Call for "Seed Money" to Initiate and Develop Health Economic Research Projects
The Centre for Health Economic Research announces support for initiating and developing high-quality health economics research projects.
The Centre for Health Economic Research (HEFUU) at Uppsala University is a multidisciplinary research center aimed at research contributing to an efficient provision of health care resources and improved health in the population. The center is a collaboration between the Disciplinary Domain for Medicine and Pharmacy and the Faculty of Social Sciences building on a cross-disciplinary perspective to combine different competences. More about HEFUU’s activities can be found at https://www.uu.se/en/centre/health-economic-research.
What is the purpose of the support?
HEFUU announces support for researchers at Uppsala University who wish to initiate and develop high-quality health economic research projects. The support consists of financial support to enable researchers to initiate/start health economics projects, to develop health economics research ideas, and to start project activities, with the aim of securing additional funding from external research funders.
The support aims to broaden the health economics research and research environment at Uppsala University.
Who is the support aimed for?
The support primarily targets researchers planning new health economics research projects across disciplines, departments, faculties, and disciplinary domains within Uppsala University.
Priority is given to projects addressing questions aligned to HEFUU’s focus areas on evaluating medical interventions in clinical practice, reimbursement and pricing strategies, equitable access to health and care, and consequences of resource limitations.
The support can, for example, be used for initial funding of PhD students, initial project funding, and for conducting pilot studies, aimed at research applications.
About the support
You can apply for a maximum of 750,000 SEK for one year.
The main applicant must have a doctoral degree and be employed by a department or equivalent unit within the Disciplinary Domain for Medicine and Pharmacy or the Faculty of Social Sciences. All researchers to be salaried by the funds should be employed at Uppsala University.
Applicants for approved projects are expected to actively participate in the health economics environment at Uppsala University, including attending research seminars organized by HEFUU. In addition, the applicants become affiliated to HEFUU.
Application
The application must be written in English and consist of a CV for the main applicant (max 2 pages, 11-point Times New Roman), a project description (max 5 pages, 11-point Times New Roman), and a letter with a signature from the department head of the host department indicating that the department can host the support.
The project description should include the following headings:
- Project Group: Names of the main applicant and other participants, with a specific indication of the researchers or PhD students who are intended to be salaried by the support. If the persons to be funded need to be recruited, this should be specifically indicated.
- Project Plan:
- Description of the project’s purpose and research question, value added to previous research, study design, and implementation/time plan.
- Description of how aligned the project is to HEFUU’s focus areas and how it is interdisciplinary.
- Description of how the composition of the project group provides good conditions for successfully implementing the project.
- Budget: Total amount applied for, including overhead, and a description of how the support will be used, including a breakdown of salary costs (including social security contributions) for those who are to be funded by the project and operating costs (e.g., grants for travel, materials, and other equipment).
- References
The application must be in one (1) PDF file and submitted by August 15 (24:00) 2025 at
https://doit.medfarm.uu.se/bin/kurt3/kurt/8886788 .
Assessment criteria
The reviewers and the board will assess each application according to four criteria:
- Scientific quality
- Originality
- Competence
- Feasibility
In addition to these criteria, a relation to HEFUU’s focus areas and interdisciplinary aspects will be valued positively.
Preparation and Decision
The applications will be assessed in a first step by two experts who will individually and independently evaluate the applications. In a second step, the reviewers meet with HEFUU’s director to prioritize the applications. In a third step, the director prepares a recommendation for the board’s decision. The decision is based on the experts’ prioritization along with considerations focused on achieving a broad composition of projects. The decision on support is made by HEFUU’s board.
Information
Further information can be provided by Erik Grönqvist, Director, email: erik.gronqvist@uu.se, phone: 018-471 10 98.
Timeline
- May 16, 2025: Application opens
- August 15, 2025 (24:00): Application deadline
- October 2025: HEFUU board decides on the allocation of support
- December 31, 2026: Main applicant for approved projects submits a report