The programme has been founded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation in close collaboration with five royal academies and sixteen Swedish universities. The universities nominate researchers; the academies evaluate the candidates and present a shortlist of the most promising researchers to the foundation, which then makes the final selection. The universities assume long-term responsibility for the selected researchers’ work.
The Wallenberg Academy Fellows are awarded a five-year grant amounting to between SEK 5 million and 7.5 million per researcher. After this first term, fellows can apply for an additional five years of funding.