Approved research organisations

In most calls for proposals, we require the Project Owner or project partners/partners to be a Norwegian organisation that we have approved as a research organisation. For example, the Project Owner for Researcher Projects, Collaborative and Knowledge-building Projects and Research Centre must be an approved research organisation.

Please note that the Norwegian information page is the legally binding version.

The following organisations are automatically approved as research organisations by the Research Council: 

Research organisations that are not automatically approved may apply to us for such approval. If approved, the organisation will be listed below, under the heading "other approved Norwegian research organisations".

In order to be approved as a research organisation on the basis of such an application, the organisation must fall within the definition of a research organisation:

A research organisation is an entity (for example universities or research institutes), irrespective of legal status (public or private law) or means of funding, whose main purpose is to conduct independent research in the form of fundamental and/or applied research (industrial research and experimental development). The organisation must be registered in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities (CCR) with its own organisation number. When the organisation is also engaged in economic activity, there must be separate accounting of the economic and non-economic activity. No dividends can be paid from the organisation's activities, and undertakings that have a decisive influence on the business, e.g. as shareholders or members, shall not have special access to the results achieved by the organisation.

We also set the following requirements:

  1. Minimum 30 percent of full-time equivalents (FTEs) and least five of FTEs to the organisation, must be R&D FTEs. 
  2. The organisation must be able to document that it has conducted independent research for three years.
  3. It must be stated in the articles of the association that
    • the organisation does not pay dividends
    • undertakings that have a decisive influence on their activities shall not have special access to the results achieved by the organisation
    • in the event of dissolution of the organisation, values related to independent research as a whole shall go to the same purpose

Approved Norwegian research organisations that are changed such that they no longer fulfil the definition or the requirements listed above, must immediately notify the Research Council.

Please note that the Research Council's definition of a research organisation differs from the definition used in the EU's framework programme, Horizon Europe, partly because we have to comply with ESA and the state aid rules. 

Clarifications about which roles you can have in a project

An approved Norwegian research organisation may not play the role as a company in applications to the Research Council. A public entity that is on the list of approved Norwegian research organisations may play the role of both a public entity and a research organisation in applications submitted to the Research Council, but not under a single call for proposals.

TTOs (Technology Transfer Offices) may have the role of Project Owner in some projects with support from the Research Council. In such cases, the call will clearly state that TTOs may apply for funding. 

How do you apply for approval as a research organisation?

Applications for approval as a research organisation must be submitted to post@forskningsradet.no.

In the application, you must document and justify that the Research Council's definition and each of the requirements 1–3 above are met. In addition, you must enclose accurate documentation of this, and in the application you must provide exact references to where in the attachments the definition and the various requirements are documented. The application must contain the following documentation:

  • The organisation's articles of association
  • Financial statements from the last three fiscal years with auditor's report
  • Transcript from the Brønnøysund Register Centre (certificate of incorporation)
  • A description of the independent research that the organisation has conducted over the past three years, including:
    • an overview of this research with source of funding and amount
    • an overview of how the results of this research have been made openly available
    • a list of peer-reviewed publications written under the auspices of the organisation documenting this research
  • An overview of the total number of FTEs and the number of R&D FTEs performed in the organisation the last year

Approved organisations listed

Published 8 Apr 2019
Last updated 7 Dec 2023
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