Researcher Project for ICT Renewal and Development
Purpose
The purpose of this call is to promote innovation and development in research that can contribute to advancing the international research front in ICT, including digital security and sovereignty, the next generation of data processing/ICT systems and other ICT research areas. The research will contribute to sustainable social development. The call is aimed at researchers who have demonstrated the ability to conduct research of high scientific quality.
About the call for proposals
The purpose of the funds is to stimulate high-quality ICT research that can meet challenges and issues within the
- digital security and sovereignty;
- the next generation of data processing/ICT systems;
- other ICT research areas: artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and data analysis, software technology, visualization and user interfaces, smart components, robotics and automation, communication technology.
The research and technology development shall contribute to sustainable social development.
Increased sustainability will be achieved through improved efficiency, security and reliability in data collection, processing, storage and communication. We see that the limits of conventional data processing are about to be reached, and the breakthrough in AI, among other things, challenges both ICT research and ICT systems as we know them today. The prioritisation of the next generation of data processing/ICT systems opens up for new approaches to the development of established technologies and will be central to meeting the need for increased capacity, more sustainable solutions and exploitation of the new opportunities provided by AI and other technology innovations.
Adaptability and resilience in security are prerequisites for sustainable technology development. Technological development must therefore be linked to a greater extent with more disciplines and knowledge areas, so that it becomes possible to understand and respond better to risks that arise in the wake of technological transformation.
Research in digital security and sovereignty will, among other things, contribute to increased safety and security for users in the internet of the future; security and reliability of software technologies; adaptable and resilient security solutions that address hybrid threats to critical infrastructures; human-centric and safe artificial intelligence; issues related to data sovereignty, privacy and users' arbitrariness.
The three areas "digital security and sovereignty", "next generation data processing/ICT systems" and "other ICT research areas" have interdependencies, they overlap and must be seen in context. In this call, the first two areas are given the highest priority, see the description of the processing procedure at the end of the call. It is therefore important that you state in the project description which of the three areas the project contributes to.
The call is available in both Norwegian and English. The text of the Norwegian call for proposals is legally binding. In the event of changes to the advertisement text, it is the text as it is at the time you submit the application that applies to your application.
The projects must contribute to the objectives of the portfolio plan for enabling technologies.
Who is eligible to apply?
Only approved Norwegian research organisations are eligible to apply. See the list of approved research organisations.
Who can participate in the project?
Requirements relating to the Project Owner
The research organisation listed as the Project Owner in the application form must have approved the submission of the application.
Requirements relating to the project manager
You must have an approved doctoral degree or achieved associate professor qualifications before the application deadline. For the purposes of this call, being or having been employed as researcher 1, researcher 2 or senior researcher in the institute sector is considered to be associate professor competence.
- You can be the project manager for only one application under this call at a time.
- If you are already the project manager for a Researcher Project funded under this ICT call, you may only be the project manager for a new application if the new project has a start date after the end date in the first approved contract for the ongoing project. If you are unsure of which date applies to you, contact the case officer for the ongoing project.
Waiting period
As the project manager for an application submitted under this call, you will have a one-year waiting period. During the waiting period, which starts on the date on which the application was submitted, the researcher cannot be the project manager for a new application for funding from the ICT call. The waiting period also applies if the application is rejected.
Requirements relating to partners
Only approved research organisations (see "Who is eligible to apply?" above) or equivalent research organisations in other countries may be partners and receive funding for a Researcher Project. Other types of organisations, including companies and other enterprises, may not be partners in research projects.
As the Project Owner and/or partner in the project, you can engage subcontractors to deliver services and contribute to the implementation of certain tasks in the project. Subcontractors cannot be given rights to project results. Organisations that are subject to the regulations for public procurement must in the usual way carry out the selection of subcontractors in line with these regulations. It is not possible to have R&D suppliers in the project.
One and the same actor cannot have two different roles in the project. This means that a subcontractor cannot be the Project Owner or a partner in the project at the same time.
What can you seek funding for?
You can apply for funding to cover the actual costs necessary to carry out the project. The Project Owner must obtain information on costs from the partners in the project. These costs must be entered in the cost plan under the cost type to which they belong.
You can receive support to cover the following costs:
- Payroll and indirect costs, related to researcher time (including research fellowship positions and project manager's position) at the research organisations participating in the project. For doctoral scholarships, the support is limited to three full-time equivalents. For postdoctoral fellowships, the support is limited to a minimum of three years and a maximum of four years. See also the Regulations relating to terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, research fellow, research assistant and specialist candidate. (in Norwegian only)
- Equipment. This includes operating and depreciation costs for scientific equipment and research infrastructure necessary to carry out the project.
- Operating costs, which are costs for other activities necessary to carry out the project's R&D activities. Purchases from subcontractors over NOK 100,000 must be specified.
The item procurement of R&D services must not be used.
If doctoral and postdoctoral research fellows are included in the project and there are specific plans for them to stay abroad, this may be included in the application. The Research Council also has a separate call for proposals for research stays abroad for doctoral and post-doctoral research fellows. Here, the project manager can apply for funding for research stays abroad for research fellows who are part of the project during the project period.
You can find detailed and important information about what the budget should contain on the website.
Scope of support
Funding of NOK 4-12 million per project is available under this call. We do not require self-financing. If our lump sum rates do not cover all costs for recruitment positions in the university and university college or institute sector or for research positions in the university and university college sector, we assume that you cover the difference with your own funding. For research positions in the institute sector, reported hourly rates must be used.
Prerequisites for the award of funding
We do not award state aid under this call. This means that the funding should only go to your non-economic activity. We assume that the necessary accounting separation is in place. Our prerequisites for the allocation and payment of funding for the first year, and any commitments and payments for subsequent years, can be found in our general terms and conditions for R&D projects on the information page What the contract consists of.
If you are granted the project, the following must be in place when you revise the application:
- From 2022, grant recipients in research organisations and the public sector (Project Owners and partners) must have action plans for gender equality (GEPs) available on their websites. This must be in place before the contract is signed for projects with grants from us. The requirement does not apply to the private sector, interest groups or the voluntary sector.
- The Research Council requires full and immediate open access for scientific articles, see Plan S - open access to publications.
- For all projects that handle data, the Project Owner must prepare a data management plan in connection with the revised application, where you will find more information about the requirements for data management plans in projects that receive funding from us.
- The Project Owner decides which archiving solution(s) will be used for storing research data that emerges from the project.
- For medical and health studies involving humans, the Research Council sets special requirements and guidelines for prospective registration of studies and publication of results.
Relevant thematic areas for this call
Enabling technologies
Practical information
Requirements for this application type
The application must be created and submitted via My RCN Web, and you can change and save a created application until you submit it. It is the application that is submitted that is being processed, and you cannot change it after you have submitted it.
If you wish to withdraw an application, you can do so by sending us an e-mail with a copy to the administrative officer stating the ES number of the application. Applications withdrawn within one month of submission do not result in a waiting period.
The application must meet the following requirements:
The application and all attachments must be written in English and the attachments must be in PDF format.
- Mandatory attachments must be included.
- Requirements relating to the project manager and the Project Owner, the research organisation and partners must be met.
- You must clearly demonstrate that the project is within the priorities described in the topic from which you are applying for funding.
- The project for which you are applying for funding must have a planned project start 6-18 months after you submit the application.
If the application does not meet the requirements in the list above, we will ask you to withdraw the application and possibly resubmit it after the deficiencies have been rectified. If the application is not withdrawn, it may be rejected.
Applications that are outside the thematic scope of the call will be rejected. Decisions on this are made by the portfolio board for Enabling Technologies.
Mandatory attachments
The mandatory appendices must be written in established templates that can be found at the end of the call.
- project description, maximum 11 pages
- CV of the project manager, maximum of four pages
Optional attachments
- Attach CVs for the most important project participants, each of a maximum of four pages. It is mandatory to use the CV template at the bottom of the call, upload each CV as a separate attachment and select the attachment category "Curriculum vitae (CV)".
- You will assess which project participants are the most important, and in which cases it will be of importance for the application processing to assess the project participants' qualifications.
- If you wish, you can attach a brief description of competence or suggestions for up to three peers you believe would be suitable to assess your application. We are not obliged to use the suggestions, but can use them if needed.
All attachments to the application must be submitted with the application.
Attachments other than those mentioned here as mandatory and optional, as well as any websites that you link to in the application, will not be included in the assessment of the application.
Be careful to upload the correct attachment type, as there are no technical restrictions on what kind of templates it is possible to upload in the application form.
Assessment criteria
Applications will be assessed in light of the purpose of the call and the following criteria:
Excellence – potential for advancing the state-of-the-art
• Scientific creativity and originality.
• Novelty and boldness of hypotheses or research questions.
• Potential for development of new knowledge beyond the current state-of-the-art, including significant theoretical, methodological, experimental or empirical advancement.
Excellence – quality of R&D activities
• Quality of the research questions, hypotheses and project objectives, and the extent to which they are clearly and adequately specified.
• Credibility and appropriateness of the theoretical approach, research design and use of scientific methods. Appropriate consideration of interdisciplinary approaches.
• The extent to which appropriate consideration has been given to ethical issues, safety issues, gender dimension in research content, and use of stakeholder/user knowledge if appropriate.
Impact
• Potential for academic impact:
The extent to which the planned outputs of the project address important present and/or future scientific challenges.
The extent to which the planned outputs are openly accessible to ensure reusability of the research outputs and enhance reproducibility.
• Potential for societal impact (if addressed by the applicant):
The extent to which the planned outputs of the project address UN Sustainable Development Goals or other important present and/or future societal challenges.
• The extent to which the potential impacts are clearly formulated and plausible.
Communication and exploitation
• The extent to which the appropriate open science practices are implemented as an integral part of the proposed project to ensure open sharing and wide distribution of research outputs.
• Quality and scope of communication and engagement activities with different target audiences, including relevant stakeholders/users.
Implementation
• The extent to which the project manager has relevant expertise and experience, and demonstrated ability to perform high-quality research (as appropriate to the career stage).
• The degree of complementarity of the participants and the extent to which the project group has the necessary expertise needed to undertake the research effectively.
The quality of the project organisation and management
• Effectiveness of the project organisation, including the extent to which resources assigned to work packages are aligned with project objectives and deliverables.
• Appropriateness of the allocation of tasks, ensuring that all participants have a valid role and adequate resources in the project to fulfil that role.
• Appropriateness of the proposed management structures and governance.
Applications that address digital security and sovereignty and/or the next generation of data processing/ICT systems as a topic will be ranked ahead of the other applications. See Administrative procedures below.
Administrative procedures
All applications that meet the "Design requirements" (see above) will be assessed by a peer panel. The application, with all mandatory attachments, will be made available in an online portal for referees who individually assess the criteria Research quality – potential for advancing the research frontier, Research quality – quality in R&D activities, Impacts and Implementation. The referees then meet in panels where they arrive at a consensus assessment of the application for each of the four criteria. The processing time from the submission of the application until it is assessed by a peer panel is expected to be 8 – 16 weeks.
Here you can read more about the processing procedure for Researcher Projects.
From 2023, the referees will assess the applications for the Researcher Project on Open Research Practice as part of the Impact criterion. On this website, you will find more information about the assessment of open science in grant applications.
The decision on allocation is made at the planned portfolio board meetings for Enabling Technologies, possibly extraordinary meetings if necessary. Enabling technologies - portfolio page (forskningsradet.no).
The first decision on the award will take place in mid-December 2024 (11.12.2024).
Decisions on allocation, waiting list and rejection
Approximately every three months, the administration will present lists of applications for decision to the Portfolio Board for Enabling Technologies:
- All applications that receive a mark of 5 or lower on one or more of the four criteria assessed by referees will be rejected.
- All applications that receive an average mark of 6.5 or higher will be granted.
- The remaining applications, i.e. applications with an average mark of 6.0 and 6.25, will participate in the competition for the remaining available funding for up to 12 months after the application has been submitted.
- The remaining applications will be ranked on the basis of portfolio assessments: Applications that target the development of the next generation of data processing or ICT systems and/or include digital security as part of the research question will be ranked ahead of the other applications. The applications will then be ranked according to the average mark and further according to the mark on the criterion potential for advancing the research frontier.
- Applications with a female project manager will be prioritised when the applications are otherwise assessed equally.
The portfolio board will make decisions on allocation, rejection and waiting list.
The annual budget in the call will be distributed among the annual allocation rounds (normally four). In order to ensure that the quality of approved applications is as equal as possible regardless of when they were submitted, the highest-ranked applications that are not automatically granted in the decision round will end up on a waiting list. Other applications will be rejected. Applications on the waiting list will participate in the competition for funding in the same way as newly received applications in the next round of decisions. The waiting list will be adjusted in each decision round.
Feedback to the applicant
We will inform on our website and in the newsletter about which applications have been granted and statistics on applications and grades.
Applicants whose applications have been rejected will receive a rejection letter on My RCN website as soon as possible. Applicants who have been granted an application will receive a letter about the allocation on My RCN Web. The letter contains requirements for changes and updates before the Research Council and the Project Owner can enter into a contract.
All applicants receive feedback in the form of grades with written justifications for the four criteria against which the panel has assessed the application, as well as information about which peers participated in the panel.
Create application
Applications for Researcher Project for ICT Renewal and Development should be created on My RCN Web. Application templates should be filled and uploaded in the application.
Create application