FRIPRO
FRIPRO is an open, national competitive arena within all disciplines and topics. Through FRIPRO, we fund basic, excellent research, where the project ideas come from the researchers themselves. The Research Council has five open-ended calls for groundbreaking research.
About FRIPRO
Free, basic research is important for scientific and academic renewal, and can form the basis for more applied research, business development and policy development. The FRIPRO scheme will contribute to this, and funding is available for basic and applied research projects in all disciplines where the project ideas come from the researchers themselves.
The FRIPRO scheme shall promote
- scientific quality at the forefront of international research
- bold and innovative research
- career and international mobility for researchers early in their research careers
At FRIPRO, we are willing to invest in bold research that has the potential to provide significant advances in the field, even if it also carries a significant risk of failure. When you apply, you should describe well how you will manage the risk and alternative plans if the first do not go as desired.
The Research Council of Norway's portfolio for ground-breaking research is responsible for FRIPRO.
Do you have any questions?
Five calls for groundbreaking research
We want to reach researchers in different levels of their research careers, and different stages of their research. We therefore have five calls for proposals: Researcher Project with International Mobility, Radical Research Ideas for Early Career Scientists, Researcher Project for Early Career Scientists, Researcher Project for Experienced Scientists and Top Researchers.
Waiting period, submission restriction period and subtracting time
As project manager for an application to one of the calls for groundbreaking research, you will be given a one-year waiting period calculated from the date you submit the application until you can serve as project manager for a new such application. For Researcher Project with International Mobility, Researcher Project for Early Career and Radical Research Ideas, you can apply for a deduction for the requirement of a maximum of seven years since you defended your thesis.
FRIPRO's application processing
All FRIPRO applications are assessed by a panel of peer reviewers before the Portfolio Board for Ground-breaking Research decides whether to award funding to each application or not. The portfolio board does this approximately every two months for all applications that have been peer-reviewed.
Fierce competition in FRIPRO
FRIPRO is designed for exceptionally talented researchers in their respective fields. Therefore, only applications awarded a mark of 6 or 7 on all assessment criteria are eligible for FRIPRO funding. In 2024, 21 per cent of FRIPRO applications were granted.
Among the eligible applications, we place most emphasis on the assessment criteria Excellence – potential to advance the research front and Excellence – quality in R&D activities when selecting applications for funding. For detailed information about how we select applications for funding, see FRIPRO's application processing (link coming soon).
Only research organisations may apply for FRIPRO schemes, possibly in cooperation with other research organisations. Companies and other undertakings may not be partners, but may provide R&D services to the projects as subcontractors.
When can I apply?
We receive and process applications on an ongoing basis, which means that you can apply at any time. There are restrictions on how often you can apply, and the project for which funding is sought must be scheduled to start 8–18 months after submitting the grant application. The average application processing time is 5 months, varying from approximately 2–10 months.
How long before the planned project start-up should I apply?
The average application processing time is 5 months, varying from approximately 2–10 months. This means that you should calculate 2–10 months from submitting your application until you receive an answer. If the application is approved, you may need to update the application/make some changes before we approve it. You will also need to arrange any collaboration agreements and approve the contract, and in addition you may need time to hire PhD candidates or others in the project.
If your project requires significant time from when you learn that the application has been granted funding for the project to start, it is advisable to apply 12–18 months before the planned project start. If you can start quickly, you can apply 8-12 months before. If you receive an answer sooner than you expected and would like to start sooner, we will normally approve this. If the application processing takes more than 8 months, you can also obtain approval to postpone the start of the project if this is necessary for the project.
Words and phrases in FRIPRO
Are you wondering about any of the words and terms we use on this page and in our FRIPRO calls? We have explained some of these in the document terminology and framework for the scheme (FRIPRO) (pdf that opens in a new window).
Complaint against a decision
The Research Council's decisions are exempt from the Public Administration Act's rules on the right of complaint, but we have nevertheless introduced a complaint mechanism that gives you a limited opportunity to submit a complaint. You can only complain about procedural errors or shortcomings in the manner in which the Research Council has exercised its discretion. You cannot appeal against the professional assessments or priorities made by the peers or the portfolio board.
Examples of valid grounds for complaint
- If you believe that a peer reviewer, portfolio board member or Research Council employee who has processed your application is disqualified, or if;
- The panel writes that specific information was missing from the application that was included (for example, the CV of a project participant).
Examples of invalid reasons for complaint
- The panel has deducted points for something in the application because you disagree academically. This is subject to professional discretion.
- The peers are not specialists in the field(s) covered by the application. We only require generalist competence to assess applications.
- The panel believes that something is not sufficiently described even if you believe that it is. This is subject to professional discretion.
You can find more information about our procedures on this site: Complaints against decisions.