How to Apply for an IFS Grant

When to apply

Project proposals are welcome at the IFS Secretariat throughout the year.
For administrative purposes, we have two application deadlines, 30 June and 31 December. However, we urge you not to wait until the deadline - please submit your application at least one month before. Applying earlier in the six-month cycle allows us to contact you for more information if needed.

Notification of IFS Decision

To allow time for our comprehensive evaluation process, notification of the granting decision for applications that arrive at the Secretariat between January and June is made during January-February of the following year; notification of the granting decision for applications that arrive at the Secretariat between July and December is made during July-August of the following year.

Submission of your application

A researcher may only submit one application at a time for consideration by IFS.

The IFS Application Form

Applications for IFS Research grants must be submitted using the standard IFS Application Form in English or French.

The IFS Application form is available in two formats:

1. a printed paper form
2. an electronic version (a Microsoft Word document; 700 KB)

You can download the electronic version from this website, or request the paper Application form using the order form below.

Application form Downloading page
Request a paper form from IFS

The Application form is updated from time to time. Always check our website that you have the most recent version before submitting your proposal.

How to use the Application Form

Send only one Application Form to IFS, and send it only to the address indicated in the Guidelines accompanying the form.

The paper Application form

should be filled in with a typewriter
should not be handwritten. Application forms that are filled in by hand cannot be accepted for evaluation.
should be sent to the IFS Secretariat by regular mail

The electronic Application form

should be filled in on a computer using Microsoft Word (or any other compatible word-processor software)
should be sent to IFS as an attachment in an e-mail to:
applications@ifs.se

What to present

The Application Form is a detailed questionnaire, with Guidelines enclosed to offer a thorough tutorial on how to fill it in. Applicants are asked to restrict themselves to the space provided in the Application Form for each specific question. Manipulated forms will not be accepted.

Additional attachments will not be taken into consideration, unless they are specifically asked for in the Guidelines (eg questionnaires, interview schedules).
Please note: If you add attachments to your proposal, give the attachment a file name that includes your name, and also make sure that your name and the title of your project are clearly indicated on each of the supplementary sheets!

The following requirements are directional to the type of information that is requested:

You are asked to explain the relevance of your proposed project in relation to environmental and socio-economic conditions in your country/region.
A scientific hypothesis/research question must be put forward. The objectives of your research must be stated in a way that can be met by carrying out the research plan.
Your research plan normally requires 1-2 pages to provide enough information for the IFS Advisers to evaluate your project proposal.
Purely technical transfer of existing, established technologies or extension projects will not be accepted.
Convincing proof must be presented on that you have access to basic research equipment and facilities necessary for your project.
An itemized budget for the project is an absolute requirement. The maximum budget is USD 12000. Only indicate budget items that can be funded by IFS.
The institution that will administer your grant must be based in a developing country.

Has IFS received my Application form?

If you have indicated an e-mail address in your Application form, we will acknowledge receipt of your proposal no later than 3 weeks after arrival at IFS.

If you have used a paper Application form and do not have an e-mail address, you will receive acknowledgement in the form of the pre-screening result for your proposal. Allow a few months for this.

If you have not heard from us after our delay for acknowledgement of receipt, or before the pending deadline (June 30th or December 31st), you may want to make sure that your Application form has reached the IFS Secretariat.

Make your enquiry on whether we have received your project proposal or not to applications@ifs.se. To be able to trace your proposal among the hundreds of Application forms we receive every month, we need the following information:

your full name (as you have indicated it in the Application form)
whether you used the paper or the electronic version
the e-mail address you sent your electronic form from
the date when you sent it to IFS
the title of your project

When can I get a final decision?

The IFS Research grants are awarded following a competitive process. The evaluation and granting process starts twice a year, after the administrative deadlines of December 31st and June 30th. The timeframe from deadline for applications to final decisions is roughly 6-7 months.

Applications are first pre-screened at the IFS Secretariat. Only proposals that are submitted on the IFS Application form, properly filled in according to the Guidelines, on projects that are well justified and argued, and that are well presented with sufficient details on all items, are accepted for further processing.
After the session deadline, each accepted proposal is reviewed by a number of IFS Scientific Advisers, who are established experts in their fields. IFS has over 1000 active Advisers worldwide to ensure that the proposals recommended for funding are scientifically sound and feasible, and relevant to the scientific field and the country or region in question.
The Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs) meet to evaluate and rank the applications and recommend the most qualified for funding.
The Director of IFS makes the funding decisions in June and January. During the following month final results and feedback from the Advisers are communicated to the Applicants. Unsuccessful Applicants who have presented projects with potential are encouraged to improve/re-design and apply again.
Contracts are signed with the new IFS Grantees and their institutions, and their names are announced on the IFS website.

Each session up to 600 IFS Scientific Advisers and some 50 SAC members from all over the world contribute to the evaluation of the applications.

Get the Application Form

If you meet the eligibility criteria for IFS support and would like to submit a proposal for an IFS Research grant, you can download the electronic version of the IFS Application form from this website.

Application form Downloading page
Eligibility Criteria

Send us a request for an Application form
If you prefer to receive a paper Application form by regular mail, write your name and postal address here and press the button to submit. We will process your request as soon as possible.

You may also request an Application form in Microsoft Word format to be sent to you as an attachment in an e-mail. Note that the size of the file is approximately 800 KB.

What do you want us to send you:
	Paper Application form for first IFS Grant
	1st Grant Application form in Microsoft Word format (you will get it by return e-mail) (800 KB)

If you are applying under one of the current special calls (see list), please tell us which one:


Your full name:


Your full postal address, including country: (e-mail address if you want return mail)


Your preferred language:

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