Funding for Coordination and Support Activities in Svalbard - Svalbard Strategic Grant

The call is open to approved Norwegian research organisations, companies, public sector entities and non-governmental organisations. 

See here for the list of approved Norwegian research organisations and definition of public sector. Sole proprietorships are not eligible to apply.

Requirements relating to the Project Owner

The organisation listed as the Project Owner in the application form will have the economic and scientific responsibility for the project. The Project Owner must have approved the submission of the grant application.

Requirements relating to the project manager

For applications initiating pre-projects and planning larger projects, the project manager must have an approved doctorate when submitting the application.

Requirements relating to collaborating partners

Workshop(s) do not require project partners. All relevant Svalbard research parties must be invited to participate in the workshop.

Network projects must include international collaboration with minimum two different collaborating partners, of which one party must be a Norwegian research organisation and one a non-Norwegian research organisation. The project must involve scientists from at least two of the permanent research and monitoring locations in Svalbard (Longyearbyen, Ny-Ålesund, Hornsund, Bjørnøya, Hopen and Jan Mayen), and should involve representatives from as many research institutions as relevant.

Local companies and public sector can also be collaborating partners in the project when this contributes to strengthening Svalbard research. Funding given to companies through this call will be given as de minimis aid. See conditions for funding below.

Svalbard Strategic Grant provides seed money for cooperation and network projects and workshops. Activities financed by SSG must take place in Norway (Svalbard or Norway mainland). All workshops and network events must include a dedicated session focusing on how to achieve the strategic objectives of Svalbard Science Forum (SFF) through the workshop. The SSF secretariat must be invited in due time and reserves the right to attend all funded workshops with one representative. The secretariat will also have the option of bringing a second representative at own cost.

The budget must be formulated correctly to clearly indicate what the funding will cover. You must remember to attach the SSG 2024 Budget template. 

Please find more information about budgets here: What to enter in the project budget.

Cooperation/network projects

These projects should be designed to enhance international and inter-disciplinary collaboration and they should stimulate open sharing of data. Such activities can include the initiation of new collaborative research networks, initiation of pre-projects and planning of larger cooperation projects. The funding provides support for:

• travel expenses
• rooms and meals
• consumables
• operating costs for scientific equipment and research infrastructure necessary for the execution of the project (for example renting expensive equipment and running expenses during testing)
• salary costs limited to a maximum of 10% of the total amount sought

Workshops

The Svalbard Strategic Grant also provides funding for workshops as part of such collaborative efforts. The funding provides support for direct costs related to

• travel costs for workshop participants and organisers
• rooms and meals at the workshop for participants and organisers
• rent of venue for the workshop

We do not cover salary costs for workshops.

You can apply for a maximum of NOK 250 000 to cover direct costs related to one single workshop. An application may include two workshops with a maximum total amount of NOK 500 000. The second workshop should then be a follow-up of the first. The application must explain why the second workshop is necessary.

Workshops must be related to research in Svalbard or contribute to placing Svalbard research in a pan-Arctic or global perspective. Representatives from all relevant research locations and organisations that are active in Svalbard should be invited. A preliminary programme and tentative list of invitees to the workshop(s) must be included in the application.

Conditions for funding 

Companies will be disbursed the aid as de minimis aid. This means that the enterprise can receive a maximum of 200,000 euro over a three-year period. Prior to any disbursement of de minimis aid, we will request written confirmation and an overview of all other de minimis aid that the enterprise has received during the last three fiscal years. For enterprises that are part of a group, the maximum limit generally applies to the group as a whole. See also the EU de minimis aid regulation (Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013). Read more about de minimis aid. 

The Research Council's requirements relating to allocation and disbursement of support for the first year, and any pledges and payments for subsequent years are set out our General Terms and Conditions for R&D Projects which you can find in its entirety on the information page. This is what the contract consists of. 

If the project is awarded funding, the following must be in place before you enter into a contract with us: From 2022, grant recipients that are research organisations and public sector entities (Project Owners and partners) must have a Gender Equality Plan available on their website. The requirement does not apply to private businesses, special interest organisations or the voluntary sector.

All reporting must be done electronically. The project owner must submit a final academic report in accordance with the Research Council's template for final report. After the academic report is approved it must be uploaded/linked to the registered project in the Research in Svalbard (RiS) Portal. Possible meta data must also be uploaded/linked to the RiS project.

The reporting deadline is one month after the project period has ended or after the (last) workshop/event. 

You will be reimbursed for actual costs that are documented in the Project Owner's accounts. 

You must keep your own project accounts for the project. The Research Council may request access to the accounts.

Applications must be created and submitted via My RCN web. You may revise and resubmit your grant application form multiple times up to the application submission deadline. We recommend that you submit your application as soon as you have filled in the grant application form and included all mandatory attachments. After the deadline, it is the most recently submitted version of the grant application that will be processed.

• The grant application, including all attachments, must be submitted in English.
• All attachments must be uploaded in PDF format.

Mandatory attachments:

• Project description, maximum 5 pages, using the template that you can download below. The applicant must fill in all relevant sections of the project description.
• CV of the project manager, using the template that you can download below.
• Budget, using the SSG budget template to be found below (to be uploaded under Attachments/Other items in the application form).
• For network events/workshops, you must also include a preliminary programme and tentative list of invitees.
• For companies: Declaration form for de minimis aid using the designated template using the standard template, which can be downloaded at the end of this call.

All attachments must be submitted together with the grant application. We will not accept attachments submitted after the deadline for applications unless we have requested further information.

Attachments other than the mandatory and optional attachments specified above, as well as any links to websites in the grant application, will not be included in the application review process.

Originality/Novelty
• The extent to which the concept is sound, credible and novel.

Solidity
• The extent to which the project objectives are clear and relevant.
• The quality of the proposed deliverables from the project.

Potential
• The extent to which the expected effects are specified.
• The extent to which expected impacts on the system and societal levels are specified.

Knowledge sharing and exploitation
• The quality of the proposed communication and dissemination activities.
• The extent to which it is credible that the proposed outputs will contribute to the specified effects and impact.

Project Manager and project group
• The extent to which the Project Manager and project group are qualified and have the necessary expertise and are positioned to implement the project.
• The extent to which management structures and procedures are appropriate.

Plans and management
• The extent to which the work plan is clear and understandable, and the time table realistic
• The extent to which objectives and measures are coherent.
• The extent to which the project has the support of the leadership of the Project Owner and any partners, and the allocation of roles in the project is clear.
• The extent to which the budget is realistic and appropriate, and resources are allocated so that each of the partners can fulfil their role.
• The extent to which potential risks have been discussed.

The extent to which the project satisfies the guidelines and stipulations set out in the call for proposals.

Applications will be processed administratively by a panel composed of in-house staff plus external expert(s) with extensive experience from Svalbard. The final funding decision is made by the Research Council of Norway's administration.

Feedback on application processing will be provided before 15 May 2024.