Researcher Project for Scientific Renewal (Thematic Call)
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Tildelingsmøtene for denne utlysningen holdes i ukene 24, 25, 37 og 39. Vi publiserer resultatet så fort dette er klart etter møtene.
Important dates
22 Jan 2025
Open for applications
05 Mar 2025
Application deadline
01 Oct 2025
Earliest permitted project start
01 Apr 2026
Latest permitted project start
31 Mar 2032
Latest permitted project completion date
Important dates
Last updates
We have updated the General Terms and Conditions for R&D Projects. These new terms and conditions apply to applications received by the Research Council of Norway from 1 March 2025. Please see What the contract involves.
We have increased the amount of funding available for research for and about the education sector with 3 million NOK to a total of 98 million NOK.
We have increased the amount of funding the the theme Research to improve animal health and welfare (including fish)
We have added a section on sustainability under Administrative procedures
Purpose
The purpose of this call is to promote innovation and development in research that can contribute to advancing the international research front within the topics specified in the call. The call is therefore aimed at researchers who have demonstrated the ability to conduct research of high scientific quality.
About the call for proposals
The purpose of the funding is to stimulate high-quality research that can address the challenges and issues described in the call.
The call consists of several topics. You must direct your application to one of these. You choose a topic in the application form. For each topic, we announce a given amount and specify priorities for selecting the projects to be funded.
In addition to this call, we have other calls for proposals with a deadline of 5 March that are aimed at research organisations. These calls are:
- Researcher Project for Early Career Scientists (Thematic Call)
- Researcher Project for Scientific Renewal (this call)
- Large, Interdisciplinary Researcher Project
- Knowledge-building Project for Industry
- Collaborative Projects to Meet Societal and Industry-related Challengesin society and business
In the thematic texts of this call, you will find information on which of the other calls may be relevant to the individual topic. We therefore recommend that you also read through any other relevant calls to see which one is most suitable for your project. Please note that we do not move applications between the calls, and that it is therefore important that you send the application to the correct call.
You can create an application and fill in the application form from 22 January.
- Here you can see a video presentation of how to fill out the application form. The video is from 2024, and the dates mentioned relate to the deadlines in March last year. The general content of the video, however, is still relevant to our calls with deadline 5 March this year.
- Watch the recording of the applicant webinar on the March deadlines for researchers.
The call is available in both Norwegian and English. The text of the Norwegian call for proposals is legally binding.
Who is eligible to apply?
Only approved Norwegian research organisations are eligible to apply. See the list of approved research organisations.
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 approved the submission of the application to the Research Council.
If the application is a collaboration between several organisations, the Project Owner must submit the application on behalf of all partners.
Requirements relating to the project manager
You can only serve as project manager for one application submitted for the deadline of 5 March 2025. This means that if you are the project manager for an application under this call, you cannot serve as the project manager for applications for any of the other calls with a deadline of 5 March 2025.
You must have an approved doctoral degree or equivalent before the application deadline.
If you do not have an approved doctoral degree, but have associate professor qualifications or employment as researcher 1, researcher 2 or senior researcher in the institute sector or in health trusts, you can also be a project manager.
Requirements relating to partners
We do not require collaboration in this call. If you are going to have partners, the following applies:
Only approved Norwegian research organisations (see "Who is eligible to apply?" above) or equivalent research organisations in other countries are eligible to be partners and receive funding under this call.
Other types of organisations, including companies and other enterprises, may not be partners in Researcher Projects.
All partners must enter into a collaboration agreement as part of the contract if you are awarded funding from the Research Council.
As Project Owner or partner in the project, you can engage subcontractors to deliver services and contribute to the implementation of certain tasks in the project. Subcontractors cannot be given rights to project results. Organisations that are subject to the regulations for public procurement must in the usual way carry out the selection of subcontractors in line with these regulations. You cannot have R&D suppliers in the project.
Read more about the use of R&D providers and subcontractors
One actor cannot have different roles in the project. This means that a subcontractor cannot be the Project Owner or a partner in the project at the same time.
What can you seek funding for?
You can apply for funding to cover actual costs necessary to carry out the project. The Project Owner must obtain information on costs from the partners in the project. These costs must be entered into the cost plan under the cost type to which they belong.
We require that you break down the project budget into the following cost types in your application:
- Payroll and indirect expenses, which are costs related to researcher time (including research fellowship positions and the project manager's position) at the research organisations participating in the project. For doctoral scholarships, the support is limited to three full-time equivalents. For postdoctoral fellowships, the support is limited to a minimum of three years and a maximum of four years. See our website about post-doctoral research fellowship positions and doctoral research fellowship positions.
- Other operating expenses, which are costs for other activities necessary to carry out the project's R&D activities. Any purchases from subcontractors must be entered here. All expenses you enter as "other operating expenses" must be specified in the application.
- Equipment, which are costs that include operating and depreciation costs for scientific equipment and research infrastructure necessary to carry out the project.
The item Procurement of R&D services cannot be used.
If doctoral and postdoctoral research fellows are included in the project and there are specific plans for them to stay abroad, or if there are specific plans for visiting researchers or stays abroad for researchers in the project, this may be included in the application. The rules for such stays and information about rates can be found on the budget information page (see link below).
You can find detailed and important information about What to enter in the project budget on our website.
Scope of funding
Funding of NOK 4–12 million per project is available under this call. Some topics may have a lower upper limit. For the topics to which this applies, the upper limit will be stated under the relevant topic.
We do not require own financing. If our lump sum rates do not cover all costs for recruitment positions in the university and university college or institute sectors or for researcher positions in the university and university college sectors, we assume that you cover the difference with your own funding. For research positions in the institute sector, you must use the reported hourly rates.
Ethics
The Research Council requires a high standard of research ethics in the projects we fund, and ethics is included in the assessment criterion for Research Quality. In the template for the project description, there is a separate section that deals with this. The description of ethics is first and foremost an assurance to the peers that there is a plan in place to deal with the most important ethical dilemmas in the project. If you need to describe this in more detail, this can be done elsewhere in the project description, for example under method selection, or you can do so in the data management plan(s) (see below).
The responsibility for ensuring that the research ethics standard is followed lies with the individual researcher and research institution (cf. the Act on the Organisation of Research Ethics Work). The panel's assessment and the Research Council's decision on funding do not entail any research ethics approval.
Conditions for funding
We do not award state aid under this call. This means that the funding can only go to the research organisation’s non-economic activity. We assume that the necessary accounting separation is in place. Our conditions for awarding and disbursing support for the first year, and any commitments and payments for subsequent years, can be found in our general terms and conditions for R&D projects on the information page What the contract involves.
In addition, you must be aware of the following if you should receive an award from us:
- The project manager and the Project Owner must have assessed and managed any issue of research security in the project. Research security refers to the risks related to undesirable transfer of knowledge and technology, malign influence on research and innovation or violations of research ethics or integrity, where knowledge and technology are used to undermine key societal values.
- Grant recipients in research organisations and the public sector (Project Owners and partners) have action plans for gender equality (GEPs) available on their websites. This must be in place before the contract is signed for projects with grants from us. The requirement does not apply to the private sector, interest groups or the voluntary sector.
- The Research Council requires full and immediate open access for scientific articles, see Plan S - open access to publications.
- For all projects that handle data, the Project Owner must prepare a data management plan in connection with the revised application, where you will find more information about the requirements for data management plans in projects that receive funding from us.
- For medical and health studies involving humans, the Research Council sets special requirements and guidelines for prospective registration of studies and publication of results.
Relevant thematic areas for this call
It is only possible to submit applications aimed at the topics mentioned in the call. You must explain how the application is relevant to the topic in the appendix Relevance to the topic. The topics in this call are grouped into the thematic areas below. The topics contain special requirements and guidelines that will be emphasised in the assessment of the application.
Cross-cutting topics
Funding is available for independent and critical research on the management and use of areas (land, freshwater, coast and ocean) in Norway.
We are looking for innovative research that can expand and complement the knowledge base for policy and sustainable societal development. Research should contribute to new questions and perspectives, development scenarios and a basis for measures and solutions. The green transition and the development of new infrastructure and business activities increase the pressure on nature through, among other things, increased demand for land/area use, greater extraction of bioresources, plans for increased mineral extraction and more. For a just transition of society, new knowledge about the relationship between culture, society and nature is necessary.
The theme covers all areas: land, freshwater, coast and ocean, including the polar regions (Arctic and Antarctica).
You can apply for a maximum of NOK 10.5 million in funding per project.
We are also announcing NOK 161 million for areas under pressure as a Collaborative Project to meet challenges in society and business.
Delimitations
Projects that are eligible for funding under this topic must fall within at least one of the following research topics:
- Societal, cultural or institutional barriers and opportunities for more integrated management and use of land/areas and/or cultural environments
- Options for action and choices in a situation of uncertainty and conflict about the knowledge base for the management and use of land/areas and natural resources
- Consequences of power relations, different interests and values for the use and consumption of land/areas and natural resources
- Reduced consumption of land/areas and natural resources for just transition in a generational, inequality or indigenous perspective
You are welcome to combine several of the four research topics in the project.
Relevance
When we award a mark for the application's relevance, we will also consider the extent to which the project
- Is about land/area use and management issues
- emphasises challenges related to nature and/or climate
- has cross-sectoral issues
- is interdisciplinary at level 1 in UHR's division of subject areas (in Norwegian only)
- has concrete plans for dissemination and dialogue about findings and results throughout the project period
- has relevance to Norwegian conditions
Portfolio assessments
- The portfolio board will prioritise funding projects that collectively cover the breadth of the four research topics.
- The portfolio board will prioritise funding projects where perspectives from the humanities are central.
Contacts
Other relevant calls for proposals on the same topic
Funding is available for research that can meet the knowledge needs identified in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report ( only in Norwegian).
The projects must focus on Sámi issues and/or matters concerning the national minorities Forest Finns and Kvens/Norwegian Finns and/or the relationship between Sámi and the aforementioned national minorities and the majority society.
Delimitations
Projects eligible for funding must be based on the knowledge needs in the Commission's report and deal with at least one of the following four research areas:
- health, education, welfare and living conditions
- language, history, culture and cultural environment
- climate and environmental challenges, consequences of energy transition and infrastructure, natural resource and land management
- public administration and policy-making
A project may combine several of the research areas.
Relevance assessment
When awarding a mark for the application's relevance, we will, in addition to the thematic points above, consider how well the application meets the following priorities:
- has concrete plans for active dialogue and dissemination with and for involved communities and groups throughout the project period
- has interdisciplinarity between two or more disciplines (cf. level 1 in the Norwegian Classification of Scientific Disciplines)
- has a reference group with stakeholders from outside academia
- has active research collaboration with at least one other researcher or research group in Norway and one researcher or research group abroad. The task of the partners in the project must be clearly specified in the application.
- Applying for recruitment positions
Portfolio assessment
In the portfolio assessment, we will consider ensuring that the funded projects reflects the breadth of the research areas outlined in the call. Our aim is to include research related to Forest Finns and Kvens/Norwegian Finns in one or more of the projects funded.
Other information
The final application will be conducted by the Portfolio Board for Sámi Society and Culture, supplemented by members from the other funding portfolios.
Relevance assessments, recommendations, and other administrative processing of applications will be carried out in collaboration between the portfolio administrations.
Please note that we have several related calls that may also be relevant for researchers within the four research areas mentioned above. Below we mention four of these calls:
- Applications that primarily concern vulnerable children and young people are referred to the call Collaborative Project to meet Societal and Industry-related Challenges and the topic "Inclusion of more children and young people in education, working life and society", under the thematic area Welfare and Education.
- Applications that primarily concern vulnerable groups and health are referred to the call for Collaborative Project to meet Societal and Industry-related Challenges under the thematic area Health.
- Applications relating to the energy transition in general are referred to the call for Collaborative Project to meet Societal and Industry-related Challenges under the thematic area Environment-friendly energy.
- Applications that primarily concern areas under pressure are referred to "Areas under pressure" under the thematic area Cross-cutting topics. This topic can be found in both this call and the call Collaborative Project to meet Societal and Industry-related Challenges.
Please contact us if you have any questions about which call you should apply for.
Sámi perspectives
National minorities and culture
Welfare and living conditions
Education
Health
Energy transition
Climate, environment and land management
Welfare and education
Other relevant calls for proposals on the same topic
Democracy and global development
Under this topic, we cover research on topics in the field of foreign affairs and development research related to countries in Asia. Both foreign and security policy issues and topics related to societal and economic challenges are relevant. See relevant research areas in the document Asia in a Time of Change. NOK 20 million of the announced funding has been set aside for bilateral research collaboration with Indian partners. These proposals should have a particular focus on priority areas described in the Government's strategy and action plan for cooperation with India, Norway-India 2030.
Delimitations
Funding for the call comes from the Development assistance budget, and the projects must therefore comply with the OECD's requirements for projects in developing countries. Your goal must be to promote economic development or welfare in one or more of the countries that are ODA approved.
Projects aimed at research collaboration with India must include Indian partners who are also research organisations.
Relevance
When we award a mark for the application's relevance, we will assess how well the application meets the delimitations of the topic and how well the points below have been met and described.
In projects aimed at Norwegian-Indian cooperation, the division of roles and tasks between the Norwegian and Indian partners is clearly described.
It is clearly described how the project is relevant to and contributes to promoting economic development and solving development challenges in countries on the OECD DAC list. Examples of factors that can be used to describe the possible effect of the project in accordance with this point are: goal achievement , sustainability, productivity and impact.
Portfolio assessments
In our portfolio assessment, we will take into account that there are
- a good balance between the portfolio's various thematic areas
- a good balance in the portfolio with regard to gender and institution
- several projects where humanistic perspectives are included in the research
The research system
Funding is available for projects that will increase basic knowledge about space and the Earth, and for the development of a new generation of space scientists.
The portfolio board wishes to support at least 3 applications within the available framework of funding for the call, given sufficient quality.
Delimitations
Funding is available to maximise the research utilisation of Norwegian participation in the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Incoherent SCATter (EISCAT), the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) and the EU Space Programme (in particular Copernicus). Projects must also fall under at least one of the following three areas:
- Sun-Earth physics with an emphasis on understanding fundamental processes in the Sun and its atmosphere and how solar wind and solar activity affect the Earth's upper atmosphere and the global environment
- The structure and evolution of the universe, including planetology, with an emphasis on the understanding of fundamental astrophysical processes
- Earth observation from satellites, including method development for the use of information collected by satellites, with emphasis on climate monitoring, resource mapping, pollution from petroleum activities, monitoring, operational support and management of the polar regions
Priorities
Priority will be given to applications that include recruitment positions (doctoral and/or postdoctoral positions).
Portfolio assessments
- Provided that the quality is sufficiently good, the portfolio board will prioritise supporting at least one application that addresses the area of "the structure and evolution of the universe, including planetology, with an emphasis on the understanding of fundamental astrophysical processes".
- Provided that the quality is sufficiently good, the portfolio board will prioritise applications within the following topics:
- Sun-Earth physics with an emphasis on understanding fundamental processes in the Sun and its atmosphere and how solar wind and solar activity affect the Earth's upper atmosphere and the global environment
- The structure and evolution of the universe, including planetology, with an emphasis on the understanding of fundamental astrophysical processes
Contact
Climate and the environment
Changes in climate and natural conditions affect Norway and the polar regions to a considerable extent, and the risk of major societal effects increases. This is about both large-scale change processes as well as local changes and individual events. We need new knowledge about the risks posed by anthropogenic pressures on climate and nature, and the consequences they may entail for nature and society. The research will also contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of risk, so that society can prevent, limit and adapt to changes in climate and nature. The topic covers climate and nature risks related to land, freshwater, coast and sea. You can apply for up to NOK 12 million.
Delimitations
Applications must fall under at least one of the following research areas:
- Cumulative pressures on ecosystems and ecosystem services. Consequences of several pressures and change processes for nature's basic functions and resilience. Including cumulative effects and any tipping points.
- Land meets coast meets sea. Pressures that contribute to, or may contribute to, ecosystem changes in the transition between land and sea and the risks and consequences that the various pressures may have, e.g. pollution, environmental toxins, plastics, alien species, flooding, runoff, acidification, higher temperatures and sea level rise.
- Risk understanding and solutions. Better and more comprehensive knowledge of societal risk based on processes, pressures and the state of climate and nature, as a starting point for measures, instruments and solutions for sustainable management of nature.
The project can combine several of the three research areas. The applications must be relevant to Norwegian conditions and/or the polar regions.
The project will establish a reference group with relevant users. In the application, you must justify the composition of the reference group, its connection to the project implementation and how it will contribute to the achievement of the project's objectives, particularly with regard to having the results put to use.
Relevance
The application's relevance mark will be assessed on the basis of:
- how well it hits one or more of the research areas listed above
- relevance to Norwegian conditions or the polar regions
We are also announcing up to NOK 50 million for climate and nature risk – effects, consequences and solutions for society, as a large-scale, interdisciplinary Researcher Project.
Contact
Other relevant calls for proposals on the same topic
Food and bioresources
Good animal health and welfare is a cornerstone for optimal and ethical production of food and absolutely necessary to take care of the animals' intrinsic value. Both the seafood sector and livestock production have challenges with animal health and welfare. There is a great need for knowledge about how different factors, alone or in combination, affect animal health and welfare. This includes, but is not limited to, new and existing diseases and parasites, immunology and the spread of infection, genetics, environment, technology and operating methods, feed and nutrition, animal behaviour and ethical animal husbandry, fishing and killing.
Delimitations
Funding is available for projects that strengthen knowledge about animal health and welfare. The projects will contribute to increased knowledge about how different factors affect animal health or welfare. The topic includes research in all disciplines and areas aimed at improving the health or welfare of terrestrial production animals, aquaculture animals (both freshwater and saltwater) and/or during fishing and hunting.
The research must be relevant to aquaculture, fishing or livestock husbandry that provide a basis for value creation in Norway. Pets, competition animals and hobby-based animal husbandry, and wild, terrestrial animals, are not covered by this topic.
We expect projects that are relevant to the topic "Sustainable feed" to apply there. The Research Council has the right to move applications to the topic Sustainable feed if we believe the application is more relevant there.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food are allocating funding for this topic. The allocation of projects must reflect the funds allocated by the respective ministries.
Relevance
Priority will be given to applications that meet the theme of the topic.
The active participation of at least one international partner in the project, who has costs and involvement in at least one work package, will also count positively.
Portfolio assessments
The portfolio board takes into account the following factors when allocating funds:
- the marks awarded in the assessment of the applications
- a good thematic distribution of projects within the industries in the portfolio
In practice, this means that the portfolio board can allocate funds to projects of poorer quality, rather than projects of better quality, in order to achieve the goal of a good distribution of projects in the portfolio or to use up the available funds.
Contact
Aquaculture and fisheries
Livestock production
Other relevant calls for proposals on the same topic
The Portfolio Board for Food and Bioresources wants to invest in research that supports the social mission of sustainable feed for livestock and farmed fish. The report from the design phase of the social mission pointed to several barriers to new feed raw materials being further developed on a commercial scale or being put into use. Among these are obstacles in the food safety regulations for the use of some new, sustainable feed raw materials. For some of these raw materials, it is likely that new knowledge will be able to show that the feed raw materials are safe, and thus contribute to changes in the regulations and enable their use in feed in the relatively short term. There is also a need for basic research to support further development in the production and application of sustainable feed raw materials.
Delimitations
Projects must fall under one of the following research areas:
- Research that contributes to the development and/or application of sustainable feed raw materials. This includes (not limited to) production, harvesting and use of biological raw materials, processing into raw materials that are planned to be included in feed, technical/physical quality of feed production, nutritional suitability and/or effect on health and welfare. Projects that primarily focus on the production or harvesting of a biological raw material or feed raw material should include studies of its use in feed and nutritional suitability. The research area is open to issues in the natural sciences, social sciences and/or cross-cutting issues that include the humanities. Where relevant, the project should highlight possible dilemmas in using biological feed raw materials while maintaining biodiversity and safeguarding the climate.
- Research to close knowledge gaps that currently cause barriers in the food safety regulations for the use of a feed raw material and where it can be substantiated that new knowledge can remove the barriers. The application must describe in the relevance appendix both points a and b:
a) why a lack of knowledge is currently a barrier in the regulations
b) make it probable that new knowledge will be able to remove this barrier in the relatively short term.
The application must describe in the relevance appendix which of the two areas it primarily targets.
We encourage cross-sectoral projects.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ministry of Education and Research are allocating funding for this call. The allocation of projects must reflect the funds allocated by the respective ministries.
Relevance
Priority will be given to applications that meet at least one of the thematic areas set out in the call.
Portfolio assessments
The portfolio board takes into account the following factors when allocating funds:
- the marks awarded in the assessment of the applications
- a good thematic distribution of projects in the portfolio
In practice, this means that the portfolio board can allocate funds to projects of poorer quality, rather than projects of better quality, in order to achieve the goal of a good distribution of projects in the portfolio or to use up the available funds.
Contact
Other relevant calls for proposals on the same topic
Enabling technologies
Funding is available for projects that combine enabling technologies in a novel way that can lead to radically innovative technologies with solutions that can be applied and contribute to more sustainable social development. Up to 15 projects will be funded.
Delimitations
Your project must combine at least two different enabling technologies in an innovative way. By enabling technologies, we mean information and communication technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, microtechnology and advanced materials, and quantum technology. In the application, you must describe how the combination of technologies in the project is new, and why the combination is necessary to solve the challenge in the project.
The project must be carried out in accordance with the principles of responsible research and innovation. The peer reviewers will assess the quality of the project's plans for the approach. The guidance page on responsible research and innovation provides specific advice on how this approach can be incorporated into the application and adapted to the project's methods, activities and resources. The application must describe how the project will be implemented in order to contribute to responsible solutions in research and to challenges in society.
The project may well have a high risk of not fully succeeding with its radical goals, as long as the academic novelty is high and the technology to be developed has great potential. In the application, you must describe how you will manage various risk elements associated with the implementation of the project.
The projects that receive funding from us must be willing to participate in networks and learning arenas across the projects.
Applications that do not fall within these limitations may be rejected without peer review.
Relevance
In the relevance appendix, you must describe in more detail how the project is relevant to this topic based on the following points:
- The project combines technology from at least two of the enabling technologies mentioned in the thematic delimitations. This point is weighted heaviest.
Collaboration beyond one's own professional environment fosters innovation and provides fertile ground for seeing new opportunities. To encourage broader collaboration, the following will be considered:
- The project involves collaboration between several research organizations.
- The project involves international collaboration
The administration will make an assessment and give a relevance grade based on the relevance attachment and the project description.
Portfolio assessments
The Portfolio Board for Enabling Technologies makes the final decision on which applicants will be awarded funding. The applications are ranked according to the average mark for the five assessment criteria. The applications with the highest overall average mark will receive funding. Among the equally ranked applications, priority will be given to applications with the highest mark on the criterion 'Research quality – potential for advancing the research frontier'. Priority will then be given to applications with a female project manager over applications with a male project manager. If it is still not possible to distinguish between two or more applications, priority will be given to applications that will make a significant contribution to the green transition.
Contact
Funding is available for research projects that develop technology in nanotechnology, microtechnology and advanced materials. The research results must be able to be put to use, contribute to a more sustainable development of society and provide opportunities for commercialisation. Up to seven projects will be funded.
Delimitations
Projects related to battery technology fall outside the scope of this topic.
The project must be carried out in accordance with the principles of responsible research and innovation. The referees will assess the quality of the plans for the approach. The advisory website "Responsible Research and Innovation" provides advice on how this approach can be incorporated into an application and adapted to the methods, activities and resources in the project.
Relevance
When we award a mark for the application's relevance, we will also consider the extent to which the project
- develops technologies that fall under this year's call. This point is weighted heaviest.
Expertise in the technology areas will be strengthened if you make use of established research infrastructures in nanotechnology, microtechnology and advanced materials. Therefore, we will prioritise applications that show that:
- The project must make use of relevant national (cf. Norwegian roadmap for research infrastructure) and/or relevant international research infrastructure in key parts of the research. In the relevance appendix, you must describe which equipment will be used for which part of the planned research, how many person-months will be used for the work and costs for renting/depreciation.
The administration will make an assessment and give a relevance grade based on the appendix and the project description.
Portfolio assessments
The portfolio board will place the following emphasis on the award of projects:
- Average grade for the five assessment criteria.
- Among the equally ranked applications, priority will be given to applications with the highest mark on the criterion 'Research quality – potential for advancing the research frontier'. If it is still not possible to distinguish between two or more applications, priority will be given to applications that will make a significant contribution to the green transition.
Contact
Welfare and education
Funding is available for research that increases our ability to maintain an economically and socially sustainable welfare society.
The thematic framework of the call is based on the Government’s Long-term plan for research and higher education 2023-2032, economic and social sustainability objectives, and the thematic priority “Trust and community”. Please note that the proposal’s objectives must be within this call text’s thematic delimitations.
Click this link for a webinar with more information about these funds (the video is in Norwegian).
Delimitations
The projects are to develop knowledge on understanding and addressing the major societal challenges (and opportunities) facing the Norwegian welfare society in terms of economic and social sustainability. The goal is high-quality research that will enhance the knowledge base for policy and societal development in this area.
We are seeking projects that address knowledge needs related to economic and social security, societal participation and belonging, trust and legitimacy, and the provision of effective and efficient welfare services. We are also looking for insights into the cultural dimensions of these research areas.
The projects must offer new perspectives, pose new questions and generate new knowledge within this broad area, focusing on one or more of the three topics listed below.
- Legitimacy of, trust in, or support for the institutions of the welfare society, for example in relation to fundamental norms and values in the welfare state.
- Societal participation and belonging for individuals and groups: Inclusion and exclusion in working life and society, social divisions or forms of social and economic inequality.
- The efficiency, organisation, management or administration of welfare services, specifically welfare services and benefits related to economic and social security, or work inclusion.
This topic is open to proposals from all scientific disciplines. Research on legal, economic and other types of regulation and governance is relevant within all three topics, as are historical, normative, and cultural studies.
The research must relate to conditions in or with relevance to Norway. Research where Norwegian conditions are part of international comparative studies is also welcome.
Education and health are factors that can be important to several of the topics above. However, we will not prioritize projects that are primarily focused on education or health and care. These topics have separate call texts – cf. other topics under Welfare and education in this call, and the thematic area Health in the call for collaborative projects. We also draw attention to the topic of research for better inclusion of children and young adults in the call for collaborative projects.
Relevance
If the proposal is relevant to one or more of the three topics above, we will give positive consideration if the following is included
- collaboration with researchers and research communities abroad. You must describe the partners' role and contribution to the project.
- collaboration with other researchers and research communities in Norway. You must describe the partners' role and contribution to the project.
- interdisciplinary collaboration (between disciplines at level 1 of the Norwegian Classification of Scientific Disciplines (hkdir.no) (the document is in Norwegian).
When we decide on a mark for the proposal’s relevance, we assess how well the above points are met.
Portfolio assessments
- Provided that the quality and relevance of the proposals are high enough, the portfolio board will strive to increase cultural, normative and historical perspectives in welfare research.
- Provided that the quality and relevance are high enough, the portfolio board will strive to allocate funding to projects that collectively cover the thematic breadth of the call.
- The portfolio board will strive to fund projects that add new perspectives and topics to the Research Council's welfare portfolio.
Contact
Relevant plans
Other relevant calls for proposals on the same topic
Funding is available for research for and about the education sector. We fund projects relating to teaching and learning, the content and forms of assessment of education, professional education, educational technology, the governance and organisation of the education sector, and the role of the education system for the individual and in society and working life. The call is open for projects on all levels of the education system, from kindergarten to higher education and skills in working life. Projects that look at transitions between levels are also relevant. Part of the funds have been set aside for research on and for higher vocational education and/or vocational training.
The aim is to generate high-quality research that is of particular interest to actors and stakeholders related to policy-making, administration and fields of practice in education, learning and competence development. The projects are intended to contribute to knowledge-based development. We encourage projects that are interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary when this serves the purpose.
Delimitations
The thematic priorities for research for and about education are divided into four broadly defined thematic areas. The thematic areas are interrelated and are not mutually exclusive, so that issues may intervene across these. Projects must be relevant to at least one of the following four areas:
- Teaching and learning. Learning and education is a continuous and lifelong process that takes place in many social arenas. We need knowledge about how different children, young people and adults learn and develop in different contexts in the face of the future and new challenges.
- Competence development. In order to have a stronger working life orientation and a continuously updated knowledge base, the aim is that the training programmes strive to link research, education and professional practice. There is a need for research for evidence-based practice and the development of tools, systems or models that can promote quality in practice throughout the education system, from kindergarten to higher education and working life.
- Governance, management and organisation. Good management and well-functioning organisation are crucial for high quality in education and training programmes. In order to develop a future-oriented and flexible education system, we need more knowledge about how governance and management at and between different levels contribute to the development work.
- The importance of education for the individual and for society and working life. Access to and facilitation of participation for all in the education system and in working life is of great importance for the individual's opportunities for a good life. There is a need for gender and/or diversity perspectives in research, including indigenous and minority perspectives.
Relevance
If the applications are relevant to the points above, priority will be given to projects that have:
- active collaboration with at least one other national research institution
- active collaboration with at least one research organisation abroad
Portfolio Assessments
- At least two projects for research on higher vocational education and/or vocational education and training.
- The thematic area Governance, management and organisation may be prioritised in the allocation process.
- The portfolio board wants a balanced project portfolio with regard to the gender of the project managers.
Relevant plans
Other relevant calls for proposals on the same topic
Practical information
Requirements for this funding scheme
You can change and submit the application several times until the application deadline. We recommend that you submit your application as soon as you have completed the application form and uploaded the required attachments. When the application deadline expires, it is the version of the application that was submitted most recently that we process.
The application must meet the following requirements:
- The application and all attachments must be written in English, with the exception of the description of relevance to the topic, which you can write in Norwegian or English.
- All attachments must be in PDF format.
- Mandatory attachments must be included.
- Requirements relating to the Project Manager and the Project Owner must be met.
- The project must start between 1 October 2025 and 1 April 2026 with a duration of up to 6 years.
- You must clearly demonstrate that the project is within the priorities described in the topic from which you are applying for funding.
Mandatory attachments
- Project description of a maximum of 11 pages.
- CV for project manager of maximum four pages.
- Description of relevance of a maximum of one page. When describing the application's relevance, we recommend that you read the relevant topic text carefully. Uploaded as attachment type "Other".
Applications that do not meet the requirements above will be rejected. You must use standard templates for all required attachments. The templates can be found at the bottom of the call.
Optional attachments
- CVs for the most important project participants, each of a maximum of four pages. It is mandatory to use the CV template at the bottom of the call.
- You will assess which project participants are the most important, and in which cases it will be of importance for the application processing to assess the project participants' qualifications.
- If you wish, you can attach a brief description of competence or suggestions for up to three peers you believe would be suitable to assess your application. We are not obliged to use the proposals, but can do so if necessary.
All attachments to the application must be submitted with the application. We do not accept attachments submitted after the application deadline unless we have requested additional documentation.
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
Applications will be assessed in light of the purpose of the call and the following criteria:
Excellence – potential for advancing the state-of-the-art
• Scientific creativity and originality.
• Novelty and boldness of hypotheses or research questions.
• Potential for development of new knowledge beyond the current state-of-the-art, including significant theoretical, methodological, experimental or empirical advancement.
Excellence – quality of R&D activities
• Quality of the research questions, hypotheses and project objectives, and the extent to which they are clearly and adequately specified.
• Credibility and appropriateness of the theoretical approach, research design and use of scientific methods. Appropriate consideration of interdisciplinary approaches.
• The extent to which appropriate consideration has been given to ethical issues and gender dimension in research content, and the use of stakeholder/user knowledge if appropriate.
Impact
• Potential for academic impact:
The extent to which the planned outputs of the project address important present and/or future scientific challenges.
The extent to which the planned outputs are openly accessible to ensure reusability of the research outputs and enhance reproducibility.
• Potential for societal impact (if addressed by the applicant):
The extent to which the planned outputs of the project address UN Sustainable Development Goals or other important present and/or future societal challenges.
• The extent to which the potential impacts are clearly formulated and plausible.
Communication and exploitation
• The extent to which the appropriate open science practices are implemented as an integral part of the proposed project to ensure open sharing and wide distribution of research outputs.
• Quality and scope of communication and engagement activities with different target audiences, including relevant stakeholders/users.
Implementation
• The extent to which the project manager has relevant expertise and experience, and demonstrated ability to perform high-quality research (as appropriate to the career stage).
• The degree of complementarity of the participants and the extent to which the project group has the necessary expertise needed to undertake the research effectively.
The quality of the project organisation and management
• Effectiveness of the project organisation, including the extent to which resources assigned to work packages are aligned with project objectives and deliverables.
• Appropriateness of the allocation of tasks, ensuring that all participants have a valid role and adequate resources in the project to fulfil that role.
• Appropriateness of the proposed management structures and governance.
Relevance to the chosen topic
• The extent to which the project satisfies any other priorities in the text for the chosen topic.
Administrative procedures
We will assess your application as it has been submitted. It is not relevant how an identical or similar application has previously been assessed by us.
Here you can read more about the processing procedure for Researcher Projects.
Once the application deadline has passed, we will first check that all formal requirements are met. Applications that do not satisfy the formal requirements will be rejected.
The Research Council of Norway may reject applications where the Project Owner or any partner has significantly breached its obligations in other projects funded by the Research Council within the two years prior to the submission of the application.
The application may be rejected if the project manager has been convicted of misconduct by the Joint Integrity Committee or the Investigation Committee in the last two years prior to the submitted application.
Applications that are outside the thematic limitations set out in the call will not be eligible for funding. This also applies to applications that include partners that do not meet the requirements set out in the call. Decisions on this are made by the individual portfolio boards.
Where the requirements are met, we will make the application, with all mandatory attachments, available in an online portal for peers who individually assess the criteria Research quality – potential for advancing the research frontier, Research quality – quality in R&D activities, Impact and Implementation. The referees will then meet in thematic panels where they will reach a consensus on the assessment of the application for each of the four criteria.
The referee panel assesses the applications for open research practice as part of the criterion Impact.
You can read more about the assessment of open science in applications here.
If, following the panel’s assessment, the application exceeds a threshold value, the Research Council's case officers will assess the application on the basis of the criterion "Relevance to the chosen topic". The threshold value will be set based on how many applications each topic receives, the marks after the referee panel has assessed them and how much funding is available.
The assessment of the five above-mentioned criteria is summarised in an overall mark for the application. The Research Council's administration then creates ranking lists based on these marks.
Finally, it is the portfolio boards that decide whether the applications will be awarded funding or not. Their decisions are based on the ranking lists and a overall portfolio assessment. Under the individual topics in this call, the considerations taken by the portfolio boards will be stated.
The Research Council will fund projects that will contribute on the road to a low-emission society in line with the Paris Agreement. In cases where two projects have received otherwise equal assessments, the portfolio board will prioritise the project that is most sustainable in terms of effects on climate, the environment and society.
On this website, you will find more information about portfolio assessment.
The portfolio boards will generally have decision meetings after the summer of 2025. We will publish the results of the application processing after these meetings.
Download templates
About the results of the application assessment process
- Total amount sought
- Amount awarded
- Total number of applications
- Number of approved applications
Project no. | Organization | Project title | Subject | Sought | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 358248 | Universitetet i Oslo - Instittutt for Geofag | Galactic Recipe for Exo-Planets | Forskningssystemet | NOK 12 000 000 | 18.09.2025 |
| 358540 | Universitetet i Oslo - Institutt for teoretisk astrofysikk | Origin and Evolution of Solar Eruptions (OESE) | Forskningssystemet | NOK 11 984 000 | 18.09.2025 |
| 358004 | UNIS - Avdeling for arktisk geofysikk | GHOST Aurora: Solar Wind Drivers, Auroral Activity & Satellite Risks | Forskningssystemet | NOK 9 789 000 | 18.09.2025 |
Messages at time of print 18 September 2025, 13:24 CEST
Important message
For the calls for proposals with the application deadline 24 September at 13:00 CEST, we manage our hotline +47 22 03 72 00 Monday 22 September and Tuesday 23 September at CEST 08:00–15:45 and Wednesday 24 September at CEST 08:00-13:00.