Collaborative Project to Meet Societal and Industry-related Challenges

Funding is available for projects that contribute to building an interdisciplinary knowledge base for our areas and area resources. In the projects, you must look at the consequences of, and/or solutions for, area management and use of area-based resources in Norway. You should look at knowledge across sectors, such as renewable energy, agriculture and forestry.

You can apply for NOK 4–14 million in funding per project. We envisage awarding funding to five to seven projects.

Why are we announcing this funding?

“Areas under pressure” is linked to community development and natural resource needs, bit-by-bit changes in area use and conflicts of objectives. The impacts on biodiversity are documented in numerous reports, most recently in the OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Norway 2022. These funds will contribute to building a better knowledge base for how we use and manage Norway’s land-based areas and area-based resources. Better knowledge of this is vital if we are to achieve the green transition and ensure a social, economic and environmentally sustainable development of our areas.

Projects must fall within at least one of the following areas:

• Total impact: Knowledge of impacts of and/or solutions to prevent area change from happening bit by bit, accumulated effects of area development on greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, and interaction effects between climate measures, area and nature management, i.e. biodiversity, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and climate adaptation
• Risk assessment: Knowledge and solutions related to the societal risk arising from the link between area use and change and climate change, changes in ecosystems, encroachments on nature and loss of nature
• Value assessment: Knowledge base for impacts and/or solutions related to the valuation of non-market, instrumental, relational, and intrinsic natural assets and qualities in area issues/area management

When we award a mark for the grant application’s relevance, we will also consider whether the project

• meets all requirements and guidelines set out in the call
• involves mainly land-based research questions. For renewable energy, thematic issues relating to offshore wind could also be included
• emphasises pressure on areas / area issues / area management
• emphasises climate and nature challenges
• includes cross-sector research questions focusing on co-existence and interdisciplinary collaboration

Explanation of terms

• By interdisciplinary, we mean projects focusing on issues that cross discipline boundaries, such as natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, technology, etc.
• By cross-sector, we mean that the projects’ research question must extend beyond one sector, such as e.g. agriculture, renewable energy, climate and the environment.
• By societal risk, we mean incidents and /or situations that may occur and that have consequences for something of value to society.
• By interaction effects, we mean the ability to see greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, climate adaptation and energy transition in context.

Funding will go to projects that fall under the area “Energy transitions and impacts on society, climate and the environment”, as defined in section 4.1 a) of the Portfolio plan for Energy, transport and low emissions (see “Relevant plans” below).

You can apply for NOK 4–12 million in funding from the Research Council.

The call is not open for projects that seek to develop new technology or that, in the long term, seek to enhance the competitiveness and profitability of industry actors. These projects should instead apply under the call Knowledge-building Projects for Industry. Choose the topic Up to NOK 160 million for research on environmentally friendly energy (link opens in new window).

Please contact us if you need guidance on which call for proposals you should apply to.

Funding of up to NOK 64 million is also available for research on areas under pressure through the call Collaborative Project to meet Societal and Industry-related Challenges (link opens in new window).

When we award a mark for the grant application’s relevance, we will place emphasis on whether the project

• will contribute significantly to the challenges described in section 4.1 a) as referred to above
• is particularly relevant to Norway’s energy challenges
• will focus on issues where the public sector and public administration are the most important users of the research results
• is of such a nature that it is not in the interest of business and industry to co-fund the research organisations’ costs
• involves a doctoral degree programme
• includes the broad involvement of relevant actors as project partners

If our requirement for partners may impede the project’s independence and credibility

In the section “Who can participate in the project?”, it is stated that the project must be carried out by one or more research organisations in effective collaboration with relevant actors from one or more sectors of society. However, in some cases, the issues addressed in the project are of such a nature that the participation of certain relevant actors could create doubt about the project’s independence and credibility.

In such cases, failure to involve key actors or the actors or institutions that are the subject of the research will not have a negative impact on the assessment of the project. Please note that you must still fulfil the “participation requirement” through participation by other partners. You must thoroughly explain their participation, and why other key actors are not involved, in the grant application.

Portfolio assessment and prioritisation

The marks awarded for the four main criteria will determine which projects will succeed in the competition.

If any applications are otherwise considered to be of equal quality, we will in 2023 give priority to projects that: 

• generate knowledge about power markets, regulations and other frameworks for the actors’ actions in the market and about the consequences for security of supply and distributional effects
• address controversial topics involving conflicting societal interests

Funding is available for research contributing to increased transport safety and security.

You can apply for NOK 4–10 million in funding per project.

The development of a more digital and integrated transport system, radical changes in the interaction between means of transport and people, as well as the transition to more cycling, walking and new forms of mobility, present new safety and security challenges. New threats in Europe and a more extreme climate are also contributing to a rapidly changing risk landscape. Transport safety and security is a central objective of the National Transport Plan and of our Energy, transport and low emissions portfolio.

Projects awarded funding should generate knowledge about the causes of accidents and incidents, but must also lead to measures, instruments and solutions that provide a safer and more secure transport system.

We welcome projects dealing with issues common to the sector or projects dealing with the transport system. We also welcome applications within the individual modes of transport (road, rail, sea and air), as well as projects dealing with physical or digital infrastructure. We are looking for projects in all disciplines and technologies that contribute to the transport policy objective of a safe and secure transport system. In particular, we welcome projects that are multidisciplinary and/or cross-sectoral. Projects dealing with offshore operations, fisheries or general technology development related to the maritime sector will not be awarded funding.

Where applicable, we ask that you describe the consequences for encroachments on nature areas and biodiversity in your application.

When we award a mark for the application’s relevance, we will place emphasis on whether the project

• will contribute to increased transport safety/security. How the project will contribute to this must be clearly stated and substantiated in the application
• involves a doctoral degree programme, i.e. doctoral research fellow(s) funded by the project
• involves active collaboration with at least one international research organisation. The application must specify the concrete plans for the collaboration, the partner’s role in the project, and how the partner’s contributions will be funded.

Funding is available for projects that involve collaboration between industry and research groups that contribute to accelerating the green transition and strengthening value creation and exports in the Norwegian maritime industry. Part of the funding is earmarked for the Maritim Zero 2050 initiative.

You can apply for NOK 4–12 million in funding per project. 

Partners that are Norwegian businesses can have up to 50 per cent of their costs covered. Other partners that are not research organisations must cover their costs themselves.

Projects must fall under at least one of the following three areas:

• Digital transformation of the maritime industry
• Green shipping
• Safety and security at sea 

The areas are described in more detail in the Portfolio plan for Oceans.  

In Green shipping, part of the funding is earmarked for projects targeting Maritime Zero 2050. This applies to projects that will contribute to new, better, and feasible zero emissions solutions for ships sailing longer distances. The projects should generate new knowledge and develop new technology and solutions suitable for vessel segments and sailing distances that do not already have available zero emission solutions. The solutions must be scalable for industry and form the basis for sustainable growth in exports. For the Maritime Zero 2050 initiative, we have allocated roughly NOK 40 million to the current call and the call “Innovation Project for the Industrial Sector 2023”.

Grant applications under Green shipping should describe and quantify potential emissions and/or cost reductions resulting from implementing project results. 

Priority will be given to applications that

• involve active cooperation with Norwegian maritime companies. These should meet the requirement that at least two partners that are not research organisations contribute at least 10 per cent of the project costs
• focus on issues of importance to large parts of the industry and that require many companies and research groups to work together
• involve a doctoral degree programme, i.e. doctoral research fellows funded by the project

Funding is available for research and innovation that can contribute to knowledge-based health promoting and preventive measures, treatment, rehabilitation and services in the municipalities. The research should be practice-based and generate good relevant knowledge about how measures can be implemented and what prerequisites must be in place for the measures to have the desired effects.

The project must be based on municipal knowledge needs and services, and at least one partner must be from the municipal sector. The project results should contribute to strengthening the municipalities’ public health work and the quality of treatment and services, and should be transferrable to the whole municipal sector. 

You can apply for NOK 8–16 million in funding per project. We envisage awarding funding to 10–16 projects.

Research is needed on measures that help solve major public health challenges in the municipalities to ensure good health and quality of life for residents throughout their lives. We also welcome different types of clinical studies in the municipal health and care services and in the county municipal dental care services. In addition, we need research into the practice, organisation and management of municipal health, care and welfare services. In the projects, you should facilitate good collaboration between service levels and sectors in order to better exploit the potential for research and innovation in the municipal health, care and welfare services.

We will prioritise research that contributes to

• addressing the major public health challenges in municipalities, such as mental health, ageing and social inequality in health and welfare
• the prevention and treatment of illnesses with a high burden of disease, which are followed up by general practitioners and the other municipal services
• ensuring that the municipalities plan and implement the necessary measures to address the challenges of demographic development
• interaction both within the municipal sector and between the municipal sector and other sectors, such as public health and welfare actors, industry, and the voluntary sector

This does not preclude otherwise good applications that address other challenges in the municipalities from receiving funding.

Why are we announcing this funding?

Demographic changes in the Norwegian population pose major challenges to the sustainability of the health, care and welfare sector. In order to achieve the goal of a sustainable health, care and welfare sector, better use should be made of the municipal service areas’ potential as a research and innovation arena. This requires new thinking, and innovative solutions must be developed to deliver good municipal services when demographics change. Municipalities must therefore formulate knowledge needs and request research in close collaboration with R&D&I stakeholders.

You must involve end users in the research

In addition to the partners (e.g. a municipality, other public sector body, industry partner, or non-profit organisation), the project must also involve the end users of the research. In the grant application, you must describe how partners and representatives of the end users (e.g. employees and employers, residents, next of kin, patients or non-profit organisations) are involved in the planning and implementation of the project, and in utilisation of the results.

Projects that are eligible for funding must be linked to municipal areas of responsibility and fall under at least one of the following three areas:

• health-promoting and preventive public health measures
• diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation of illnesses
• quality, competence and efficiency in the health, care and welfare services

The areas are described in more detail in the Portfolio plan for Health, and the available funding will be distributed between these three areas.

If the application is relevant to the points above, we will also consider whether the project

• meets all requirements and guidelines set for the application type
• includes Nordic and/or other international research collaboration
• makes use of existing health data and/or personal data
• is interdisciplinary and includes the humanities and/or social sciences
• includes societal and health economics perspectives
• uses relevant infrastructures such as The Norwegian Primary Care Research Network where relevant 

We will not award funding to projects that

• are epidemiological studies mapping the extent of and causal factors behind illnesses, but that do not include a preventive intervention
• have a major pre-clinical component, such as studies that will not evaluate results in a clinical setting

Funding is available for projects within the topic of the transforming of food systems, with relevance to the whole chain from the field to the table and back to the field.

You can apply for NOK 4–12 million in funding per project.

Why are we announcing this funding?

The transforming of food systems requires research and innovation resulting in new solutions that challenge existing parts of the system. What does a sustainable food system look like? We do not have the answer, other than that it is a question of a food system that is more sustainable with respect to climate and environment, as well as economically and socially. And that it should deliver sufficient quantities of safe and healthy food. Overviews of international trends can provide inspiration for relevant topics and project development:

• new approaches to primary production and distribution
• smart farming
• innovative production systems
• new business models for value creation
• an engaged and healthy consumer
• new tools for sustainable food systems such as logistics systems, smart tracking, enabling technologies, packaging, circularity, social entrepreneurship, policy and governance, regulatory frameworks and agreements, and more.

The projects we will fund under this topic must meet the following criteria:

• The project must emphasise the land-based part of the Norwegian food system.
• The project must have a high level of novelty and importance: We are looking for projects with a high level of novelty that are important for restructuring the Norwegian food system. If you are unsure whether your topic is relevant to the call, please contact those responsible for the call in the Research Council.
• You must incorporate and plan responsible research and innovation in the project: There is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the effects of technology development and innovation. In addition to solving societal challenges, using new technology can also play a part in creating or reinforcing them. In the application, you must describe how the project participants will discuss and handle intentional and unintentional applications and the impact of the solutions you are developing. You must facilitate actual co-production by the actors in the project working together to develop good solutions. We encourage interdisciplinary approaches.

Priority will be given to applications that

• involve active collaboration with at least one other Norwegian research institution
• have concrete plans for international collaboration
• involve a doctoral degree programme, i.e. doctoral research fellows funded by the project
• are interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary

Portfolio assessment and prioritisation

We want a broad thematic scope in the portfolio of projects that are being invested in, also seen in relation to projects that have already been funded under this topic. If you are unsure whether your topic is relevant to the call and/or overlaps with ongoing projects, please contact us (see Contacts below).

This topic has been excluded from this call and you cannot apply for these funds.

Funding is available for projects that promote increased value creation, profitability and sustainability throughout the agricultural value chain from primary production via processing and all the way to the end user. Sustainable food production – in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals – encompasses economic, social, environmental and climate issues. We are looking for projects that include life cycle and sustainability analyses and method development where relevant.

You can apply for NOK 4–15 million in funding per project.

The research must contribute to achieving the applicable agricultural policy objectives, and the applications should address one or more of the four overriding agricultural policy goals, cf. the white paper Report No 11 to the Storting (2016–2017).  Proposition No 1 to the Storting (Resolution) (2021–2022) also includes guidelines on increased efforts in the field of food safety and preparedness and on knowledge development that underpins Norway’s long-term need for a higher degree of self-sufficiency.

The research must result in applied solutions that offer substantial benefits to the industry. Applications must refer to existing challenges, issues and knowledge gaps and you must explain how the project will specifically address these and help to achieve agricultural policy objectives.

Food security and preparedness

The most important objectives in this area are to ensure that consumers have safe food and to strengthen food preparedness.

The following areas are of particular relevance:

• the supply capacity of Norwegian agriculture and food industries
• increased production and utilisation of Norwegian food and feed resources
• anti-resistance strategies against plant pests in agriculture and horticulture and against pathogens in livestock
• sustainable use of packaging and packaging technology that help to achieve correct shelf life and reduced food waste
• transfer of substances that are hazardous to health to food and fodder crops through soil, air, water or production processes
• monitoring of Norwegian plant and animal health and preventing and combating new and existing diseases
• product development and processing that contributes to making better use of Norwegian food and feed ingredients
• opportunities and threats related to new food products and production systems
• practical and economically feasible operating solutions and production systems for improved animal welfare and good animal health

Agricultural production throughout the country

The goal of agricultural production throughout the country can be achieved by facilitating diversified agriculture with varied farm structures and geographic production sharing in a way that promotes settlement across Norway. Measures aimed at increasing the use of soil resources and grazing resources, and that ensure recruitment to agriculture and the industry across the country, can contribute to this end.

The following areas are of particular relevance:

• prerequisites for maintaining or increasing the use of grazing resources in uncultivated areas
• knowledge aimed at enhancing educational programmes and increasing recruitment to agriculture and the food industry
• technological solutions and tools that contribute to efficient, sustainable and less vulnerable operating and production systems
• effective design of market schemes and agricultural policy instruments targeting the agricultural value chain, including production, the market, the environment and climate
• species development and plant breeding, and cultivation methods adapted to regional conditions

Increased value creation

Agricultural policy should facilitate the income opportunities and ability of farmers to invest in their farms, and promote the efficient, profitable and sustainable use of a farm’s combined resources. We must utilise market-based production opportunities and the value chain for food must be cost-effective and competitive. Norway as a food nation must be further developed.

The following areas are of particular relevance:

• development of knowledge and methods to better utilise residual raw materials in the value chain for food and beverages to develop new and profitable products
• mapping of opportunities to increase Norwegian food production and the competitiveness of the agriculture-based food and beverage industries in a changing market
• mapping of innovation potential in and across value chains
• development, adaptation and use of new technology and new methods to improve efficiency in every segment of the value chain, e.g. through automation, robotics, information technology and sensor technology. It is particularly important that projects focusing on the primary agriculture industry look at technology adapted to regional conditions and pay special attention to cost levels
• further development of methods and collaborative solutions for the collection, analysis and utilisation of large amounts of data
• increased knowledge of consumer trends, diet, health and nutrition.

Sustainable agriculture with reduced greenhouse gas emission throughout the value chain

In the development of a more sustainable food industry and agriculture, holistic assessments related to economic, social and environmental conditions are important. This involves making trade-offs between goals related to food production, economy, health, environment, nature and climate. Research that can help identify and highlight contradictions and dilemmas and build insights that can provide a basis for knowledge-based and holistic solutions, will be important in the future.

The following areas are of particular relevance:

• new knowledge and methods that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration in agricultural value chains
• knowledge of the climate and environmental impacts of different production methods and products, climate-adapted production and adaptation strategies, and the impact of measures and possible positive and negative additional impacts
• links between food production, climate and the environment for more targeted use of instruments
• issues concerning the relationship between climate and sustainability
• new knowledge, methods and systems of operation that ensure good soil health, including organic methods and culture-specific soil health measures
• mapping and finding solutions to environmental challenges resulting from the impacts of agriculture and the food industry on ecosystems, aquatic environments and biodiversity
• technology and method development
• energy efficiency and zero-emission energy solutions 

The following will be important in the assessment of relevance:

• The research must be adapted to Norwegian conditions.
• Applications should include financial and societal perspectives where relevant.
• The results of the research should benefit the industry as quickly as possible. User-friendly and targeted dissemination measures will be considered a positive factor in the assessment.
• Representatives of the agriculture and food industry must have significant involvement in the project to ensure relevance to the industry and society.
• Where relevant, collaboration between actors in the aquaculture and agricultural sectors may be deemed a positive factor, as long as industry actors from the agriculture-based value chain are significantly involved in the project.

The projects will be financed by the agricultural industry itself through the payment of research duties on agricultural products (FFL) and transfers through the Agricultural Agreement Research Fund (JA). When prioritising applications, the boards of the Agriculture and Food Industry Research Funds will emphasise the industries’ knowledge needs, the balance between the four given target areas, ongoing research and the distribution of projects between the industries.

Requirements relating to participation and financing in the projects

• The total financial contribution of industry partners (companies, industry organisations etc.) must correspond to at least 20 per cent of the application amount.
• The participation of public actors will not be included as part of the requirement to contribute minimum 20 per cent of the overall costs, but will count as positive where this is of relevance.
• State aid will not be awarded for this topic. Partners that are not research organisations must finance their own project costs.
• The requirement for contributions from industry may be modified under special circumstances. This applies to projects that address important collective knowledge needs for the industry as a whole, particularly in areas relating to the environment, climate and animal welfare, where we do not expect participation from individual actors. User involvement and co-determination in the project must still be well-covered, and you must clearly explain why the 20 per cent requirement has not been met.

How to enter the correct start-up date in the application form

The earliest possible start-up date for Collaborative and Knowledge-building Projects funded by Agriculture and Food Industry Research Funds is 1 January 2024.

 Please note that the start-up date in the general text does not correspond with the text under the topic Agriculture and food industry. This is due to technical limitations in the application form, whereby the system will not accept 1 January 2024 as the start-up date. Instead, do the following:

• Enter 1 December 2023 as the start-up date. The first project year will then be given as 2023 in the budget tables.
• Enter 0 in all budget tables for 2023.

Remember to include attachments

Applications for this topic must include an attachment of no more than one page stating the title of the project, its goals and a summary in Norwegian.

Funding is available for projects conducted by research organisations developing knowledge and methodology in the field of industrial biotechnology.

You can apply for up to NOK 15 million in funding per project.

Why are we announcing this funding?

The climate and environmental crisis is closely linked to modern industrial production. There is a strong need to develop more sustainable industrial processes based on lower energy consumption and the re-use of scarce resources in a circular system. Industrial biotechnology can contribute to developing these kinds of sustainable industrial processes.

In industrial biotechnology, enzymes and microorganisms are used to produce various products, such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, feed, textiles and energy. There is a great potential for value creation from industrial biotechnology related to the emerging bioeconomy, which includes the processing and refinement of renewable biological resources.

You must collaborate with the industry

We want the technologies developed through the projects to be highly relevant to the industry. All projects must therefore include industrial collaboration.

There is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the effects of technology development and innovation. In addition to solving societal challenges, using new technology can also play a part in creating or reinforcing them. In the application, you must describe how the project participants will discuss and handle intentional and unintentional applications and impacts of the solutions you are developing. You must facilitate actual co-production by the actors in the project working together to develop good solutions.

Research on ethical, societal and political dimensions of the technological development can be included in the project, but this is not a requirement.

You must clearly state in the application how and why the project will provide new insight and potentially new solutions to achieve global sustainability goals.

Priority will be given to applications that

• address all the general requirements of the call
• are in the field of industrial biotechnology
• include industrial collaboration as described above

If you are granted funding

We encourage projects that receive funding to affiliate the project to the Centre for Digital Life Norway (DLN) where relevant.

Funding is available for projects that enhance research on early childhood education and care (ECEC), primary and lower secondary education and vocational teacher education. We are looking for strategic and practice-oriented research of relevance to the practice of the teaching profession. The aim is to strengthen research and the interaction between teacher education programmes, research and professional practice. Relevant teacher education programmes may collaborate. The projects should strengthen research areas that are strategically important for teacher education.

You can apply for NOK 6–10 million in funding per project.

Requirements for applicants

Only universities and university colleges that educate ECEC teachers (BLU), primary and lower secondary school teachers (GLU 1–10) and/or vocational teachers (YFL) are eligible as Project Owner and may submit an application. The Project Owner at the faculty/department level must be stated in the application.

Projects should strengthen the knowledge base and  develop the research capacity of the teacher education programmes. All project partners are required to take active part in planning and following up the project as well as in disseminating project results and promoting the utilisation of new knowledge.  We encourage you to involve students in your research.

Priority will be given to applications that

• have a minimum of two Norwegian partners that are not research organisations, of which one must be a Norwegian kindergarten/school owner
• collaborate with at least one other national or international research organisation that can also be another teacher education programme
• entail project collaboration with a research organisation abroad
• include recruitment positions
• meet the requirements and criteria of the application type

We encourage you to cooperate with relevant doctoral research fellows funded under the Public Sector PhD Project scheme. 

We wish to fund at least one project from the three different teacher education programmes.

Funding is available for research into measures, instruments and services for inclusion in working life in order to meet needs in the field of practice and in public administration. In the long-term, the research should also contribute to policy-making.

You can apply for NOK 4–12 million in funding per project.

The results from the project should generate knowledge about effects and what contributes to effective measures, instruments and services for inclusion in working life. It is particularly important that the project aims to contribute to increased participation in working life and to prevent withdrawal and exclusion from working life. Of particular relevance is research into measures that contribute to longer working lives. Also of particular relevance are measures that increase participation in working life and promote an inclusive working life for young people under the age of 30 and/or people with health challenges. 

We will prioritise at least one project aimed at streamlining and improving work-related labour and welfare services. Research on how measures can be implemented to ensure the desired effect will count as positive in this context. The project results should be transferrable to other parts of the sector. The main objective of the project must be the improvement of labour and welfare services. However, projects dealing with interaction between labour and welfare services and other services are also relevant.

We will not provide funding to projects that have causal research as a main component.

Research collaboration and interdisciplinarity or multidisciplinarity will be viewed positively

If the application is within the framework described above, it will also count as positive if the project 

• involves active collaboration with at least one other national or international research organisation. The application must specify the concrete plans for the collaboration, for example co-publication or mobility, as well as the role of the partner
• is interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary

It is important that you elaborate on these points in the project description.

You must involve users in the research

The research must include explicit user participation. User perspectives must be well addressed in the project. Users must participate actively in the planning, implementation and dissemination of results. Users could be e.g. the public sector, employees and/or employers, service recipients, service providers and/or voluntary organisations and industry.

Please get in touch if you are unsure of your project’s relevance to the topic

More details about the areas of research described above can be found in the Portfolio plan for Welfare, culture and society. It may also be relevant to read the Portfolio plan for Health, where we also refer to labour and welfare services. If you are unsure about thematic relevance, we recommend that you contact us. You can find the list of contact persons below.

Remember the requirements that apply to this application type. The project’s research questions must be aligned with the strategic objectives of all the partners that are not research organisations. They must be involved in the planning, implementation and dissemination of results.