Brandforsk

What Brandforsk does

Brandforsk is a Swedish non-profit research foundation based in Stockholm that coordinates and funds applied fire safety research in Sweden. Founded in 1979 and restructured as an independent foundation in 2019, it serves as the connective tissue between academic researchers, rescue services, municipalities, insurance companies, and government agencies. The foundation is funded through a support organization membership model with more than 90 contributing members paying a minimum of 1,000 SEK annually, and it operates with a small core team of approximately three staff.

The foundation's core offerings include competitive research project funding (with annual calls such as Brandforsk Call 2026), a doctoral Research School currently hosting six students in partnership with Lund and Luleå universities and government partner MSB, knowledge dissemination through webinars and the "Det Brinner!" podcast, and academic publications including a Residential Fire Safety textbook issued by Springer. It also runs a master thesis program and a support organization onboarding program. Research is conducted at partner institutions including RISE.

The business model is donation-funded rather than commercial. Contributions flow from support organizations and project co-funders to the foundation, which then disburses grants to researchers and universities; outputs are disseminated publicly across Sweden's fire safety community. The foundation holds a 90-konto certification from Svensk Insamlingskontroll, providing regulatory legitimacy for its fundraising activities. Its financial scale is modest and not publicly disclosed, consistent with a small operational team and distributed donor base.

Name

Brandforsk

Legal name

Brandforsk

Website

https://brandforsk.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Brandforsk is a Swedish non-profit research foundation that funds and coordinates applied fire safety research, connecting universities with rescue services, insurers, municipalities, and government agencies across Sweden.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fire Safety Research Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research Administration & Grants Management Support (Pre/Post-Award, Compliance) (EDAEALAO)

Keywords

• Fire safety research
• Research funding coordination
• Doctoral research school
• Fire prevention knowledge
• Nonprofit research foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Support Organization Funding: Brandforsk receives annual donations from support organizations (stödorganisationer) including municipalities, rescue services, insurance companies, research institutions, and private companies. The minimum donation is 1000 SEK. This forms the core operational funding.
2. Research Grants Administration: The foundation administers research funding calls, distributing grants to researchers. MSB (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) co-funds the Research School. Länsförsäkringar's R&D fund and other partners co-fund specific research programs.
3. Student Scholarships: Brandforsk offers student scholarships to support thesis projects and conference presentations for students in Sweden.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Brandforsk initiates and finances fire safety research projects in Sweden, distributing grants to academic and practitioner researchers through annual calls for proposals. The foundation coordinates a doctoral Research School in protection against accidents in partnership with MSB, disseminates research findings through publications, webinars, and the 'Det Brinner!' podcast, and provides scholarships for master thesis projects in fire safety. It is funded primarily by donations from 90+ support organizations including municipalities, rescue services, insurance companies, and research institutions.

Product overview

Brandforsk (Swedish Fire Research Foundation) is a research funding and coordination organization that initiates, finances, and disseminates fire safety research in Sweden. Operating since 2019 as an independent foundation (after 40 years under Brandskyddsföreningen), it connects researchers with practitioners through multiple channels: research project funding, a doctoral research school, webinars showcasing results, the 'Det Brinner!' podcast, published textbooks, and annual research calls aligned with sustainable development goals. The organization does not offer commercial software products but serves as a knowledge broker between academia and the fire safety industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fire Safety Research Projects Funded fire safety research projects across fire protection engineering, emergency services, risk management, and prevention. Targeted at academic researchers and practitioners in Sweden.
• Research School (Forskarskolan) Doctoral research school in protection against accidents for municipal employees, offering practice-based research opportunities with SEK 250,000 annual grants per doctoral student. Co-funded with MSB.
• Webinars on Fire Safety Free online seminars and workshops presenting fire safety research results, covering topics including battery fires, facade safety, evacuation, and timber construction. Open to support organization employees, Swedish state employees, and students.
• Det Brinner! Podcast A Swedish-language podcast translating fire safety research into practical knowledge, covering seasons on residential fires, elderly fire safety, school fires, and historical fires. Hosted by fire safety engineers Mattias Delin and Caroline Bernelius Cronsioe.
• Residential Fire Safety: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Bostadsbrandsboken) A comprehensive textbook on residential fires and evidence-based approaches to reducing deaths and injuries. Published by Springer, it serves as a professional guide and university textbook.
• Research Funding Calls Annual and thematic calls for research proposals within fire safety, including the Brandforsk Call for Proposals 2026 aligned with Agenda 2030 and sustainable development goals. Open to academic and practitioner researchers.
• Master Thesis Program Program inviting Swedish university students to conduct thesis projects in fire safety, with scholarship opportunities covering materials and conference presentations.
• Support Organisation Program Partnership program where Swedish organisations support Brandforsk's fire safety research mission through annual donations starting at minimum 1,000 SEK. Tiered benefits include customized news updates and lecture services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of research projects funded and published
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MSB (Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency is a key strategic partner co-funding the Research School in Protection against Accidents and research programs.
• RISE Research Institutes of SwedencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Major research partner conducting fire safety research projects funded by Brandforsk.
• Lund UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Key academic partner hosting multiple doctoral students and conducting fire safety engineering research.
• Luleå University of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Academic partner conducting flame retardant research and fire safety studies.
• Swedish Fire Protection Association (Brandskyddsföreningen)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Founded Brandforsk in 2019 after 40 years of operating the fire research function as an association.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NFPA (National Fire Protection Association): US codes-and-standards body that also funds applied fire research through its foundation; broader scope than Brandforsk but comparable in combining advocacy, research funding, and practitioner education.
• BRE Group (Building Research Establishment): UK-based building science organization covering fire safety as part of a much broader construction and infrastructure research portfolio, with comparable research funding and dissemination capabilities at significantly greater scale.

Regional players

• Fire Protection Research Foundation: US-based research arm of NFPA that funds and disseminates fire safety research, structurally analogous to Brandforsk but operating in North America rather than Sweden.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP): German applied research institute with fire safety, acoustics, and hygrothermal research groups; comparable as a publicly-funded fire research coordinator but with a broader built-environment mandate.
• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: Finland's state-owned applied research organization that conducts fire safety research among many other technical disciplines, comparable as a Nordic publicly-funded counterpart.

Direct peers

• RISE Fire Research: Swedish/Norwegian fire research institute that performs laboratory testing, research, and consulting in fire safety. It is both a direct competitor for research funding and a major Brandforsk research partner, making it the closest comparable by mission and geography.
• DBI (Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology): Denmark's national fire and security research and testing institute, operating a similar model of applied fire research, testing, training, and knowledge dissemination across the Nordic region.
• Efectis: Pan-European fire science and testing organization providing research, certification, and consulting services. Directly comparable as a non-academic applied fire research body, though operating commercially across multiple European jurisdictions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmwZ-Npdb6WQ50jmww9r4yQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/brandforsk.se
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swedish-fire-research-board
• Instagraminstagram.com/brandforsk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brandforsk