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Communication and dissemination of climate, environment and ocean research

Purpose

The purpose of this call is to provide support for dissemination and communication of research that increases people's understanding of climate, the environment, and the ocean, and facilitates the use of research-based knowledge.

About the call for proposals

You can apply for funding for a wide range of communication and dissemination activities that help to increase people's understanding of climate, environmental and/or marine research. The activities are intended to disseminate research-based knowledge and increase understanding of the areas. The project must have clearly defined target groups, a good plan for reaching the target group(s) and highlight the impacts the project will have. You need to estimate how many people will be reached through the project. 

The project group must have expertise in both research and communication work within the topic of the application. You must have initiated dialogue with any partners and/or others involved in the project, and you must include letters of intent or support. 

Overall, the project has to reach target groups with different backgrounds and interests, including those who are not already interested in the topic. 

We do not require that the grant applications are associated with projects that already receive funding from the Research Council. 

The call is available in both Norwegian and English. The Norwegian call text is the legally binding version. 

Who is eligible to apply?

Approved Norwegian research organisations, companies, public sector entities and non-governmental organisations are eligible to apply. See here for the list of approved Norwegian research organisations and the definition of public sector. Sole proprietorships are not eligible to apply. 

Who can participate in the project?

Requirements relating to the Project Owner 

The Project Owner must have approved submission of the grant application. 

Requirements relating to the project manager 

The project manager must be employed by the Project Owner or a partner. 

Requirements relating to the project group 

The project group must have both research and communication competence within the thematic area of the grant application. 

About collaboration in the project 

We do not require partners under this call. Approved Norwegian research organisations, companies, public sector entities and non-governmental organisations may be partners. Sole proprietorships may not be partners. 

What can you seek funding for?

You can apply for funding to cover actual costs that are necessary to carry out the project. 

In the grant application form, the project budget is to be broken down into the following cost categories: 

  • Payroll and indirect expenses: costs incurred by the Project Owner. 
  • Other operating expenses, which are costs for other activities necessary to carry out the project. Any purchases from subcontractors must be entered here. All costs entered as "other operating expenses" must be specified in the application.  

You must specify how funding from the Research Council will be used. 

The cost codes procurement of R&D services and equipment cannot be used.  

You cannot apply for funding for:  

  • scientific publication; 
  • conferences – we do not support pure conferences/seminars/meetings, etc.; 
  • continuation of existing and/or funded communication and dissemination activities; 
  • communication and dissemination activities that are part of the existing obligations under agreements entered into with the Research Council; 
  • communication and dissemination activities that are considered a natural part of existing research projects; 
  • activities that fall under researchers' general duty to disseminate. 

You will find detailed and important information about what to enter in the project budget on the website.  

Conditions for funding 

Companies will be disbursed the aid as de minimis aid. This means that an enterprise in total cannot be paid more than EUR 200,000 in a three-year period. 

Prior to disbursement of de minimis aid, the Research Council will request written confirmation and an overview of all other de minimis aid that the company has received during the last three fiscal years. For enterprises that are part of a group, the maximum limit generally applies to the group as a whole. See also the EU de minimis aid regulation (Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013).  

The Research Council's requirements relating to allocation and disbursement of support for the first year and any pledges and payments for subsequent years are set out in the General Terms and Conditions for R&D Projects.  

Reporting and disbursement of funding 

We will disburse the support in arrears, and you will only be reimbursed for actual expenses that have been accounted for. Terms and conditions for reporting and disbursement of support will be set out in the contract. 

Relevant thematic areas for this call

Climate and the environment

OceansLandbased environmentClimate

Practical information

Requirements for this application type

Please note that you can only submit the application once. If you submit the application and afterwards see that it still needs to be changed, you can create a new application – e.g. as a copy of the one you have already submitted – and thus submit a new version. 

The project group must have research competence and communication expertise within the topic you are applying for. 

The grant application and all attachments must be submitted in Norwegian or English. 

All attachments must be uploaded in PDF format. 

Mandatory attachments 

  • Project description, download the template at the bottom of the page. 
  • CV for the project manager (maximum 4 pages, including any list of publications). 
  • CV with documentation of research competence (within the chosen topic) in the group or with partners (if this competence is not covered by the project manager (see point above) (max. 4 pages including any list of publications)). 
  • CV with documentation of communication expertise in the group or with partners (if this competence is not covered by the project manager (see point above) (max 4 pages including any list of publications)). 
  • Confirmations from any partners and/or others involved in the project. 
  • For companies: Declaration form for de minimis aid using the standard template, which can be downloaded at the end of this call. 

Applications that do not satisfy the above requirements will be rejected. 

All attachments to the application must be submitted with the application. We will not consider documents and websites linked to in the application, or attachments other than those specified above. Be careful to upload the correct attachment type, as there are no technical restrictions on what kind of templates it is possible to upload in the application form. 

Assessment criteria

Grant applications will be assessed in light of the objective of the call and the following criteria: 

Excellence

Originality/Novelty
• The extent to which the concept is sound, credible and novel.

Solidity
• The extent to which the project objectives are clear and relevant.
• The quality of the proposed deliverables from the project.

Impact

Potential
• The extent to which the expected effects are specified.
• The extent to which expected impacts on the system and societal levels are specified.

Knowledge sharing and exploitation
• The quality of the proposed communication and dissemination activities.
• The extent to which it is credible that the proposed outputs will contribute to the specified effects and impact.

Implementation

Project Manager and project group
• The extent to which the Project Manager and project group are qualified and have the necessary expertise and are positioned to implement the project.
• The extent to which management structures and procedures are appropriate.

Plans and management
• The extent to which the work plan is clear and understandable, and the time table realistic
• The extent to which objectives and measures are coherent.
• The extent to which the project has the support of the leadership of the Project Owner and any partners, and the allocation of roles in the project is clear.
• The extent to which the budget is realistic and appropriate, and resources are allocated so that each of the partners can fulfil their role.
• The extent to which potential risks have been discussed.

Administrative procedures

The applications will be processed administratively. The expected processing time is six weeks (expect a slightly longer processing time during the summer holidays). 

When we assess grant applications, priority will be given to: 

  • projects with clear target groups and concrete plans to reach the target group(s); 
  • projects that can highlight the impacts the project will have on the target group(s); 
  • projects that incorporate declarations of collaboration with partners and other stakeholders where relevant. 

Overall, we want projects to reach different target groups, consist of different activities and forms of dissemination, and to cover all topics set out in the call. We therefore assess the applications in relation to each other and the overall portfolio of projects that will receive funding under this call. 

See also: How we process applications.   

Create application

Applications for Communication and dissemination of climate, environment and ocean research should be created on My RCN Web. Application templates should be filled and uploaded in the application.

Create application

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