Milestone in Norwegian research infrastructure:
NOK 181 million for advanced research equipment
On 7 September, the Research Council awarded NOK 181 million for research infrastructure. The allocation is the first of a national investment initiative that runs to 2017.
The allocation means the realisation of 12 major infrastructures for research on energy and the environment, food, oceans, health care, ICT, geology, space physics, materials technology and biotechnology. The potential for utilisation of four databases will be considered through pre-projects. In addition, an enormous electronic storage facility will be greatly expanded - to the benefit of all types of research with large amounts of data.
"This is a powerful boost to the quality and efficiency of Norwegian research," says Arvid Hallén, Director General of the Research Council of Norway. "We are extremely pleased that the Government has created the foundation needed for a cohesive, long-term initiative for research infrastructure."
An already enormous electronic storage facility will be greatly expanded - to the benefit of all types of research with large amounts of data. (Photo: Shutterstock)
A long-term outlook is one precondition for seeing good returns on this type of investment, continues Dr Hallén. "For Norway to attract research talent, we must be able to offer exceptional infrastructure. In the years ahead, this scheme must be further expanded, as the Research Council has been recommending."
In the national interest
It is the Research Council's responsibility to allocate funding for scientific equipment that serves a broad national interest, and which we as a nation will be developing in just one or very few places.
Tora Aasland
"The equipment being invested in now," explains Minister of Research and Higher Education Tora Aasland, "will be made available to all the relevant research groups and industries in Norway - not only to the groups located at the institution housing the actual equipment. Using infrastructure resources well means extensive collaboration and distribution of tasks between the research institutions." She is pleased about having achieved an annual allocation earmarked for infrastructure from the Fund for Research and Innovation.
In 2009, the Research Council has received funding proposals totalling NOK 6.7 billion to the infrastructure initiative. This funding round considered proposals for equipment in the price range of NOK 2-30 million as well as eInfrastructure and database pre-projects. There will be two more allocations later this autumn for large-scale research infrastructure and for main projects for scientific databases and collections. A total of NOK 400 million will be allocated during the course of the year.
Scientific quality and strategic importance
The proposals have undergone a thorough assessment process. First, proposals are ranked on their scientific merit by a panel of expert referees, then reviewed by the Research Council administration, which assesses proposals to ensure that investments comply with the other criteria in the call for proposals.
Anders Hanneborg
The investments in research infrastructure are intended to promote the national priority areas and technologies, support initiatives relating to innovation and basic research, and contribute to the coordination, further development and accessibility of national databases and eInfrastructure. The national priority areas and technologies are energy and the environment (including climate), oceans, food, health care, new materials and nanotechnology, ICT and biotechnology.
"The September allocations represent a good balance in terms of all these guidelines," says Anders Hanneborg, Executive Director of the Division for Science.
"The coming allocations for large-scale research infrastructure and for scientific databases and collections must be viewed in the context of the guidelines and the allocations just awarded."
Expansion of funding needed
The application assessment process resulted in a list of very strong proposals that did not win approval this time due to heavy competition.
"This list of very good projects is already long and is destined to grow considerably in the next round, when we will be looking at proposals for large-scale equipment and databases. The well-documented project proposals received make it clear that we need to increase infrastructure funding to NOK 800 million annually in the course of the next three to four years, as is recommended in the national strategy for this area," concludes Dr Hanneborg.
- Published:
- 14.09.2009
- Last updated:
- 14.09.2009
See also
Relevant documents (in Norwegian)
- Avansert vitenskaplig utstyr og eInfrastruktur - innvilgede søknader (PDF-9.8 KB)
- Databaser og vitenskaplige samlinger til trinn 2 (PDF-6.9 KB)
- Prosedyre for søknadsbehandling (PDF-41.1 KB)
- Nasjonal strategi for forskningsinfrastruktur (PDF-194.8 KB)
Contact
- Anders Hanneborg Executive Director +47 22 03 74 88 aha@forskningsradet.no
