Research Institution-based Strategic Project

Objective:
To enable existing research groups to maintain a high calibre within their given spheres of responsibility or build up new expertise in areas of strategic importance through basic research, applied research or competence building.
This application type is also used for ISP projects involving international institutional cooperation. See below for further details.

Comments:
The project must be in keeping with the strategies laid down by the administration of the applicant institution and/or relevant subject-specific evaluations and research agendas, and/or descriptions of priority areas given in the call for proposals.

Expenses that may be covered:
Relevant project expenses such as payroll expenses, grants/fellowships, procurement of R&D services, network measures, depreciation of equipment used under the project. Support will not be provided for doctoral fellowship candidates who have previously completed a doctoral/Ph.D degree.

Applications will be accepted from:
The administration of a research institution (university, university college, research institute or other institution at which research constitutes an important activity).

Application requirements:

• The Project Owner (formal applicant) must be a Norwegian institution, and must supply the name of the designated project administrator. Any exceptions to this rule will be described in the call for proposals.
• The institution's administration is professionally and financially responsible for the development and implementation of institution-based strategic projects.
• The project manager should have completed a doctoral degree or have corresponding qualifications.
• Any special requirements regarding the language in which the grant proposal is to be submitted will be specified in the call for proposals.
• The project description is not to exceed 15 pages, including the list of references. It is not possible to upload an attachment that exceeds the page total stipulated. The page format should be A4 with 2 cm margins, 12 point font (Times New Roman) and single spacing. For references and figure text, font size 9 may be used.
• Other special requirements may be stipulated in the call for proposals. Please read the text of the call carefully.
• All mandatory attachments.
  

Attachments to the application

A Mandatory attachments:

• Project description
• CV including publications list for project manager (max. 4 pages) (Only one CV). The page format should be A4 with 2 cm margins, 12 point font (Times New Roman) and single spacing. For references and figure text, font size 9 may be used.
  

B Attachments that may be required in the call for proposals
Only the attachments requested in the call for proposals should be submitted. Attachments that have not been requested will not be included in the application review process.

• Letters of confirmation from active partners regarding their obligations in relation to the project. Note: Non-binding declarations of support are not to be submitted.
• Other attachments

C Optional attachments:

• The CVs of key individuals in the research group (max. 4 pages per CV).
• Proposals for up to three expert referees who are presumed to be impartial and qualified to review the grant proposal.
  

Assessment of grant proposals
The Research Council views it as a prerequisite that all projects will maintain high ethical standards, and give adequate consideration to potential environmental impacts. The Research Council considers it essential that research projects seek to promote the internationalisation of Norwegian research, to increase the recruitment of women to higher academic positions and within MST subject areas, to enhance the gender balance in Norwegian research and to ensure that gender perspectives are adequately integrated into research activities. These elements will be taken into consideration when assessing and ranking grant proposals. 

Assessment criteria for the application type:

• Project manager and the project group
• Strategic basis and importance
• Benefits for the national knowledge base
• Scientific merit
• Feasibility
• National cooperation
• Distribution of national research responsibilities
• International cooperation
• Relevance and benefit to society
• Dissemination and communication of results
• Relevance relative to the call for proposals 

Additional assessment criteria may be specified in the call for proposals

Supplementary information for ISP projects for international institutional cooperation:

ISP projects for international institutional cooperation must seek to facilitate the development of long-term relations between Norwegian research institutions and strong international research groups, as well as to strengthen Norway’s capacity as a leading research nation in selected areas. Funding is granted for cooperation activities between research institutions, and comprises support for the establishment of formalised institutional research collaboration, either at a physically shared site or in a virtual working environment.

The Norwegian research institution (formal applicant) must have a non-Norwegian partner for the project. The project must be designed to expand and formalise existing scientific contact between researcher groups at the institutions involved. Project funding must be sought and administered by top-level management at the applicant institution.

Funding from the Research Council will be granted for the formal establishment and development phase of the cooperative relationship between the research groups at the institutions. More than one institution from one or both of the countries may participate. Funding is allocated for a maximum of three years. The collaborating institutions must provide funding for the continued cooperative activities themselves after the conclusion of the project period. Any support for further activities must be obtained through applications submitted to other Research Council funding instruments and schemes, EU funding schemes or some other funding programme.

Maximum funding: A total of NOK 1-4 million for the project period may be sought from the Research Council.

Own financing: A maximum of 50 % of the overall project costs may be sought from the Research Council. This means that a minimum of 50 % of the funding must be provided by the applicant and partner institutions.

Project duration: Up to three years

The project description is not to exceed ten pages, and must contain the following elements:

• Specific objectives for the collaboration, including a description of how the project will link together education, research and innovation components.
• Plans for integrative activities such as:
  - exchange of personnel;
  - common scientific meeting places;
  - full or partial location of research groups to the same site
  - organisation of shared research infrastructure, office and laboratory premises and support functions;
  - organisational structures;
  - measures for joint profiling of cooperative activities and expertise.
• Plans for joint research activities.
• Plans for joint educational activities.
• Plans for competence-promoting measures, such as Ph.D.-level courses, guest lecturers and training of technical and administrative personnel.
• Plans for financing of cooperative activities for a minimum of three years after the period for which funding is sought.
• Information must be provided regarding whether the funding sought will in turn trigger other support from the Research Council (additionality).

The following criteria will apply in addition to the assessment criteria stipulated for ISP projects as indicated above

• Additionality

The assessment criteria internationalisation and international cooperation will be given greater weight than national cooperation and distribution of national research responsibilities.

Attachments:
In addition to the attachments indicated for ISP projects above, the following attachments must be included in the grant application:

• CV (max. 4 pages) for the head of the research group at the partner institution(s).
• CV (max. 4 pages) for 2-3 key personnel in each of the collaborating researcher groups (i.e. in addition to the CVs for the heads of the research groups).
• Letter of intent relating to the collaboration between the institutions.