The New Exploratory Research and Discovery (NERD) Programme aims to support creative and ambitious researchers within the natural and technical sciences, at any career stage after obtaining the PhD degree. It provides the required long-term stability and continuity to explore truly exceptional ideas with potential application within the life sciences, health sciences or sustainability and the NNF strategy.

The NERD programme uses a two-stage evaluation procedure. At the first stage, applicants will remain anonymous to the evaluation committee, ensuring that emphasis is put on the proposed scientific ideas. The top-ranked applications will proceed to the second stage, where the CVs and publication lists of the applicants will be included to allow for feasibility assessment of the proposed projects.

The call supports fundamental research within the natural and technical sciences, including, e.g., physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science and technical sciences. 

The total grant size is up to DKK 16 million in funding for a 6-year project period (pro rata for shorter projects).

For more information, please visit the call website.

Please let us know if you need support with your proposal no later than: October 1st 

Applications that do not meet this deadline will not be guaranteed support from Fundraising & Project Management.

The application process consists of a one-stage submission using NNF’s online application and grant management system, NORMA.

• Your local funding advisor is your first point of contact for support. 
• Find more information on which instruments and what type of support F&P offers here. 
• Find our annual wheel of funding here.

AAU Seed Money can be used to support the preparation of an application, including activities such as proposal writing, meetings with potential consortium partners, and involvement of an external consultant.

AAU Seed Money is available both at faculty level and through AAU’s missions. For details on available funding amounts, application deadlines, and specific faculty requirements, please contact your local funding advisor.

Researchers at any career stage after obtaining the PhD are eligible to apply. Examples include independent researchers who have established their own line of research, or researchers who are in the process of establishing themselves as independent researchers. Applications from PhD students will not be taken into consideration.

Other important criteria:

• The research project must be anchored at a university or other non-profit research institution in Denmark.
• The applicant must be at least 80% affiliated with a university or other non-profit research institution in Denmark (at the time of starting the project).
• A hosting letter signed by the head of department must be provided, confirming the following:
  • That the institution will provide the required infrastructure, laboratory, and office facilities, as well as administration of the grant.
  • That the applicant does not have a grant portfolio exceeding an annual total of DKK 4.0 million (including potential overhead) in the year of commencing the project. 
• NERD grants are individual grants at the disposal of the grant recipient, and the grant recipient must be the clear driver of the project. However, if the applied project involves collaboration, the nature of this collaboration should be described in the project description, in an anonymous fashion. Invitation of co-applicants is not possible in this call.
• The NERD programme is intended for ‘full-time’ researchers who may have other obligations in connection with their employment (e.g., teaching, scientific advice to authorities).

Important restrictions regarding Novo Nordisk Foundation grants and proposals:

• An applicant may submit only one application to the Novo Nordisk Foundation for a grant of the NERD, RECRUIT, or Investigator types (across all funding areas) and cannot submit another application for these calls while the application is under review. If an applicant submits more than one application for the mentioned calls for simultaneous review, only the first application submitted will be evaluated, while the subsequent applications will receive administrative rejections.
• If an applicant holds an active NERD, RECRUIT or Investigator grant, the applicant may apply for a new grant of these types during the final year of the existing grant, however, the grant periods cannot overlap.

There are not regular information meetings for each NNF call, but NNF visits AAU once a year (usually in November) to present all their calls at once. However, questions regarding the call should be addressed directly with the relevant contact persons at NNF.

There are no courses available at the moment.

Fundraising & Project Management offers:

• Assistance in assessing whether the NERD Programme is the right fit for you and the research idea.
• Preparation of a timeline to ensure a smooth application process. 
• Two reviews of the application, including concrete suggestions for changes/additions/considerations.
• Review of the application budget. 
• Assistance with submission of proposal in Norma
• Annexes: Gather annexes from all partners and help with AAU's annexes.
• Set up of Teams group for all partners with AAU internal and external channels.

Meetings

Fundraising & Project Management offers:

• Get Started meeting - At the meeting an agreement is made on support/expectations and the involvement of both Fundraising & Project Management and the local funding support team at department level. In addition, the applicant will be advised on the time schedule and the application process. If necessary, a brief introduction to the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the NERD programme can be provided.
• 360 degree inspection meeting – At the meeting the applicant pitches the project idea based on a 360 degree template (see Funding Toolbox), and the consortium, value creation, and implementation are discussed
• Bi-weekly status meetings until submission

Tools

Fundraising & Project Management offers a range of tools that are helpful when applying for NNF NERD, such as:

• Annotated application template, which includes recommendations, clarifications, and examples embedded in the template text.
• Budget template

Tools for NNF NERD is available in the Funding Toolbox.

Review of application 

Fundraising & Project Management offers structured proposal feedback at least twice during the application process, supplemented by continuous advice throughout the writing phase. This includes:

• Two in‑depth reviews of the application, each providing concrete suggestions for changes, additions, clarifications, or strategic considerations.
• Feedback aimed at strengthening coherence, alignment with call expectations, clarity of narrative, and overall competitiveness.

These reviews support the applicant in refining the proposal and ensuring a high quality final submission.

Submission

Fundraising & Project Management offers administrative support regarding questions about submission in NORMA.

Budget

The budget is managed at the department level, with Fundraising & Project Management providing guidance, recommendations, and alignment support as needed. For further information, please contact your local funding advisor

The application support process is evaluated twice a year by means of an online survey to coordinators.

No project management is offered from F&P