With the Challenge Programme, the Novo Nordisk Foundation wishes to make substantial contributions to the development and strengthening of Danish research ecosystems, within research aimed to solve major challenges in global health, technology and sustainability. Each year, the Foundation will award up to DKK 360 million through the Challenge Programme in total. Each project can receive up to DKK 60 million for up to a 6-year period. The programme is a strategic effort targeting specific challenges within annually selected research themes.
The Challenge Programme supports excellent researchers who will establish research and collaborate in a dynamic centre structure with a unifying vision and mission.
Research must be in-depth, but the subject can be cross-disciplinary, and should not be considered limited to any particular research methodology or discipline.
To ensure that the best project proposals and research consortia are considered, the Foundation awards the grants through calls for applications in open competition. An ad hoc committee consisting of international experts within the individual themes are established to assess the applications. The projects must be based at a Danish university, hospital or other non-profit research organisation.
The Challenge Programme was established by the Foundation in 2013 with the first grants awarded the year after.