Research-based Innovation for Quality, Efficiency and Renewal in the Norwegian Public Sector

This call is in a new application system. You can find more information about the new system here.

All partners must have defined tasks and a clear role in the implementation of the project.

For all participating organizations, the following applies:

• One and the same actor cannot have two different roles in the project. This means that, for example, a subcontractor cannot simultaneously be the Project Owner or a partner in the project.
• Some research organisations, such as health trusts and some institutes, have tasks of a more administrative or commercial nature in addition to their research activities that enable them to be included in a project as a public actor.

Public agencies or entities can be considered different partners in the project even if the legal owner is the same. We then assume that they contribute with different user perspectives. This must be stated in the project description.

You can apply for funding to cover the actual costs necessary to carry out the project. The Project Owner must obtain information on costs from the collaborating partners in the project. These costs must be entered in the budget 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 postdoctoral research fellowship positions and doctoral research fellowship positions. For researcher positions in the institute sector, you must use the reported hourly rates.
• Other project expenses, which are costs for other activities that are necessary to carry out the project's R&D activities. Any purchases from subcontractors must be entered here. All costs you enter as other project costs 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 must not be used.

The Project Owner's organisation and partners that are public actors are not covered by the state aid rules. Under this call, we can cover up to 75 % of the costs of these actors. Public enterprises that carry out activities of an industrial or commercial nature in a market are considered enterprises, and are thus subject to the state aid rules. This applies even if the enterprise is 100 % publicly owned. For more on this, see below under Industry partners.

You can find more information about how to set up a budget on our website Set up work packages and budget in the new application system (My page).

Foreign organisations similar to Norwegian research organisations are eligible for funding. See Budgeting costs for collaborating partners abroad.

Expenses of Norwegian collaborating partners that are not research organisations

Industry partners

Companies that are to be collaborating partners must be registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises and have economic activity in Norway. By economic activity, we mean offering goods or services in a market. This means that the collaborating partner must either be a private company, or a public enterprise that conducts activities of an industrial or commercial nature.

Collaborating partners whose project expenses are covered by our support will be recipients of state aid. The state aid rules impose restrictions on such funding. These limitations depend on the size of the enterprise and the type of research being conducted. Under this call, our support for companies can cover the costs of industrial research and experimental development.

You can apply for funding to cover up to 70 per cent of the costs of each of the companies in the project, cf. the table below.

If the application is recommended for funding, we will ask for more information to ensure that our funding is in line with the regulations.

The voluntary sector

Actors from the voluntary sector that do not fall under the definition of economic activity are not covered by the state aid rules and can have up to 100% of their costs covered.

Foreign collaborating partners

We cannot cover the expenses of foreign collaborating partners that are not research organisations. Such costs must therefore be kept out of the budget tables. However, you must mention the activities they will carry out and the costs associated with them in the application.

The application must be created and submitted via the Research Council's application system.

Please note that you can only submit the application once. If you submit the application and subsequently discover that it needs to be changed, you must submit a new application and notify us that the original application is to be withdrawn. When you submit the new application, you must fill in the entire application form again.

You must write the application in Norwegian or English.

You should not link to websites in the application. Any links you provide will not be included in the assessment of the application.

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 found guilty of misconduct by the Joint Integrity Committee or the Investigation Committee in the last two years prior to the submitted application.

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

The panel will assess the application in light of the purpose of the call and the following criteria:

Excellence

• The extent to which the objectives are clear and relevant to the purpose of the call.
• The extent to which the project is ambitious and will challenge the state of the art.
• The extent to which interdisciplinary approaches are adequately addressed.
• The extent to which the gender perspectives in research and/or innovation are adequately addressed.
• The extent to which ethical issues are adequately addressed.
• The extent to which the theoretical approach, research design and choice of methods are credible and suitable.

Impact

• The extent to which the expected impact of the project underpins the purpose of the call.
• The extent to which the results from the project are likely to make significant and important contributions.
• The extent to which the planned results will contribute to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
• The extent to which the project is likely to contribute to societal benefits.
• The extent to which the plans to achieve the described impact are credible.
• The extent to which the plans and measures for dissemination and exploitation of the results are suitable for maximising the expected impact.
• Where relevant, the extent to which the plans for cooperation with stakeholders, including citizens, end users and society in general, are suitable.

Implementation

• The extent to which the project participants’ expertise is complementary and that they as a whole have the necessary expertise.
• The extent to which the project manager has relevant expertise and experience.
• The extent to which the plan for the implementation of the work is clear and realistic with defined milestones, work packages and deliverables.
• The extent to which the allocation of tasks ensures that all project participants have a clearly defined role and adequate resources to fulfil that role.
• The extent to which the proposed management structures and governance are appropriate.
• The extent to which the project is strategically supported by the Project Owner and the collaborating partners.
• The extent to which the organisation and collaboration constellations will underpin the objectives of the application and the purpose of the call.
• The extent to which relevant risk assessments have been made.

Application Reception

Applications that do not satisfy the formal requirements will be rejected. Applications that fall outside the limitations set out in the call will be rejected without further consideration.

Panel assessment

Applications that meet the formal requirements and fall within the scope of the call will be submitted to a panel of at least three panel members for assessment. The panel members make their individual assessments of the application and award a mark per criterion.

The grading scale for the criteria goes from 0 to 5, where 5 is the best (see New grading scale and changes in the relevance assessment). After the panel members have written their individual assessments, we calculate an average of the marks for each application. If the average mark after the individual assessments is 3.0 or higher, the application will be considered in a panel meeting. Applications with an average score of between 2.5 and 3.0 will also be considered by a panel meeting, if at least one panel member has assessed the application as 4.2 or better.

Applications with an average mark lower than the above-mentioned threshold values following the individual assessments will be rejected without consideration by a joint panel meeting.

For applications that have been part of a joint panel meeting, the following will apply:

• Applications with a mark ≥ 4.0, and no partial mark ≤ 3, will be awarded on an ongoing basis within the framework of the announced amount.
• Applications with a mark < 3.0 will be rejected on an ongoing basis.
• If the available budget at the last award point is higher than the amount applied for for applications with a mark ≥ 4.0, and no partial mark ≤ 3, applications with a mark ≥ 3.0, and no partial mark ≤ 2, will be awarded.

Please note that there may be different processing times for different applications, and that the capacity of our referees and case officer may mean that the applications are not processed in the order in which they are received.

Assessment of whether the application satisfies thematic and/or structural guidelines set out in the call

The administration will assess the extent to which the application satisfies the requirements and the thematic and/or structural guidelines described in the call.

Portfolio assessment and decisions by the portfolio board

Management makes a recommendation to the portfolio board based on the rules for awards and rejections described in the text of the announcement. The portfolio board makes decisions on awards or rejections based on management's recommendations.

Waiting list

The portfolio board may place applications with marks above the threshold value, but below the threshold for direct award, on a waiting list. If the available budget at the last allocation point is higher than the amount applied for applications with direct allocation, the portfolio board will allocate the remaining budget to applications on the waiting list. All other applications will be rejected.

Feedback on the application

You will receive feedback in the form of a decision letter. The letter includes written assessments, grades, and a justification for the decision.

Closing of calls for proposals with ongoing application processing

We process the applications on an ongoing basis and make decisions on allocations and rejections regularly, until there are no longer funds left. We will close the call for proposals when we are certain that the remaining available funding will be allocated to the applications we have received at the relevant time. Applicants who have created an application will be notified one week before the call closes.

The call for proposals may also be closed for submission of applications in connection with the transition to a new budget year, even if not all of the funds in the call have been allocated. We will publish notice of this in the call at least two weeks before we close the call. We will notify applicants who have created an application to this effect at the same time as we close the call

See also: How we process applications.