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The Right Livelihood Award is a nominated honour, not a grant you apply for. The Right Livelihood Foundation describes it as an award that has honoured courageous change-makers since 1980, with an open process that allows anyone to submit nominations. For readers used to funding calls, the practical consequence is that nobody can submit their own proposal for it: the route in is a nomination through the foundation’s online form, followed by research by the foundation and a decision by its Jury. Everything below is as described on the official pages on 2026-10-29; the cycle details change from year to year, so confirm the current deadline there before acting.
What it is and who runs it
The award is run by the Right Livelihood Foundation, which describes itself as a courage-powered community for social change. Nominees are individuals and organisations advancing justice, peace and sustainability. The foundation states that there are no thematic categories.
After the foundation’s research, a Jury selects the Laureates. The foundation describes the Jury as made up of international experts and previous Laureates. Four Laureates are selected each year, and the award is presented at an annual Award Presentation in Stockholm. The 2026 Laureates were announced on 30 September 2026, and the 2025 Laureates on 1 October 2025.
Eligibility: who can nominate and who can be nominated
The nomination page states that nominations are open to the public from all over the world, and that nominees can be people of all ages and backgrounds. Nominees can be individuals or organisations. In practice, anyone who can describe a person or organisation’s work on justice, peace or sustainability can put them forward through the form.
Because the award rests on nomination, a nominee cannot apply on their own behalf in the way an investigator applies to a funding opportunity announcement. That is the main difference between this award and the grant mechanisms covered elsewhere in the grants-management cluster.
What it funds or requires
The foundation states that Laureates receive either a Cash Award or an Honorary Award. Beyond the award itself, the support it describes includes communications, education, advocacy, protection work and membership of the Laureate network. It is a conferred honour, which sets it apart from a foundation grant that is applied for.
What the process does require from nominees is continued engagement. Nominees give basic information on request and an annual update, and two consecutive missed updates lead to the nomination being withdrawn.
Nomination steps
- Use the online form. Nominations are submitted only through the online form on the foundation’s nominate page. Nominations emailed to the Research Team are not considered.
- Explain the work. The form asks about the nominee’s relevance in context, methods, achievements and impact. Write about what the nominee has done and what changed as a result, not about the field in general.
- Submit before the deadline. As described on the official page on 2026-10-29, the deadline for the 2027 Award is 24 January 2027.
- Keep it confidential. All parties must keep nominations confidential, and the foundation states that sharing a nomination publicly may make the nominee ineligible.
Typical timeline phases
The foundation describes a cycle that runs from a January nomination deadline to a late September or early October announcement, but it also says that selection in the year of submission is uncommon. Nominations may stay active for several years while the foundation carries out in-depth research. In outline:
| Phase | What the foundation describes |
|---|---|
| Nomination window | Public nominations through the online form, closing in January. |
| Research | In-depth research on nominees, which can span several years; nominees supply basic information on request and an annual update. |
| Jury decision | The Jury selects the Laureates; at the end of September all nominations are notified of the decision. |
| Announcement | Laureates are announced at a press conference in Stockholm in late September or early October, streamed on YouTube. |
| After a non-selection | A nominee who does not advance can be resubmitted after three years. |
Common mistakes
- Treating it as an application. There is no self-application route; the entry point is a nomination.
- Emailing the nomination. Emailed nominations to the Research Team are not considered; only the online form counts.
- Publicising the nomination. Public sharing can make the nominee ineligible, so coordinate with everyone involved before telling anyone outside the nomination.
- Relying on a reposted deadline. Aggregator and reposted listings can carry a previous year’s date. Read the deadline from the foundation’s own nominate page.
- Expecting a result in one cycle. Selection in the year of submission is uncommon, and a nomination may remain active for several years.
- Letting updates lapse. Two consecutive missed annual updates lead to withdrawal.
Related programs
| Program | How entry works | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Right Livelihood Award | Open public nominations through the foundation’s online form; no self-application route. | This page |
| Crafoord Prize | Nomination only, with no self-application; the Academy invites nominators, and the prize rotates through four disciplines. | Crafoord Prize: fields, cycle, nominations |
| NEH Summer Stipends | Institutional nomination, capped at two nominees per institution, as explained in the CASRAI guide. | NEH Summer Stipends and the two-nomination cap |
For funding that is applied for rather than conferred, see the CASRAI guide to private foundation research funding.
FAQ
Can I apply for the Right Livelihood Award myself?
No. The route in is a nomination submitted through the foundation’s online form. The process is open to anyone submitting nominations, but the award is not an application-based grant.
When is the nomination deadline?
As described on the official nominate page on 2026-10-29, nominations for the 2027 Award are due by 24 January 2027. Check the page for the current cycle.
How many Laureates are chosen each year?
The foundation states that four Laureates are selected each year.
Can a nominee who is not selected be nominated again?
A nominee who does not advance can be resubmitted after three years, according to the nominate page.
What do Laureates receive?
Either a Cash Award or an Honorary Award, together with support the foundation describes as including communications, education, advocacy, protection work and network membership.
Sources
Date checked: 2026-10-29.
- Right Livelihood Foundation, Nominate, checked 2026-10-29.
- Right Livelihood Foundation, The Right Livelihood Award, checked 2026-10-29.
- Right Livelihood Foundation, Home page, checked 2026-10-29.
