Innovative research on the researchers' terms
VILLUM FONDEN will continue to support the next generation of top scientists, the already experienced, internationally recognized researchers and researchers with the bold ideas.
Director of Science Thomas Sinkjær elaborates on the research strategy:
"Supporting technical and scientific research has always been an essential part of VILLUM FONDEN´s work. Firstly, we annually award one of the country's best researchers with our individual research award - Villum Kann Rasmussen Annual Award for Technical and Scientific Research of DKK 5 million. This will continue.
Secondly, for many years VILLUM FONDEN have supported technical and scientific research with a wide range of means. This will continue with focus on three main areas in the future";
For experienced and internationally recognised researcher seeking to immerse themselves in their research topic. The grant amount is DKK 20-40 million per Villum Investigator. The grant can be reawarded, and the timeframe is six years.
For junior researcher setting up their own research team for the first time. The grant amount is DKK 7-10 million. The grant can be awarded only once. The timeframe is five years.
For bold research ideas that have difficulty fitting into the conventional peer-reviewed funding system. The grant can be sought by active researchers of any age. The grant size is DKK 1-3 million. The time frame is 1-3 years.
The programs are open to all researchers regardless of nationality. However the research must be conducted at a Danish university or at other Danish research institutions.
Thomas Sinkjær continues:
"Our goal is to foster world-class research at Danish universities and research institutions. This means that we must support the best researchers and build on the ideas, which the researchers themselves find most interesting. We wish to welcome researchers with trust, freedom and flexibility to enable them to establish creative research environments where new ideas can be developed".
Overall, VILLUM FONDEN expect to grant about DKK 450 million for Technical and Scientific Research in 2016.
Free funds for the curious researcher
"As a non-profit, private charitable foundation, we award free research funds and we have the opportunity to provide curious, talented researchers with an excellent framework for creating groundbreaking research. By supporting the brightest, we let the money follow the researcher rather than the project. This also means that we can take more risks and invest in research that may fail in the first place or research that only far in the future may provide answers to known challenges".
