Centre for International Economics
Important dates
12 Mar 2025
Open for applications
30 Apr 2025
Application deadline
01 Dec 2025
Earliest permitted project start
01 Apr 2026
Latest permitted project start
31 Mar 2034
Latest permitted project completion date
Important dates
Purpose
The aim of the centre is to strengthen Norwegian knowledge about developments in the international economy and the consequences of changed framework conditions for developing countries, for Norway and Norwegian foreign- and development policy. The call is aimed at the breadth of Norwegian academic and research communities.
About the call for proposals
The international economy is in flux. Globalization and the rules-based world order are under pressure; a world order that for a long period of time has served Norway and other countries well, contributed to growth and reduced global poverty and inequality. Increased rivalry between countries, with the use of trade barriers and subsidies together with increased geopolitical tensions, has implications for growth strategies, industry structure, jobs and the green transition, globally and in individual countries. Thus, strategic trade policy becomes more relevant today than in the past.
Climate change, technological development, migration, great power rivalry and more are changing the framework of the international economy. Financial integration can lead to vulnerability, and in some cases entail security risks. Economic fragmentation can lead to weaker growth, with the consequences this has for reduced global prosperity, increased poverty and increased inequality.
Norway needs strong academic communities that can conduct research in the area. To achieve this, we will establish a national research centre with a larger budget and a longer project duration than other funding schemes. The centre will provide decision-makers with knowledge and a basis for analysis of developments in the international economy that are relevant to Norwegian foreign, trade, security and development policy.
The centre must be strategically anchored by the Project Owner and collaborating institutions in Norway. When collaborating with research institutions internationally and particularly in low- and middle-income countries (developing countries), Guidelines for Responsible International Cooperation, including equitable partnerships, must be taken into account. By low- and middle-income countries we mean research institutions that are in countries defined in the OECD DAC list.
All applicants must familiarise themselves with the Requirements and guidelines for research centres (Research Institution-based Strategic Project), which describe, among other things, the requirements for organisation and responsibility in the centre. See also the Portfolio plan for Global development and international relations.
The desired effect of the centre initiative
The centre should:
- strengthen interdisciplinary research efforts in the field of international economics and build national capacity and expertise in the research communities that cover international economics
- increase the expertise of society, key decision-makers and other actors about the challenges facing Norway in the years ahead when trade policy, economic cooperation and the use of policy instruments are designed and implemented. Economic developments in low- and middle-income countries and Norway's room for manoeuvre and influence are an important part of the challenges.
- contribute to strengthening our national capacity to help solve complex issues related to trade cooperation and the use of economic instruments in an international context.
- ensure that research is used more quickly in relevant user environments
- ensure knowledge sharing and highlight research results through various dissemination channels, formats and arenas
- include collaboration with relevant international research organisations
Organisation of the centre
We invite academic communities to collaborate on preparing a joint application. It is not a prerequisite that these academic communities are geographically co-located. The academic and administrative responsibility must be clearly anchored in the Project Owner's institution. The centre should also be strategically anchored with collaborating institutions in Norway. In total, the allocation to the centre must cover all points under the headline Desired effect of the centre initative.
The centre will operate for a period of eight years.
The call is available in both Norwegian and English. The text of the Norwegian call for proposals is legally binding.
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. If the application is a collaboration between several organisations, the Project Owner must submit the application on behalf of all partners.
Requirements relating to the project manager
The project manager's professional competence and suitability to carry out the project will be assessed by peers. There are no formal requirements for the project manager's qualifications.
The Project Manager must be employed by the Project Owner or by one of the partners.
Requirements relating to partners
Approved Norwegian research organisations and similar foreign organisations may participate as partners in the project and receive funding.
Relevant actors outside the research sector in Norway (business, administration and civil society) can also be included as partners in the centre.
The application must be strategically supported by the Project Owner and all Norwegian partners.
All partners must actively contribute to the planning and implementation of the centre's activities, dissemination of results from the centre's research activities and ensure that new knowledge is put to use.
R&D providers
It is not possible to use R&D providers in applications for calls for proposals for research centre calls.
Requirements for user participation
Good user participation is important to increase the usefulness, use and relevance of the research and knowledge from the centre. Relevant actors outside the research sector must be included as users in the centre in the form of participation in steering and project groups.
What can you seek funding for?
You can apply for funding to cover 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.
We require that you break down the project budget into the following cost types in your application:
- Payroll and indirect expenses related to researcher time, (including research fellowship positions) at the research organisations participating in the centre. For doctoral scholarships, the support is limited to three full-time equivalents. For postdoctoral fellowships, the support is limited to four full-time equivalents. See our webpages for more on doctoral scholarships and postdoctoral scholarships.
- Other operating expenses, which are necessary to carry out the project's R&D activities. Any purchases from subcontractors must be entered here. All costs entered as "other operating expenses" must be specified in the application. Purchases from subcontractors over NOK 100,000 must be specified.
- Equipment, which is necessary to carry out the project. This includes rental and depreciation costs for scientific equipment, access to national or international research infrastructure, and minor new acquisitions and upgrades of existing equipment.
The cost type Procurement of R&D services in the application form must not be used.
You can apply for support to cover the actual costs necessary to carry out the activities in the centre.
You will find detailed and important information about what to enter in the project budget on the website and more detailed information about the type of application in Requirements and guidelines for research centres (strategic environmental support).
Stays abroad for doctoral and postdoctoral research fellows must be covered within the framework of the centre.
Scope of funding
We are providing funding for the establishment of one research centre under this call.
The centre will have an underway assessment; the assessment must be completed before the end of the fifth year after the start of the centre. Based on the underway assessment of the centre during the project period, the Research Council may stipulate new conditions in the contract for the centre's activities during the last three years of the project period. The underway assessment will assess the centre's activity in relation to the goals it had set itself and success criteria under Desired effect of the centre. The centre's plans for activities in the last three-year period will also be assessed. The centre will present a plan for what will happen in terms of activities after the Research Council's funding has ended.
Prerequisites for funding
The projects must start between 01.12.2025 and 01.03.2026. The latest permitted project completion is 31.03.2034.
We do not award state aid through the call. Companies are not eligible to receive funding to cover project costs. Support to a research organisation goes to the organisation's non-economic activity and thus does not constitute state aid. The Research Council assumes that the necessary accounting separation is in place.
The Research Council's prerequisites for the allocation and disbursement of funding for the first year, and any commitments and disbursements for subsequent years, are set out in our general terms and conditions for R&D projects, which you can find in full on the information page: What the contract involves.
In addition, you must be aware of the following if you should receive an award from us:
- The Project Owner must establish a joint cooperation agreement with all the partners and a mandate for the board.
- The centre will appoint a board during the first year. It must consist of representatives of the Project Owner and the most important partners.
- 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. 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. Here you will find more information about requirements for data management plans in projects that receive funding from us.
Reporting and disbursement of support
Funding from the Research Council is paid in arrears on the basis of an EHF invoice sent from the Project Owner to the Research Council. You will only be reimbursed for actual costs that have been entered in the project partners' accounts.
For information about reporting etc., see the document Requirements and guidelines for research centres (strategic environmental support).
Relevant thematic areas for this call
Democracy and global development
Practical information
Requirements for this application type
You can change and submit the application several times until the application deadline. We recommend that you submit your application as soon as you have completed the application form and uploaded the required attachments. When the application deadline expires, it is the version of the application that was submitted most recently that we process.
- The application and all attachments must be written in English.
- All attachments must be in PDF format.
Mandatory attachments
- Project description of maximum 20 pages. Use the default template that you can download at the bottom of the page.
- CV for project manager. Use the default template that you can download at the bottom of the page.
Applications that do not meet the requirements above will be rejected.
Optional attachments
- CV for key participants, maximum 10.
All attachments to the application must be submitted with the application. We do not accept attachments submitted after the application deadline unless we have requested additional documentation.
We will not consider documents and websites linked to in the application, or attachments other than those specified above. 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
• Scientific creativity and originality.
• The extent to which hypotheses and research questions are innovative and courageous.
• The extent to which the centre has the potential to generate new knowledge that advances the research front, including significant development/renewal of theories, methods, experiments or empirical knowledge.
The quality of the centre's R&D activities
• The quality of research questions, hypotheses and the centre's objectives, and the extent to which they are clearly described.
• The extent to which the theoretical approach, research design and choice of methods are credible and appropriate, and interdisciplinary perspectives are sufficiently considered.
• The extent to which research conducted at the centre takes sufficient consideration of social responsibility, ethical issues and gender dimensions.
• The extent to which the centre satisfactorily addresses users/stakeholders’ knowledge.
Impact
• The extent to which the centre’s planned results can contribute to addressing important scientific challenges, both now and going forward.
• The extent to which the centre’s planned results can address important challenges in the sector(s), both now and going forward.
• The extent to which competence building and the centre's planned results will form the basis for value creation in the Norwegian business and/or public sector.
• The extent to which the centre’s planned results are relevant to the UN Sustainable Development Goals or have the potential to address other important societal challenges, both now and going forward.
• The extent to which the potential impacts are clearly formulated and credible.
Communication and utilisation
• 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.
• The quality and scope of communication and involvement activities targeting relevant stakeholders/users.
• The extent to which partners are involved in the work of utilising the centre's results.
Implementation
• The extent to which the project manager (centre director) has relevant expertise and experience and is qualified to lead an initiative of this scale.
• The extent to which the project participants complement one another, and the project group has the necessary expertise to effectively implement the centre initiative.
The quality of the centre’s organisation and management
• The extent to which organising the research activities as a centre rather than separate projects gives added value.
• The extent to which the centre will be efficiently organised, including whether the resources allocated to the different work packages are sufficient and in accordance with the centre’s objectives and deliveries.
• The extent to which the centre's tasks are distributed in a way that ensures all project participants have a clear role and sufficient resources to fulfil that role.
• The extent to which the management and governance of the centre are expediently organised, including risk and innovation management.
• The extent to which the partners contribute to the management and implementation of the centre.
The quality and extent of international cooperation
• The extent to which the scope and quality of international collaborative activities are in keeping with the centre's objectives.
Gender balance in the centre’s project group
• If the gender balance in the centre's management team (centre manager and research managers) is poor, the extent to which there is an expedient plan in place for the centre to support the development of researcher talents of the under-represented gender to qualify for senior-level positions.
Relevance to the call for proposals
Applications are assessed in accordance with the standard assessment criteria for the application type. Relevance assessment will be made by the administration.
Administrative procedures
We will assess your application as it has been submitted.
Once the applications have been received, the Research Council will first check that all formal requirements have been met. Applications that do not satisfy the formal requirements will be rejected.
Where the requirements are met, we will make the application, with all mandatory attachments, available in an online portal for international experts who individually assess the criteria "research quality", "impact and effect" and "implementation". The referees will then meet in thematic panels where they will reach a consensus assessment of the application for each of the three criteria.
If the referee panel assesses all criteria for a mark of 5 or higher, the application will be eligible for funding, and the application will also be assessed on the basis of the criterion "Relevance to the call" by Research Council case officers. The results of the assessment of the four criteria mentioned above are summarised in an overall mark as an overall expression of the quality of the application.
After the panel assessment has been completed, the administration will assess the application's relevance to the call, and then write a recommendation to the Portfolio Board for Democracy and International Relations. The portfolio board will base its decision of funding on the expert panel's assessment and the assessment of relevance.
The portfolio board for Democracy and International Relations is scheduled to meet at the end of September 2025. We will publish the results of the application processing after the meeting.
See also: How we process applications.