One time call for funding for fieldwork in Svalbard

The application must be submitted by an approved Norwegian research institution. See list here. The Norwegian research organisation will have the economic and scientific responsibility for the project.

Applications are open to both Norwegian and foreign applicants if the project is carried out in close cooperation with a Norwegian research organisation. Funding will be administered by the Norwegian organisation. The Norwegian organisation will have the economic and scientific responsibility for the project. Students/researchers based in the research bases on Svalbard are also eligible to apply for funding.

Requirements relating to the Project Owner
The Project Owner must be an approved Norwegian research organisation (see above). The project must have a project administrator from the Norwegian organisation. Funding will be administered by the Norwegian research organisation and the associated project responsible.

Requirements relating to the project manager
The project manager must be affiliated with a Norwegian research organisation.

Please see the webpage on “What to enter in the project budget” for details and important information.

The grant can cover fieldwork costs for projects based in Svalbard. This includes direct costs related to fieldwork such as gathering new data, setting up and retrieving instruments, continuing timeseries and using the Marine Lab and other facilities in Ny-Ålesund.

The funding only covers direct expenses (flights, logistics, accommodation, equipment) in connection with field-based activities for new or existing project. Overhead for the institution is max 5%, salary and field compensation can make up max 25% of the total amount applied for and rates must be in line with the RCN guidelines. For already funded projects only additional activities or extra expenses connected to current situation, for example extra or prolonged field stays, additional personnel or transport, are covered.

The funding will be disbursed in accordance with the budget.

The project owner must deliver a final report that fulfils the RCN requirements.

All projects must be registered and updated in the Research in Svalbard (RiS) database www.researchinsvalbard.no. When relevant, a description of data (metadata) from the project must be uploaded to the database as part of the report.

The application must meet the following requirements:

• The Project Owner and project manager must be within the categories set out in this call.
• The grant application must lie within the scope of this call.
• The amount sought and any own financing must be in accordance with the requirements set out in this call.
• The budget must be filled in correctly so that it is clear what the amount sought will cover.
• The grant application must be completed in full.
• All attachments must be submitted, using the correct templates.
• The project description must respond to the call.
• The grant application, including all attachments, must be submitted in English.
• All attachments must be uploaded in PDF format. 

Applicant must fill in all relevant sections in Template for project description.

Mandatory attachments

• Project description, using the designated template, max 3 pages.
• CVs for the project manager and key members of the project group, using the designated template 
• Cooperation agreement with Norwegian institution (for applicants from non-Norwegian institutions)

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

Links in the application form or project description to websites and documents, as well as other attachments than those specified above, will not be included in the application review process. There is no technical validation of the content of the attachments you upload, so please make sure that you upload the correct file for the selected type of attachment.

Grant applications will be assessed in relation to the following criteria:

Projects based in Ny-Ålesund, utilizing the unique research infrastructure there, along with projects involving master, PhD students or early career researchers will be prioritized. International and scientific collaboration and coordination are the cornerstones of Svalbard research and projects strengthening these values are encouraged to apply.

Applications will be processed administratively by a panel composed of in-house staff with extensive experience from Svalbard. The final funding decision is made by the Research Council of Norway's administration. No individual feedback will be given to applicants.