.
Forte promotes open science by influencing policy and systems, collaborating nationally and internationally, setting requirements for open publications and data, and contributing to joint solutions for financing open access.
Since 2020, Forte has held an explicit mandate to promote open science, ensuring that the results of publicly funded research are accessible to everyone. A key element of this work is transition through collaboration: Forte works with other research funders, the National Library of Sweden (KB), and SUHF to implement the national guidelines introduced in January 2024, particularly those concerning open access to publications.
At the international level, Forte is engaged in two key initiatives: the European Commission’s working group on the development of Open Research Europe (ORE) and Coalition S, which promotes immediate open access to research results. Forte has also been a driver of change by setting requirements for the researchers it funds. From 2021, research results must be published with immediate open access, and by 2026, research data must be made available in accordance with the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary.”
Forte also contributes financially to agreements with publishers that publish exclusively in open access, ensuring that researchers and higher education institutions do not have to bear the costs of publication. In addition, Forte provides recurring grants to support Swedish open access journals.
The specific requirements set by the Swedish Research Council (SRC) for funded grant applications include the preparation of a data management plan and the requirement that research results in the form of scientific publications be published with open access. These requirements are based on the Swedish Research Council’s work to advance open science.
The requirement for data management plans forms part of the national effort to implement open access to research data in Sweden and is intended to promote so-called good data management practices. Good data management is important to ensure that research data can be quality assured, preserved, and reused.
Activities funded by the Swedish Research Council must adhere to good research practice, which includes making data available “as open as possible, as closed as necessary.”
In 2010, the Swedish Research Council introduced the requirement that publications (with the exception of books) resulting from research wholly or partly funded by the SRC must be made available with open access. This requirement has since been expanded, and from 2022 it also applies to books and book chapters. Furthermore, from 2022, open access publication must be immediate. This means that research outputs should be made openly accessible at the same time as they are published in other formats, for example in a subscription-based journal.
Read more at SRC's website:
Vinnova requires that all scholarly publications resulting from funded projects be made immediately available with open access. Publication may take place in fully open journals or platforms, under transformative agreements, or through parallel publication in open repositories without any embargo period. Publications must carry an open license (preferably CC BY). The requirement has been in effect since 1 January 2021 and covers scholarly articles, conference papers, and similar outputs. Funding for publication costs is available. Projects must report compliance when submitting their final reports.
Vinnova is a member of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) and participates in its Swedish chapter. Through this engagement, Vinnova supports the development and implementation of reformed systems for research assessment that foreground quality, diversity, and open science. The Swedish chapter serves as a forum for exchanging experiences, developing common standards, and sharing good practices within the Swedish research and innovation system, in close connection with the international CoARA network.
Read the Vinnova instructions regarding open publications (Swedish)
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) sets clear requirements for open access and robust data management in funded projects.
Research results — particularly scholarly articles and conference publications arising from RJ-funded projects — must be published with open access. RJ also encourages open publication of monographs and book chapters and provides support through peer-review platforms such as Kriterium. Publications should carry the most permissive license possible (preferably CC BY). Monographs or articles may be parallel-published in open repositories with a maximum embargo period of 12 months. Publication costs may be included in grant applications. RJ monitors compliance with open publishing requirements through project reporting.
Researchers must prepare a data management plan (DMP) for all data generated within the project. The DMP does not need to be submitted to RJ, but the project leader and grant administrator must certify that a plan exists and is maintained. RJ may request information about the plan during follow-up evaluations.
A description of how research results will be disseminated and made openly available must be included in the application, mid-term review, and final report. This should cover both planned and completed measures, including cost estimates, publication strategies, and links to openly accessible publications.
Under Horizon Europe, open science is a legal obligation for all funded projects. It covers two main areas:
- open access to publications, and
- research data that are as open as possible.
Research publications must be made openly accessible — either in the final, published version or the accepted manuscript (see Open Access to Publications). The preferred license is Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) or an equivalent; for long-form publications, CC BY-NC-ND is also permitted. (Metadata must be FAIR – Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable – machine-readable, and openly licensed, for example under CC0.) Projects must also openly deposit the research outputs and tools necessary to validate their results.
Research data must be managed according to the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary.” This means that data should follow the FAIR principles and be made available unless restricted by legitimate considerations (such as intellectual property rights, confidentiality, or commercial interests). The project manager must develop a data management plan (DMP) and update it regularly throughout the project.
Horizon Europe also encourages additional open science practices — for example, involving the public in the research process, open peer review, early sharing of research results (e.g. through pre-registration and preprints), and engagement with civil society. Incorporating such practices can contribute to higher evaluation scores.