Executive leadership team

Mari Sundli Tveit

Chief Executive

Mari Sundli Tveit is the chief executive of the Research Council of Norway and is president of Science Europe. She has previously been rector of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and Deputy Director-General of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise. Sundli Tveit is a professor of landscape architecture. She serves on the board of the Global Research Council, and has also been president of Universities Norway, a board member of the European University Association and of Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg.

Benedicte Løseth

Executive Director - Research System and Internationalisation

Løseth has a major degree in Comparative Politics from the University of Bergen and a master’s degree in management and innovation from NHH (Norwegian School of Economics). She has previously served as director of the Research and Innovation Department at the University of Bergen, and as experiences from various sectors both academia, public sector and political level at Municipality of Bergen as section chief, and the Institute sector as leader for higher education and research at the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD).

Academic responsibilities of the division

In this division, we manage the Research Council's responsibility for developing a well-functioning research system. We are responsible for policy development aimed at the institute and university sectors, sectoral interaction, and follow-up of the two major R&D sectors.

The division is responsible for key sectoral policy issues such as recruitment, framework conditions and doctoral education, gender equality and diversity, open research, and international research cooperation.

The responsibility for dialogue with the sectors (the management in higher education institutions and institutes), Universities Norway (UHR) and FFA is also part of the division's responsibilities.

The division is also responsible for academic development and development of non-thematic quality-enhancing and structuring tools. Kilden genderresearch.no, with a mandate, has also been placed in this division.

Anne Kjersti Fahlvik

Executive Director - Innovation in Industry and the Public Sector

Fahlvik has broad R&D and innovation system experience through the research she has conducted in Norway and Sweden, her researcher and management roles in the pharmaceutical industry in Norway and the USA, as well as experience from an investor-financed start-up company in the field of medtech. She has been with the Research Council since 2006, has a PhD in pharmacology from the University of Oslo and is an active lecturer, evaluator, mentor and jury member in Norwegian and foreign innovation and business arenas.

Academic responsibilities of the division

In this division, we are responsible for promoting knowledge-based innovation with the use of R&D in industry and the public sector throughout the country. We are responsible for general tools for increased value creation and innovation capacity in the private and public sectors and the interaction between these.

In addition to the general tools for innovation in the business sector and the public sector, the division is responsible for innovation and early phase commercialisation from public research institutions, regional schemes, and cooperation in the industry-oriented policy instruments.

The division is also responsible for thematic and challenge-oriented initiatives within health and care, transport, and the maritime industry. In addition, we are responsible for artificial intelligence and enabling and industrial technologies.

Eva Irene Falleth

Executive Director - Sustainable Development

Falleth graduated from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) as a land consolidation candidate, specializing in spatial planning, and holds a doctorate from NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology). She has extensive experience in the academic sector and has worked at NMBU as a professor of urban and regional planning, department head, and dean of the Faculty of Landscape and Society. She has also held several board positions.

Academic responsibilities of the division

In this division, we are responsible for thematic and challenge-oriented initiatives on green transition and other social development. Within green transition, we find various initiatives that aim to develop technology, solutions, and knowledge to adapt Norway to the green transition. This restructuring entails the restructuring and development of Norwegian trade and industry in areas where Norway can compete with global markets. This must also happen in line with the restructuring of society with a focus on solving both the climate and nature crisis.

The division is also responsible for initiatives aimed at developing Norway as a democracy and welfare state. This development depends on systematic research and knowledge-building that contributes to the further development of society in a world characterised by international relations in change, polarisation, and pressure on the welfare state, also as a consequence of the transition to the low-emission society.

Jesper Simonsen

Executive Director – Investments, Strategic Advice and Dialogue

Simonsen is an agricultural economist, and has previously held the positions of State Secretary for the Department of Environment for the Norwegian Liberal Party, Research Director at the Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute (now part of the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research – NIBIO) and researcher at the Norwegian College of Agriculture (now the Norwegian University of Life Sciences – NMBU). He joined the Research Council in 2000, where he has also previously been responsible for health research, global development and social science environmental research.

Academic responsibilities of the division

In this division, we have combined activities related to strategy and policy development, communication, R&D economics, and the investment process. The analysis and knowledge-base for Norwegian research are also part of this division's responsibilities. This entails a responsibility for strategic development and advice in line with the governance dialogue of the authorities and overall political governance, in addition to the priorities of the Research Council's board.

The division will also be part of developing the knowledge-base for consulting, the development of tools, portfolio management and reporting. Responsibility for R&D budget proposals and allocations, financial management of R&D and accounting/payroll has also been placed here. Budgeting, follow-up, and reporting on the operating budget are located in the area of Organisation development and operation.

The division is responsible for strategic communication, mobilisation, identity, and content. We are also responsible for ensuring that our grant management is in accordance with laws and regulations: We are responsible for facilitating the best possible implementation of investment processes that take place in and/or across the other divisions in the organisation, in addition to continuous development and improvement of these processes.

Responsibility for following up the Research Council's data management strategy has also been placed in this division.

Tove Karin Stølen

Executive Director (COO) – Organisational Development and Operations

Stølen has been with the Research Council since 2013, and is responsible for contributing to the overall coordination, management and development of the Research Council as an organisation. She has previously held positions as Director of the Norwegian Agriculture Agency, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, and Department Director at the National Library of Norway, where she also formed part of the executive management team.

Academic responsibilities of the division

The division brings together all activities related to the development and operation of the Research Council as an organisation. The division is responsible for digitalisation, IT operations and IT development. We are also responsible for information security, emergency preparedness and archives/documentation. In addition, we work with

• house management, switchboard, and the meeting centre
• the operating strategy and budget, procurement, resource planning, competence, and internal reporting
• personnel and salary policy, recruitment and cooperation with the Collaboration Committee with the unions and the Working Environment Committee
• the operation and development of our quality system (internal control), risk management and GDPR
• assistance within legal issues, procurement, security and more

Christian Haug-Moberg

Press Manager

Christian Haug-Moberg is responsible for media and dialogue and strategic communication advice at the Research Council. He has worked for the Research Council since 2016, and has, among other things, been department director with responsibility for media and social dialogue and served in the role as Executive director for communication and user travel. Haug-Moberg is also deputy chairman of the board of Forskning.no. Previously, he has leaded the analysis department at the Armed Forces Media Center.