Funding for Research Stays Abroad for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows
Download templates
- Mal for prosjektbeskrivelse - Utenlandsopphold for doktorgrads- og postdoktorstipendiater.docx
- Template for Project Description - Funding for Research Stays Abroad for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows.docx
- Mal for utenlandsopphold / CV template Coordination and Support Activity.docx
- Nærings-Ph.D. - Egenerklæringsskjema for bagatellmessig støtte 2024.docx
- Declaration form for de minimis aid under the Industrial Ph.D. Scheme 2024.docx
26 November 2024: This call closes Friday 6 December at 13:00 CET. A similar call will be published during the first quarter of 2025.
As of 16 October 2023, there is a requirement in this call for proposals that the person for whom a stay abroad is being sought has a master's degree or doctoral degree from a Norwegian research organisation or residency or work in Norway for at least 12 months during the last seven years.
Notification of the outcome will be sent to the Project Owner. If you are wondering about your application result, please contact the Project Owner for the application.
Last updates
We have updated the information about de minimis aid and uploaded a new declaration form.
Purpose
The objective of the scheme is to increase the number of younger researchers who conduct a research stay abroad. International experience is important in building a career as a researcher. It helps to strengthen Norwegian research by increasing expertise and bringing new knowledge to projects. It expands networks and thereby provides Norwegian research with greater opportunity to access the international research front.
About the call for proposals
The scheme for research stays abroad is available to doctoral and postdoctoral fellowship-holders who are wholly or partially funded by the Research Council and affiliated with an ongoing project for a period of minimum 24 months. This scheme does not apply to fellowship-holders under the schemes for Centres of Excellence (SFF), Centres for Research-based Innovation (SFI), Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME) and Centres for Clinical Treatment Research (FKB). The research stay abroad must have a duration of minimum three and maximum 12 months.
In addition, project managers for Researcher Project for Early Career Scientists/Young Talents/Young Research Talents projects funded by FRIPRO may apply for research stays abroad under this call. All requirements and limitations described in this call for doctoral and postdoctoral fellows also apply to young talents project managers.
The Project Owner may submit a grant application after the individual has been appointed to the position of research fellow and concrete plans have been drawn up for the research stay abroad. The grant application must be based on and related to a main project funded by the Research Council, but the time frame, progress plan, budget tables and project description must reflect the research stay and its purpose.
The duration of the planned research stay abroad must be indicated in the application form. The start and end dates of the research stay abroad must be clearly specified in the field for “Fellowship”.
The Research Council must be notified beforehand of the fellowship-holder’s appointment to the main project, either via a progress report or a request to change the project framework.
Research fellows must conclude their research stay abroad by at the latest three months before the end of the research fellowship period.
Research fellows and project managers for Researcher Project for Early Career Scientists/Young Talents/Young Research Talents projects funded by FRIPRO must fulfill the following requirements at the time of application:
- have completed a master's or doctoral degree from a Norwegian research organisation or have resided or worked in Norway for at least 12 months during the previous seven years;
- not have lived, studied or worked in the country where the international host institution is located for more than 12 months during the previous three years. We may make exceptions to this requirement if the international host institution has equipment, facilities and expertise that are not available in Norway or other countries in which it is appropriate to carry out the stay abroad.
Funding for research stays abroad may not be used to spend all or part of the fellowship period on Svalbard.
The Norwegian-language call for proposals is the legally binding version.
For postdoctoral fellows
In addition to a research stay abroad, it is possible to apply for funding for an extension of the fellowship period for postdoctoral fellows corresponding to the length of the stay abroad (minimum 3 and maximum 12 months). Project managers for Researcher Project for Early Career Scientists/Young Talents/Young Research Talents projects funded by FRIPRO can only apply for an extension of their fellowship period if they are employed as a postdoctoral research fellow.
The time frames for the planned research stay abroad and any extension of the postdoctoral fellowship period must be clearly indicated in the application form. One line must be selected for the research stay abroad and one for the extension on the fellowship period in the field for “Fellowship”.
Applications for funding to extend a postdoctoral fellowship period must be submitted at the same time as the application for the research stay abroad. It is not possible to apply for an extension of the postdoctoral fellowship period after the research stay has concluded. If the extended postdoctoral fellowship period exceeds the period established for the main project, the project period will be extended by a period corresponding to the extension of the postdoctoral fellowship period. It is a condition that the criteria for the main project set out in the call are met.
The postdoctoral fellow must spend at least three months at the applicant institution after concluding the research stay abroad.
When granting an extension for fellowship-holders with partial funding from the Research Council, the Council will provide the same level of support as the original funding percentage of the position.
Regulations concerning terms and conditions of employment (Section 3.18)
It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the terms of employment for the postdoctoral research fellow are in compliance with applicable legislation and regulations. Applications for an extension will only be approved if the research stay abroad and the extension are included in the postdoctoral fellowship contract. Applicants that are uncertain about the interpretation of the regulations should contact the personnel department of their research organisation.
Please note that the Research Council does not award funding for postdoctoral research fellowships for a period of more than four years.
Who is eligible to apply?
The scheme applies to research fellows fully or partially (at least 50% or more) financed by the Research Council as part of an ongoing project with a Norwegian research organization as the Project Owner, or under the Industrial Ph.D. Scheme or the Public Sector Ph.D. Scheme. It also applies to project managers for Researcher Project for Early Careers/Young Talents/Young Research Talents projects funded by FRIPRO.
For both the Industrial Ph.D. Scheme and the Public Sector Ph.D. Scheme, a company or a public sector entity must serve as the Project Owner and formal applicant, in consultation with the degree-conferring institution.
The Project Owner is to submit the application after the individual has been appointed to the position of research fellow and concrete plans for the research stay abroad have been drawn up, and at least three months prior to the start of the research stay. Any exceptions to this must be explained in the Project Description.
It is not possible to seek funding for research stays abroad for research fellows financed through basic funding for the SFF, SFI, FME and FKB centre schemes.
Who can participate in the project?
The scheme applies to named research fellows affiliated with ongoing projects financed by the Research Council that have a Norwegian research organization as the Project Owner, or are under the Industrial Ph.D. Scheme or the Public Sector Ph.D. Scheme. It also applies to project managers for Researcher Project for Early Careers/Young Talents/Young Research Talents projects funded by FRIPRO.
What can you seek funding for?
- It is only possible to apply for the fixed rate for research stays abroad,
coverage of one round-trip flight (cheapest mode of travel), visa expenses and coverage of documented tuition costs.
- The Research Council will cover travel costs for family members provided that they will be accompanying the fellowship-holder for all or most of the stay abroad. The Research Council does not cover travel costs for short-term visits by family members.
- For postdoctoral research fellows, it is also possible to apply for funding of the postdoctoral fellowship period, please see the Rates for Funding of Fellowships.
- The Project Owner may be granted funding for a research stay abroad for the research fellow for 3–12 months.
- The stay abroad may be divided into shorter segments of minimum three consecutive months each, provided that the funding is sought as an overall amount in a single application. An explanation for dividing the stay into shorter segments must be provided in the project description.
- The Research Council will only cover travel costs for one round-trip ticket for the research fellow in connection with the research stay abroad. This is also the case when the research stay is divided into multiple segments.
- It is possible to apply for funding to cover documented tuition costs. The amount of these costs must be stated in the letter of invitation from the host institution.
Applications under the Industrial Ph.D. scheme – conditions for funding
For companies defined as an “undertaking” in the state aid rules, support will be awarded as de minimis aid. This means that the company may receive maximum EUR 300 000 over a period of three fiscal years. Written confirmation and an overview of all other de minimis aid that the company has received in the past three fiscal years must be submitted to the Research Council as an attachment to the application. For companies that are a part of a group of linked enterprises, the ceiling amount generally applies to the group as a whole. For more information on de minimis aid, see the Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831.
Relevant thematic areas for this call
Internationalisation
Practical information
Requirements for this application type
General requirements
- The applicant/Project Owner must come from an eligible category of institution. The project manager for the ongoing main project must be the project manager in the application for a research stay abroad. The project number of the project with which the fellowship-holder is affiliated must be indicated in the application form (under “Supplementary info from applicant”).
- The grant application must lie within the scope/satisfy the objectives of this call.
- The funding amount sought and expenses to be covered must be in keeping with the framework of the call.
- The budget must be formulated correctly and the field for specification must clearly state what the funding will cover.
- The application form must be fully completed. In the field for “Fellowship”, applicants must fill in “Type of fellowship”, “Basis for calculating the grant for research stays abroad”, the name of the fellowship-holder and the time frame.
- The required attachments must be included using the designated templates.
- The project description and the plan for the research stay abroad must provide answers to the items set out in the text of the call. All items in the project description template must be completed.
- The grant application, including all attachments, may be submitted in Norwegian or English.
- All attachments must be submitted in pdf-format.
Mandatory attachments
- Project description – a plan for the research stay abroad, using the designated template for this application type found at the end of this call (to be uploaded under the field for “Project description” in the application form).
- Brief CV for the fellowship-holder, using the designated template for this application type found at the end of this call (to be uploaded under the field for CV in the application form).
- A letter of invitation from the host institution. The letter of invitation must state the time frame of the research stay, the name of the fellowship-holder, the objective of the research stay and the amount of any tuition costs. The letter of invitation must be signed.
- A recommendation from the project manager. This letter of recommendation must be signed by the project manager.
The designated templates are found at the end of this call for proposals.
Other attachments
- When you apply for an extension of the postdoctoral period, you must enclose a development plan for postdoctoral fellows. The plan must show the date of the postdoctoral period and be signed by the postdoctoral candidate and the manager with personnel responsibility. The plan must show a new date for the postdoctoral period, which includes an extension of the position due to the stay abroad. You upload the development plan under "Other" in the application form.
- For projects under the Industrial Ph.D. scheme, where the applicant is a company, a signed “Declaration form for de minimis aid”, must be attached using the designated template found at the end of this call (to be uploaded as an attachment under “Other items” in the online grant application form).
Grant applications that do not satisfy the above requirements will be rejected.
Links to websites and documents, as well as other attachments than those specified above, will not be included in the application review process.
Administrative procedures
Notification of the outcome from the Research Council will normally be provided within four weeks after receipt of the application.
Grant applications will be assessed by the Research Council administration, and funding will normally be awarded if the application has satisfied the formal requirements stipulated in this call for proposals. When funding for a research stay is granted, the Project Owner will receive an amendment to the contract for the main project.
Download templates
- Mal for prosjektbeskrivelse - Utenlandsopphold for doktorgrads- og postdoktorstipendiater.docx
- Template for Project Description - Funding for Research Stays Abroad for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows.docx
- Mal for utenlandsopphold / CV template Coordination and Support Activity.docx
- Nærings-Ph.D. - Egenerklæringsskjema for bagatellmessig støtte 2024.docx
- Declaration form for de minimis aid under the Industrial Ph.D. Scheme 2024.docx
Messages at time of print 6 December 2024, 18:53 CET