NFRF/NordForsk call: 2026 International Joint Initiative for Research Harnessing Disruptive Technologies to Address Global Challenges
As a partner of a Nordic consortium of research funding agencies, the Research Council of Finland (RCF) joins a major international collaboration to support interdisciplinary and transformative research aimed at harnessing disruptive technology to address global societal challenges.
The International Joint Initiative for Research Harnessing Disruptive Technologies to Address Global Challenges is administrated by New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), Canada. Full information about the call is available on their website.
The Nordic partners of a project proposal can apply for a maximum of some 1.44 million euros in total. The intention is to fund Nordic participation in twelve research projects under this call.
Launching in January 2026, this initiative aims to harness the potential of disruptive technology to offer novel solutions to global challenges and accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this call, disruptive technology is defined as “an innovation whose application replaces or radically alters systems, processes and/or behaviours to have transformative economic or societal impacts. The impact may be localised or far-reaching. Disruptive technology may include cutting-edge and novel innovations, or the application of an existing innovation in a new context, bringing about substantial change or paradigm shifts.”
This call is announced as a collaboration between NordForsk, the Dutch Research Council, International Development Research Centre in Canada, New Frontiers in Research Fund in Canada, Sao Paulo Research Foundation in Brazil, Spanish State Research Agency, Swiss National Science Foundation, National Science and Technology Council in Taiwan, and UK Research and Innovation.
The Nordic participation is managed by NordForsk in partnership with the Research Council of Norway, the Research Council of Finland, the Swedish Research Council, the Independent Research Fund Denmark, Innovation Fund Denmark and Rannís – Iceland, who are co-financing the call.
Eligibility
Each project team must be international and eligible to receive funds from at least three participating funding organisations, one of which must be Canadian.
Projects that apply for funding from NordForsk must include research partners from at least two different Nordic countries. The Nordic countries are defined here as the Åland Islands, Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. One of the Nordic team members must have the role of co-principal investigator in the international project team.
Webinar for Nordic researchers
NordForsk will host a webinar on 3 December at 10.00 CET for researchers from the Nordic countries interested in the call (see NordForsk website below).
More information
- Risto Vilkko, Senior Science Adviser, firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi
- Program description on NFRF website
- More information particularly for Nordic applicants on NordForsk website
