NOK 900 million available for research-based innovation for industry
A record amount of funding is available for research and innovation projects in companies. This year the Research Council of Norway has made it even easier for companies to seek funding, and for the first time companies across the entire business sector will be able to find a call for proposals suited to their R&D needs.
The NOK 900 million in funding for Innovation Projects for the Industrial Sector is part of the Research Council's effort to step up the pace of innovation in Norwegian trade and industry and promote a more knowledge-based, competitive and adaptable business sector.
"Knowledge is going to become Norway's most important competitive advantage in the years to come," says Arvid Hallén, Director General of the Research Council. "That means it is critical to invest widely in research and innovation in trade and industry. Now we are making close to NOK 1 billion available to help us build new knowledge and products to help the business sector cope with the difficult restructuring we are facing."
Eight programmes under the Research Council are joining forces to announce the largest funding sum to be made available for innovation projects in Research Council history. The deadline for submission of grant applications is 14 October this year. The record amount of available funding is targeted towards companies across the entire Norwegian business sector.
Research to promote a green transition and growth
Innovation, sustainability and a more environment-friendly business sector are key themes of this year's call for proposals.
NOK 250 million of the total funding available is earmarked for green growth and societal transition, among other things to help supplier-industry companies to enter the renewables industry.
In the call, the concept of sustainability applies not only to innovation projects related to the environment, but also to projects promoting economic and social sustainability.
Project outlines and workshops for simplicity and feedback
The Research Council encourages potential applicants to submit a brief project outline as an opportunity to obtain feedback on their project concept. (Click here to see the call for proposals, in Norwegian) The submitted outlines form the basis for a dialog with applicants to provide advice on which segment of the large-scale call their company should apply to and offer specific input on how to improve the grant application. Often a relatively small change, such as bringing in additional partners, focusing on a specific idea or shifting a project's target somewhat, can greatly increase the chances of receiving funding.
Project outlines also enable the Research Council to refer a company to other more appropriate funding schemes in cases where a project proposal will clearly not be competitive for the large-scale call for innovation projects.
In particular, companies that have never applied for Research Council funding before or are seeking new pathways will benefit from submitting a project outline.
Outlines may be submitted on an ongoing basis up to 13:00 hours (CET) on 19 August 2015. The Research Council will be holding project workshops around the country to provide assistance in preparing applications under this call. Click here to see the list of cities we will be visiting: http://www.forskningsradet.no/no/Arrangement/Prosjektverksted_2015/1254008330725?lang=no
The call has been published on the Research Council website under APPLY FOR FUNDING. The following programmes participate in the joint call for proposals:
Petroleum, energy, climate and the environment:
- ENERGIX ' Large-scale Programme for Energy Research
- PETROMAKS2 ' Large-scale Programme for Petroleum Research
- CLIMIT ' Norwegian RD&D CCS Programme
- BIA ' Programme for User-driven Research-based Innovation
Agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture:
- HAVBRUK ' Large-scale Programme on Aquaculture ' An Industry in Growth
- BIONAER ' Research Programme on Sustainable Innovation in Food and Bio-based Industries
- BIA ' Programme for User-driven Research-based Innovation
Maritime:
- MAROFF ' Innovation Programme for Maritime Activities and Offshore Operations
Nano- and microtechnology:
- NANO2021 ' Research Programme on Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials
- BIA ' Programme for User-driven Research-based Innovation
Other branches of industry and research areas:
- BIA ' Programme for User-driven Research-based Innovation
