History
The ROCKWOOL Foundation was established in December 1981, when six members of the Kähler family made over to it the equivalent of 25 percent of the shares in ROCKWOOL International. From the outset, the declared aim of the Foundation was to contribute to the broad public good by carrying out independent, reliable research; this aim has subsequently been expanded to include the development of practical interventions.
Fundamental principles
The ROCKWOOL Foundation supports independent research and the development of innovative solutions through practical interventions to challenges faced by society.
The overarching objective of both research and interventions is to contribute to strengthening the social and financial sustainability of the welfare state through the generation of new, independent knowledge about the challenges faced by society and through the development of solutions to these challenges. A precondition for answering the challenges of financing and maintaining the cohesion of the welfare state is the provision of reliable information concerning the problems faced by society. The independent generation of relevant knowledge and facts is crucial to enabling actors in society to engage in meaningful and significant democratic discussions, and represents an important contribution to enabling political decision-makers to establish priorities and to organise the institutions of the welfare state.
The Board of the Foundation decides which projects will be supported, on the basis of recommendations from expert committees.
The aim of the ROCKWOOL Foundation is to generate new, independent knowledge that addresses the challenges facing the welfare society. This is achieved through research and through the development and trialling of innovative solutions to specific problems in society – solutions that can ultimately be implemented nationwide in Denmark.
In this connection, individuals and organisations active in this field are welcome to apply for financial support for research or for the development and trialling of new ideas for interventions. However, it is rare for an application to be approved and a project implemented solely on the basis of the original application. In practice, support from the Foundation almost always involves discussion of the project and work with personnel from the Foundation’s Interventions Unit or Research Unit after the initial application, with a view to focusing and refining the project proposal before it is presented to the relevant expert committees and the Board. It is the Board of the Foundation which makes the final decisions on which projects will be supported, on the basis of recommendations from the expert committees.
Projects and activities that the Foundation will not support
The ROCKWOOL Foundation does not support the following types of projects and activities:
Applications for support
The Foundation will only consider applications that are submitted electronically and written in Danish or English.
Research
Anyone wishing to collaborate with the ROCKWOOL Foundation on a research project should first make sure that the project falls within one or more of the Foundation’s focus areas. Next, it is important to ensure that the project accords with the characteristics of the Foundation’s research activities, as described here. Finally, applicants should understand that the Foundation primarily supports research that is based to a significant extent on quantitative methods.
Potential research partners who believe that their proposed project is relevant for the Foundation are requested to contact Bodil Wullum Nielsen of the ROCKWOOL Foundation Research Unit (email bon@rff.dk) for further information.
Interventions
The ROCKWOOL Foundation does not give reasons for the rejection of applications.