Mandatory Outline as the Basis for Grant Applications for Research Infrastructure
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Purpose
Only applicants who submit a project outline under this call will be qualified to submit a complete grant application under the main call for proposals for the National Financing Initiative for Research Infrastructure (INFRASTRUKTUR) with the deadline of 15 November 2023. Applications submitted to the deadline of the main call will be rejected if they are not based on one or more project outlines by the deadline of 21 June 2023, 23.59 CET.
The main call for proposals will be published on our website in June 2023. The application deadline is 15 November 2023.
About the call for proposals
Roughly NOK 1 billion in Research Council funding is available for research infrastructures of national importance. This includes Norwegian participation in international research infrastructures. The main call for proposals has a submission deadline of 15 November 2023 and encompasses all disciplines, thematic areas and technology areas. This year, the main call also provides the opportunity to apply for funding for pre-projects.
The applications must be submitted by the institutions' management, who we encourage to limit the number of applications. Applications must be based in research and the strategic development of the applicant institution and the collaborating partners.
The Research Council therefore expects that the management of the institutions participating in consortia for applications submitted to this year's INFRASTRUKTUR call in November gives high priority to the applications and that the applications will be well worked out. Establishing new research infrastructures is demanding. The experience from previous calls for proposals is that some applications for new establishments are premature and that the consortium needs time to develop concepts, technical solutions and prepare good models for utilisation and sustainable operation. In this year's call, it will be possible to apply for funding for pre-projects, the purpose of which is to provide support for a planning phase for new infrastructure initiatives that will be able to submit an application for a subsequent call. Applications for pre-projects must also submit an outline.
The complete call text for the main call for proposals will be published in June 2023. The text will provide information about the funding available and priority areas.
What can you seek funding for in the main call for proposal?
To the call with a deadline of 15 November 2023, it will be possible to apply for funding for:
- the establishment of research infrastructure of national importance which is given high priority by the management of all the institutions participating in a consortium. The establishment may be related to further development and/or upgrading of existing facilities which have previously been supported through INFRASTRUKTUR or to the establishment of research infrastructures which have not previously received funding through INFRASTRUKTUR, but which are based on existing facilities (amount you may seek is NOK 2–200 million). The research infrastructure must be so well prepared that the investment can start during 2024.
- pre-project for a research infrastructure initiative that needs a planning phase to mature in order to submit an application for a later call (up to NOK 2 million)
Submission of project outlines is mandatory for both options mentioned above. It will be possible to submit an application based on two or more outlines. Applications that are not based on a project outline submitted by the deadline for mandatory outlines will be rejected.
The deadline for submitting mandatory outlines is midnight on 21 June 2023.
The aim of mandatory submission of project outlines
The main aim of mandatory submission of outlines is to promote better national coordination and interaction between different institutions and research infrastructures that operate within the same area. Please note that we will therefore publish the title, summary and name of the Project Owner organisation and partners in the outlines on our website, so that environments with the same infrastructure needs can more easily contact each other and collaborate on final infrastructure applications. For this reason, you must ensure that no trade secrets or other sensitive information appear in the project summary.
The research infrastructure described in the outline must support the development of research areas of national priority and industries of national importance with a need for access to relevant research infrastructures.
The framework for the Research Council’s prioritisation of research infrastructure investments in different areas is described in the following documents:
- the Norwegian Roadmap for Research Infrastructures 2023 (an updated version is to be published in June 2023)
- the Norwegian Government’s Long-term plan for research and higher education 2023–2032 (pdf in Norwegian)
- relevant portfolio plans
An updated version of the roadmap will be published in June 2023. The thematic areas described in the roadmap are those that we ask you to tick in the template for mandatory project outline (see the end of this call). To a large extent, the roadmap builds on the existing roadmap and follows up on the goals and priorities in the Norwegian Government’s Long-term plan for research and higher education 2023–2032. A draft of the updated version of the roadmap will be available in the beginning of May, and a digital information meeting will be held on 16 May, with the opportunity to make comments and ask questions during the meeting.
If you are going to apply, please read the document What type of research infrastructure is eligible for funding? carefully. There may be minor adjustments to the text in the final call for proposals. In the case that adjustments are made, they will be clearly stated in the call for proposals.
The institutions can apply for funding of the establishment and/or upgrading of research infrastructure for a period of up to five years and for the implementation of pre-projects for a period of up to two years.
The Norwegian-language call for proposals is the legally binding version.
Who is eligible to apply?
Approved Norwegian research organisations and publicly funded administrators of research infrastructure that cooperate closely with Norwegian research organisations are eligible to submit an outline. See the list of approved research organisations.
Who can participate in the project?
Requirements relating to the Project Owner
The organisation listed as the Project Owner in the grant application form mus have approved the submission of the application to the Research Council.
Requirements relating to partners
Research organisations, publicly funded administrators of research infrastructure that cooperate closely with Norwegian research organisations, and other organisations or companies may participate as partners in infrastructure projects.
What can you seek funding for?
There is no funding available under this call for outlines.
The costs that may be covered with funding under the call for proposals with the application deadline of 15 November are described in the document What type of research infrastructure is eligible for funding? See link above.
In general, funding may be sought for the following:
- the establishment and/or upgrades of all types of research infrastructures of national importance as defined in the strategy document Tools for Research – National Strategy for Research Infrastructure 2018–2025 (pdf in English)
- Norwegian participation in international infrastructures, including infrastructures on the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) Roadmap;
- the coordination and national adaptation of shared services based on existing research infrastructures
- upgrading or expansion of existing research infrastructures of national importance
Additionally, in special cases support is available for basic funding for operation. For more information, see Tools for Research – National Strategy for Research Infrastructure 2018–2025.
Relevant thematic areas for this call
The call for project outlines is not limited to any specified thematic areas.
Research infrastructure
Practical information
Requirements for this application type
Applications must be created and submitted via My RCN web. The application and all attachments must be written in English.
Please note that you can only submit an application once. If you submit the application before the deadline and afterwards see that it still needs to be changed, you can create a new application – e.g., as a copy of the one you have already submitted – and thus submit a new version before the deadline expires.
The deadline for submitting mandatory outlines is 21 June 2023 at midnight.
- The designated project outline template must be used. The template is found at the end of this call.
- Outlines must be submitted in English.
- Outlines and contact information must not exceed four pages combined. It is not possible to upload project outlines that exceed the page total stipulated.
Applicants will receive automatic email confirmation of receipt as soon as the outline has been received by the Research Council. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the submission has been received. Please contact us if you do not receive such a confirmation.
Assessment criteria
Feedback will not involve a scientific or strategic assessment of the research content of the proposed project, and there are no special assessment criteria applied in this phase.
Here are the assessment criteria to be applied to grant applications submitted under the main call for proposals with a submission deadline of 15 November.
Administrative procedures
The outlines submitted will not be assessed in terms of strategy or scientific basis. If the project does not appear to satisfy the requirements for applying under the main call for proposals for the 15 November deadline, the applicant will be notified of this via brief feedback by 15 July 2023.
All applicants will receive an overview of the project titles, project summaries, and the names of the organisation responsible for the project and the proposed collaboration partners for all submitted outlines by at the latest 15 July 2023. In addition, the information will be published on our website.