The Crafoord Prize is awarded in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Crafoord Foundation in Lund, Sweden. The Academy is responsible for selecting the Crafoord Prize Laureates. The prize amount of 8 million Swedish kronor makes the Crafoord Prize one of the world’s largest scientific prizes.
Anna-Greta and Holger Crafoord Fund was established in 1980, and the first prize was awarded in 1982. The prize is intended to promote international basic research in the disciplines of Mathematics and Astronomy, Polyarthritis (systemic diseases that cause inflammation in the joints), Geosciences, and Biosciences (with particular emphasis on ecology).
The prize disciplines have been chosen to complement those for which the Nobel Prizes are awarded. The prize is awarded in one discipline each year in accordance with a set scheme:
The Academy invites scientists from all over the world to nominate candidates for the prize. Nominations are submitted to the Academy during the spring prior to the year in which the decision is to be made. The nominations received are then rewieved and assessed by a Prize Committee consisting of members from the appropriate Academy classes.
The prize should be awarded to one recipient, but may, if necessary, be divided among up to three recipients. At the same time, grant allocations are announced, and may be applied for both by individuals and by institutions. Grant applications can be made for scientific equipment and research, publication of scientific works, scientific conferences and symposia, studies outside of Sweden for Swedish researchers, and activities to further research within the field of research covered by the prize.
On the basis of reports from the Prize Committee and the appropriate Academy Class, decisions concerning Laureate(s) and grant recipients are made by the Academy in the spring of the year in which the prize is to be awarded.