Completed

Continuation of Memberships of International Research Infrastructures

Only applicants that have been invited to apply are eligible to apply under this call.

Important dates

07 Oct 2020

Date call is made active

18 Nov 2020

Application submission deadline

Important dates

Purpose

The purpose of this call is to support the continuation of Norwegian memberships of international research infrastructures where the Research Council contributes to the membership fee.

About the call for proposals

The call only applies to selected memberships in international research infrastructures based outside Norway (see below), where all or parts of the membership is funded by the Research Council and where the contract on continued financing is due to expire. The funding can be used to cover membership and operating costs in addition to the administration of research infrastructure.

The Research Council has contacted the relevant research groups and invited them to submit an application containing a description of the membership’s importance to Norwegian research.

This call concerns the Research Council’s contribution to the continuation of Norwegian membership in the following international research infrastructures:

  • Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
  • Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT)

This call is not relevant to other parties.

The assessment can have one of two possible outcomes:

  1. The Research Council recommends continued funding of the membership for the period applied for.
  2. The Research Council recommends continued funding of the membership for a shorter period than that applied for due to weaknesses revealed in the assessment. Towards the end of this period, the applicant must submit a new application in a targeted call for proposals.

GBIF applicants can apply for up to NOK 4 million per year for membership fees and operation of the Norwegian node for a period of up to five years.

NOT applicants can apply for up to NOK 1.2 million per year for membership fees for a period of up to five years.

The Norwegian-language call for proposals is the legally binding version

Who is eligible to apply?

The call only applies to parties that have been invited to apply.

Who can participate in the project?

Requirements relating to the Project Owner The research organisation listed as the Project Owner in the application form must have authorised the submission of the grant application to the Research Council.

What can you seek funding for?

The funding can be used to cover membership and operating costs in addition to the administration of research infrastructure.

Relevant thematic areas for this call

Research infrastructure

Practical information

Requirements for this application type

  • The application and all attachments must be submitted in English.
  • All attachments must be uploaded in PDF format.

Mandatory attachments

  • Project description of maximum 10 pages, using the designated template for the call.
  • CV of project manager of maximum four pages, using the designated template.
  • CVs of up to 10 key participants of maximum four pages each, using the designated template.
  • A brief declaration from the applicant institution and partners detailing how the infrastructure is aligned with the institutions’ research strategy, and that they accept any economic and other obligations described in the application.
  • Confirmation at institution level from each partner regarding its obligations under the project, and a declaration that the infrastructure is aligned with the institution’s research strategy, including a brief account of how the infrastructure forms part of the strategy.

Attachments other than those specified above, as well as any links to websites in the grant application, 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.

Assessment criteria

Grant applications will be assessed in relation to the following criteria (English version will be published soon):

Excellence

The significance of the membership to research

To what extent the membership:
• contributes to scientific renewal, generating new knowledge and bringing the research to the research front.
• provides opportunities to carry out research that is highly prioritised and that Norwegian research groups would not otherwise have been able to participate in without the membership.
• contributes to making Norwegian research groups attractive to the best researchers, both in Norway and internationally.

Impact

Impact of the membership
• Impact of the membership so far.
• Potential future impact of the membership.
• To what extent the membership’s national interest is documented.
• Whether the membership supports Norwegian research priorities.

Communication and dissemination
• To what extent plans have been developed for good communication and dissemination of the opportunities the membership provides and the results it generates.

Implementation

The quality of the research groups’ expertise in the area and utilisation of the membership

To what extent:
• the research groups have documented expertise that allows them to make good use of the membership.
• good plans have been established on utilisation of the membership.
• plans have been established on how data will be handled, i.e. a plan detailing how the data generated will be stored and published or made available in other ways.

Overall assessment of the referee/panel

Overall assessment of the referee/panel based, on the criteria Excellence, Impact and Implementation.

The applications will be assessed by the same referee panels as those used in the assessment of applications for Funding for Research Infrastructure of National Importance, but based on separate criteria.

The Research Council administration will make a recommendation based on the referee assessments. This will be submitted to the board responsible for the budgetary purpose under which the membership is financed, which will then make the final decision on continued funding.

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