SIU and the Research Council have set a deadline of 15 June 2002 for the first call for proposals for projects starting in January 2003. The fellowship programme will conduct a new call for proposals each year, with an annual deadline of 15 June for applications. The fellowship programme utilizes special application forms and has its own announcement schedule.

Priority will be given to long-term projects with of a duration of 3-4 years. Most of the programme budget will therefore be allocated early on, and there will be less funding available during the final phase of the programme period.

Priorities Regarding Geographical Area and Subject Fields

Geographical area Priority is given to cooperation between institutions in North-western Russia, including St. Petersburg, with special emphasis placed on the Barents Region. Cooperation with the Russian segment of the Barents Region has been given high priority in Norway in recent years. During the previous programme period, cooperation in research and higher education within this region generated valuable results, and has played a constructive role in the overall development of cooperation there. In special cases it may also be possible to establish cooperation projects with research and educational institutions in Moscow.

Basic grants for institutional operational costs will not be awarded, but all institutions may apply for project funding.

When relevant, efforts will be made to coordinate activities under the programme with related activities vis-à-vis other countries or international organizations.

Priority subject fields The programme shall focus on project cooperation in the fields of:

Project funding under the programme shall be distributed on the basis of the quality, relevance and feasibility of the proposals submitted. The Cooperation Programme for Russia shall be based on equal participation between the Norwegian and Russian partners, and this shall be reflected in the distribution of resources between them.

The Cooperation Programme for Russia is divided into two parts: a project programme and a fellowship programme. The fellowship programme is administered by the International Scholarship Section at the Research Council. Deadline for sending in proposals to the fellowship programme for 2002/2003 is 15 June 2002.

Applications regarding research cooperation are to be submitted to the Research Council, and applications regarding cooperation in higher education are to be submitted to SIU. Contracts will be drawn up between the institutions and the party responsible for processing the application.

Applications will be processed in two stages. According to normal procedure, they will be evaluated by external referee before being submitted to the Programme Committee for final consideration.

Application forms and guidelines may be downloaded electronically from http://siu.no/ http://forskningsradet.no/

All applications must be submitted on the designated English-language application form.

Programme Coordinators: SIU: Helge Skugstad, e-mail: helge.skugstad@siu.no Research Council of Norway: Inger-Ann Ulstein, e-mail: iau@forskningsradet.no