Nordic COVID-19 research for DKK 2.5 billion

Research programmes on COVID-19 for a total of DKK 2.5 billion were funded in the Nordic countries in 2020 and 2021.

NordForsk – a research organisation under the Nordic Council of Ministers – has mapped research initiatives in the 7 Nordic countries during the epidemic.

In total the funding granted or committed in Sweden makes up 47% out of the DKK 2.5 billion. Finland granted 19%, Denmark 16%, Norway 16%, Iceland 0.2% and the Faroe Islands 0.1%.

Health and social sciences

Funding of research within medical and health sciences makes up 58% of the total funding. The research within social sciences makes up 23% of the funding,

Sweden’s funding to medical and health sciences related to COVID-19 makes up 65% of the Nordic funding to the area. Denmark follows with 14%, and Finland with 12%.

Much of the funding to social sciences related to COVID-19 has been granted in Finland and Norway. It comprises 44% of the total COVID-19 related funding in Finland, and 67% in Norway, while in Sweden it is only 4% and in Denmark 14%.

In the Faroe Islands, the funding is divided between medical and health sciences with 56% and social sciences with 44%.

Specific call funded 14 projects 

There has been one COVID-19 specific call in the Faroe Islands so far. The Research Council Faroe Islands issued an open call in April 2020 with a total budget of DKK 3 million. 1 million was from the Research Council and 2 million were donations from private companies in the Faroe Islands. 14 projects were funded.

In addition to these projects, some other projects have been funded by private companies. One project was funded by the Health Insurance Fund.

There are no specific plans to make a special call for COVID-19 related projects at the moment. In the regular call for applications, which closed on 15 February 2021, there were no applications on COVID-19 specific issues.

The report from NordForsk on COVID-19 research can be seen here.