This is the second call for Sandbox Projects within Digital Futures, designed to support initiatives that leverage the open experimental arena, Stockholm Digital Sandbox.
Important Dates
- Call opens: 5 October 2026
- Proposal Submission Deadline: 10 December 2026
- Expected decision on projects: February 2027
- Expected start of projects: 1 July 2027 (depending on the duration of project contract negotiations)
Purpose
Digital Futures aims to generate impact, in collaboration with industry and the public sector, such as the City of Stockholm and Region Stockholm. The Sandbox Project call is an instrument to support initiatives that create testbeds, use existing datasets or leverage the open experimental arena Stockholm Digital Sandbox.
Sandbox Projects should:
- Contribute to building up the Stockholm Digital Sandbox
- Utilise or develop new or current testbeds and/or datasets
- Create or facilitate access to new datasets or testbeds related to the Stockholm Digital Sandbox vision
- Involve industry and/or public actors
- Demonstrate pathways toward wide-scale adoption through testbed experimentation
The examples above illustrate what a project could include, and a project is not expected to cover every example, but at least one of them.
Eligibility
Researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, RISE (Division of Digital Systems) and Stockholm University are eligible to apply in this call as PI or Co-Pis.
The following positions/titles/roles are eligible to apply: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor, Permanent full-time Researcher or equivalent (”tillsvidareanställning”) with a PhD degree and 80% employment or more at KTH, RISE or SU.
PIs or co-PIs do not need to be Digital Futures faculty when applying, but will become Digital Futures faculty if the project is granted.
Each project can have up to two Co-PIs.
PIs or co-PIs do not need to be Digital Futures faculty when applying, but will become Digital Futures faculty if the project is granted.
Project Duration and Funding
- Minimum project duration: 1 year
- Maximum project duration: 3 years
- Maximum project funding: SEK 3 million from Digital Futures
(apply in multiples of SEK 100 000)
Stockholm University will fund up to three PIs/Co-PIs (SEK 500 000 per year and project).
Co-funding requirements
All Sandbox Projects must be co-funded by an industrial or societal partner. Partner contributions must at least equal the amount requested from Digital Futures. There are two project formats:
Large projects (2–3 years)
- Digital Futures funding: up to SEK 3 million
- Partner match: at least equal to the Digital Futures funding, of which at least 50% must be cash. The remainder may be in-kind.
Small projects (1 year)
- Digital Futures funding: up to SEK 0.5 million
- Partner match: at least equal to the Digital Futures funding, and may be entirely in-kind.
In-kind contributions
In-kind contributions may include, for example, staff time, access to existing infrastructure or data, or access to new or existing testbeds.
Each partner must submit a Letter of Intent with the project proposal, outlining their contribution.
Partner projects are subject to signing a project agreement among all involved parties should the proposal be successful. The project contract primarily concerns funding and IPR. Project consortia submitting proposals under this call are encouraged to discuss and align their interests before submitting proposals to ensure a swift process once their project is accepted. Once the project has started, the project will need to put together a data management plan. All projects must also set up a data management plan
Applicable Funding Policy for Digital Futures Faculty
For this call, no restrictions on previously received Digital Futures funding is applied.
Q&A Meeting
- An optional Q&A session will be held on 9 November 09:00am online via Zoom.
- Zoom link: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/64047232941
- No registration is required
Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated in two steps:
Step 1:
External review based on:
- Relevance to and contribution to the Stockholm Digital Sandbox
- Scientific quality and originality
- Societal and/or industrial impact and outreach
- Team, interdisciplinarity and partner involvement
- Feasibility and project plan
Step 2:
Board recommendation: Feedback from Step 1 will inform the Digital Futures Industrial and Societal Board, which will then recommend funding to the Governing Board.
How to Apply
- Prepare your application using the Sandbox Project application template and budget template.
- All proposals must include a Letter of Intent from partners outlining their contributions.
- Submit to call@digitalfutures.kth.se with subject line: “Sandbox Projects Call 2026”.
Background
Stockholm Digital Sandbox is a Digital Futures initiative to create a testbed environment that propels AI and digital innovation in support of a sustainability transition of society. The initiative connects Digital Futures faculty and researchers, industrial and societal partners, and experts from different authorities to bridge the gaps between technological advancement and regulatory frameworks. The Stockholm Digital Sandbox will connect and leverage several different existing and new physical testbeds in the Stockholm region. Testbeds are open experimental facilities that enable and facilitate challenge-driven and applied research and innovation projects. Examples of testbeds are the KINET managed by Ericsson, Innovation Zone Hornsgatan managed by the City of Stockholm, and the 5G Healthcare testbed at Södersjukhuset managed by Region Stockholm, to support challenge-driven and applied research and innovation projects. Sandbox Projects should align with the Digital Futures research matrix. The project aims to enhance the creation and utilisation of testbeds, delivering usable environments and/or data sets to the Stockholm Digital Sandbox as one of the project outcomes.