NordForsk announces funding for approximately 12-15 Nordic research infrastructure (RI) hubs.
Research infrastructures (RIs) are essential for enabling research in many scientific areas. Strengthening Nordic cooperation on RIs is important for improving the availability and optimising the use of existing RIs in the Nordic region, fostering networks, building competence, increasing capacity and promoting scientific excellence.
Aim
A Nordic Research Infrastructure Hub is a long-term partnership between Nordic universities, universities of applied sciences, university colleges, research institutes and/or managers of research infrastructure in a consortium that provides a framework for establishing, enhancing and/or expanding RI cooperation in the Nordic region.
The overall objective is to strengthen international competitiveness and facilitate the development of world-leading Nordic RI environments based on relevant research and research infrastructure priorities. Funding will be provided for high-quality activities that will increase Nordic cooperation on RI by building long-term institutional capacity, promoting excellence, and creating Nordic added value.
The funded Nordic RI hubs are expected to strengthen Nordic cooperation on a specific research infrastructure partnership with the aim of building and expanding Nordic competence within its area. The hub should include activities to increase joint Nordic use of and cross-border access to the RI. Training programmes and access for young researchers are of particular interest.
Activities within a hub should generate added value through, for example, exchange of experience regarding best practice, optimised use of existing RIs, efficient use of technologies and procedures, resources and services, co-operation with industry, as well as RI management. Harmonisation processes at the Nordic level are anticipated. Finally, a Nordic hub could facilitate more coordinated Nordic participation in international research infrastructure activities, such as the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) roadmap.
The call aims for Nordic RI hubs that range from initiatives to establishing and building new partnerships with little or no prior Nordic collaboration, to more developed partnerships that will build on and further strengthen existing Nordic networks and collaborations. Proposals from all fields of research are relevant, i.e., from all of the three overall domains of Physical sciences & engineering, Life sciences, and Social sciences and humanities. Collaborations on research infrastructures that are not specific to certain research domains, such as e-Infrastructures, are also relevant to the call.
While prioritising high quality proposals, they seek a portfolio of RI hubs with a good balance between new and established collaborations, and between different fields of research. Proposals will be assessed relative to the planned resources, so that proposals with different budget sizes will compete on fair terms.
Funding Information
Available Budget: up to NOK 180 million (60 million from NordForsk and 120 million provided by the institutions)
Applicants are invited to apply for funding to establish a Nordic research infrastructure hub with a budget of maximum NOK 1,2 million of funding sought per year and a duration of 3 to 5 years.
Eligible Funding
Funding may be used for costs that are necessary for the implementation of the RI hub, such as:
Joint user programmes
Joint research infrastructure user and personnel training and courses
Mobility, travels and networking
Workshops and seminars
Cross-border RI management and data management
Dissemination, outreach, and knowledge exchange activities (including open access charges)
Stakeholder involvement and activities
Other expenses that promote the cooperation framework and are necessary for the implementation of the hub
Indirect costs and overhead
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding, the following conditions must be met:
Proposals must be submitted electronically through NordForsk Call and Application Portal by the call deadline.
All proposals must be written in English.
The consortium must include research performing organisations* in at least three Nordic countries. Nordic countries are defined here as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland Islands.
The consortium can include publicly funded managers of research infrastructure that cooperate closely with research performing organisations in a Nordic country. To be eligible as consortium partners, they must be legal entities.
The consortium can include more than one partner from each country.
The consortium is obligated to contribute own resources corresponding to twice the amount sought from NordForsk.
The own contribution must be guaranteed through a Letter of Commitment from each partner institution, signed by a person authorized to take on financial commitments on behalf of the institution for the entire duration of the project.
The host institution (Project Owner) for the project must be an established research performing organisation based in one of the Nordic countries.
The project leader must be a qualified researcher (PhD) employed by the host institution (Project Owner) during the duration of the project.
Consortium partners must be research performing organisations or publicly funded managers of research infrastructure.
A researcher may serve as project leader for one application only under this call. However, eligible consortium partners may be affiliated with more than one application.
Organisations based in the Russian Federation may not participate in research infrastructure hubs funded by this call.
