The Research Council is one of the driving forces behind an international call for research-based tools and measures that can help the world achieve the SDGs.
Research and innovation are crucial for the success of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But new knowledge is not sufficient, it must also be utilized to develop concrete products, services, processes, and political decisions that make the world greener, smarter and more sustainable.
Therefore, The Research Council of Norway and ten other research councils in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America have announced a call for proposals of approximately 8 million Euro under the Global Research Council (GRC). The money will go towards innovative approaches to developing, adapting, designing or improving tools that can help the world achieve the SDGs. The projects must be based on research that is currently underway or was completed in 2017 or later.
"The Research Council of Norway aims to promote the use of research to solve major societal challenges. Therefore, we are proud to participate in this important international collaboration to put research-based knowledge into use and help the world achieve the SDGs," says Kristin Danielsen, Executive Director at the Research Council of Norway.
Broad mobilization needed
The Research Council is contributing approximately 2 million Euro to the call. These funds will be awarded to projects with Norwegian research organizations as project owners. The projects must be organised as consortia with partners from at least three and a maximum of six different countries taking part in the call. The call is separated into two stages: The first step is to submit a project outline (concept note), with a deadline of 25 August. Eligible consortia will be invited to submit a full application by 20 January 2023.
The South African National Research Foundation (NRF) is the secretariat for the call and will be responsible for the application processing. On 28 June, the Dutch Research Council (NWO) will arrange a webinar and network meeting for interested parties.
"This call for proposals is looking for different types of innovative approaches on how we can use research-based knowledge to achieve the SDGs. Now we need a broad mobilization to secure high-quality applicants," says Kristin Danielsen.