FORSKINGSRADET FOR HALSA ARBETSLIVOCH VALFARD

Their core work

Forte (the Swedish Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare) is a national research funding agency that finances and coordinates research on health, working life, and welfare in Sweden. Within H2020, Forte participates in ERA-NET Cofund schemes and Coordination and Support Actions, pooling national funding with European partners to launch joint transnational research calls. Their role is strategic: they align Swedish research priorities with European joint programming initiatives on topics ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to digital transformations in society. They do not conduct research themselves but shape what gets funded and how national programs connect across borders.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Forte's early H2020 engagement (2015-2018) centered on health-oriented joint programming — aligning national research on neurodegenerative diseases, ageing populations, and demographic change through implementation and coordination activities. From 2018 onward, their focus shifted markedly toward societal and governance themes: democratic governance, digital transformations, inequality, and the broader humanities and social sciences. This evolution reflects a broadening mandate from health-specific research coordination to encompassing wider societal challenges tied to digital change and democratic resilience.

Forte is moving from health-focused funding coordination toward broader social science and humanities themes, particularly around digital transformation's impact on democracy and society — making them a strong partner for interdisciplinary SSH calls.

How they like to work

Forte exclusively participates as a partner, never as coordinator, consistent with its role as a national funding body that joins European coordination networks rather than leading individual research projects. Despite only five projects, they have collaborated with 72 unique partners across 33 countries, indicating they operate in very large ERA-NET-style consortia with broad membership. Working with Forte means gaining access to Swedish national research funding streams and their extensive European network of peer funding agencies.

With 72 unique consortium partners across 33 countries from just 5 projects, Forte has one of the broadest per-project networks — a direct consequence of participating in large ERA-NET Cofund schemes that bring together dozens of national funding agencies. Their reach spans virtually all EU and associated countries.

What sets them apart

Forte is not a research performer but a research funder — a critical distinction. Partnering with Forte means access to Swedish national co-funding for transnational research calls, which is valuable for any consortium seeking to include a Scandinavian funding stream. Their dual expertise in health/welfare and social sciences/humanities makes them unusually versatile among national funding councils, able to bridge health research with governance and digital society themes.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CHANSE
  Largest project by funding (EUR 705,654), an ERA-NET Cofund bringing together humanities and social sciences across Europe — signals Forte's expanding scope beyond health.
• Governance
  Marks Forte's pivot into democratic governance, political change, and inequality — topics far from their traditional health and welfare mandate.
• JPco-fuND
  Long-running ERA-NET (2015-2021) on neurodegenerative diseases research, representing Forte's core health mission in European joint programming.