Support for Travel to Expand Industry-oriented R&D Cooperation with Countries Outside the EU/EEA

Applicants must be Norwegian companies, public sector bodies or R&D organisations with existing or recently concluded projects (no more than two years since conclusion of the project period) in the Research Council’s project portfolio.

Funding is available in connection with:

• Innovation Projects for the Industrial Sector;
• Innovation Projects for the Public Sector;
• Knowledge-Building Projects for Industry;
• Eurostars projects, projects under the programme Commercialising R&D Results (FORNY2020);
• the Industrial Ph.D. Scheme;
• the Public Sector Ph.D. Scheme;
• clusters and cluster partners in the Norwegian Innovation Clusters programme;
• Centres for Research-based Innovation (SFI);
• Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME);
• Research Centres for Petroleum Activities (PETROSENTER);
• Project-oriented Technology Development in the Petroleum Sector (DEMO 2000) (pre-projects are not eligible for funding).

Grant applications may not be submitted by individuals or sole proprietorships.

Requirements relating to the Project Owner

Norwegian companies, public sector bodies or research organisations with existing or recently concluded projects (no more than two years since conclusion of the project period) in the Research Council’s project portfolio are eligible to apply for travel support.

You may apply for support to cover

• direct costs related to travel and accommodation/board in connection with bilateral or multilateral meetings aimed at finding potential partners for future international, industry-oriented projects. 
• registration fees for seminars, conferences and the like. 

Funding may not be used to cover

• compensation for time and payroll costs;
• travel activity carried out before the grant application was submitted.
• activities already supported through other funding from the Research Council or other public stakeholders.

Maximum funding amount

• Applicants may seek funding for a single or multiple individuals in the same grant application. The maximum amount of support for each individual per calendar year is NOK 20 000.
• You may apply for NOK 10 000–100 000 in funding per application.
• You may apply for funding to cover up to 50 per cent of approved project costs up to maximum NOK 100 000.
• Travel support may be sought for a single event or for multiple events to take place over a 12-month period.
• The Research Council will disburse the funding in arrears on the basis of a report documenting the expenses.
• The application must have a strategic basis in the applicant institution’s future internationalisation plans for industry-oriented R&D cooperation in the relevant country.

If the Project Owner has previously been awarded support for travel, it must be stated clearly at the beginning of the project description what has been done/achieved in the interim since the previous application and why more travel is necessary. The Research Council administration may reject applications that lack adequate justification.

Conditions for funding

Support will be awarded to companies as de minimis aid. This means that companies (defined as an “undertaking” in the state aid rules) may receive maximum EUR 200 000 in de minimis aid over a period of three fiscal years.

Prior to disbursement of any de minimis aid, the Research Council will request written confirmation and an overview of all other de minimis aid that the company has received in the course of the three fiscal years in question. 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 1407/2013.

Funding will only be disbursed for travel that has been carried out. Funding will be disbursed in arrears based on an approved final report and project account report. Companies must also submit a signed declaration form for de minimis aid.

The Research Council’s allocation for the first year and any pledges for subsequent years will be disbursed in accordance with the terms set out in the call for proposals and the Research Council’s General Terms and Conditions for R&D Projects.

General requirements

• Grant applications may be submitted in Norwegian or English.

Mandatory attachments

• A project description. The designated template is available for download at the bottom of this call for proposals. All items in the project description template must be completed. Responses to each item should be as concrete and clear as possible.

Grant applications that do not satisfy the above requirements will be rejected.

The applications will be subject to administrative review by the Research Council. The following requirements must be satisfied:

• The applicant/Project Owner must come from an eligible category of institution.
• The grant application must lie within the scope/satisfy the objectives of this call.
• The funding amount sought, expenses to be covered and own financing to be provided must be in keeping with the framework of the call.
• The budget must be formulated correctly to clearly indicate what the funding will cover.
• The application form must be fully completed.
• The required attachments must be included using the designated templates.
• The project description must provide answers to the items set out in the text of the call.