NordForsk

nordforsk_for_office_documents

Contact at Estonian Research Council
Katrin Piller
katrin.piller@etag.ee
Phone: +372 731 7382

 

Joint programmes launched in cooperation with NordForsk

NordForsk is an organisation under the Nordic Council of Ministers that provides funding for and facilitates Nordic cooperation on research and research infrastructure. Nordic cooperation involves Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well as the three autonomous areas, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Åland Islands. Cooperation with the Nordic countries has been important to Estonia both historically and strategically. The national R&D&I strategy also envisages further strengthening of research cooperation with the Nordic countries. Since 2019, the Estonian Research Council has participated in the development of several joint programm in cooperation with NordForsk and other funding organizations.

Financing

The Estonian Research Council participates in the financing of NordForsk joint programmes on the basis of a virtual common pot funding scheme, which means for the applicant that the Estonian research group is funded (only) by the Estonian Research Council according to its budget agreed with the participating partner organizations.

ETAG's total budget for various NordForsk calls has been 150,000–400,000 euros, which will be distributed among all projects involving Estonian researchers that have reached the top of the overall ranking and have been decided to fund in the programme. Nordic funding organizations participate in NordForsk calls based on either the common pot or the virtual common pot scheme.

Project consortia

Participation in NordForsk calls requires the formation of a consortium of research teams from at least three participating countries. At least 2 Nordic countries must be represented in the consortium.

Application

Applications are submitted through the NordForsk Application Portal. The application is submitted by the project promoter, who can only be a research institution. The principal investigator of the project promoter must have a doctoral degree. As a rule, one principal investigator can submit only one application in one call for proposals.

All the necessary forms to attached to the application can be downloaded from the NordForsk portal. The application form must be completed in English. It can also be reviewed without logging in to the portal. The application must be accompanied by a letter of confirmation from each partner institution.

Evaluation

The assessment is organized by NordForsk. Applications are usually assessed by an evaluation panel of international experts. NordForsk will later provide feedback to all applicants in the form of individual reviews or a consensus evaluation report.

Is it possible to look at the NordForsk application form and its annexes without logging in application portal?
The NordForsk Application Portal can also be viewed without registering as a user and without logging in.  Please use the “Preview form” function to do this. The application must contain all required information, including annexes, which have a limited number of pages, a specific font and size. All annexes must be uploaded as PDF.

Can an institution participate in multiple applications?
There is no limit to the number of applications in which an institution can be involved.

Can a researcher participate in multiple applications as a principal investigator (PI)?
This depends on the role the PI takes on in the consortium: as a lead partner (project leader/owner), the PI can only submit one application, while as a regular partner, the number of participations of the PI is not limited. Thus, a PI can submit one application as a lead partner and be involved in other application(s) as a regular partner. An institution may participate as a coordinator and/or partner in several applications.

Which institutions can participate? Can it be only positively evaluated research institution?
NordForsk funds regional research cooperation and therefore the consortium must consist of research performing organisations from at least three countries. Depending on the conditions of the call, other types of institutions/organizations can also participate as partners. The rules on de minimis and state aid must be followed, and the support cannot be used for the company's economic activities. The project leader/owner must always be established research performing institution. There are no restrictions on the status of research institutions (positively evaluated or non-evaluated research institutions).

Which countries are considered Nordic countries? Can all Nordic countries participate in the calls?
The Nordic countries in NordForsk calls are Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, together with the autonomous regions of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. Institutions from all Nordic countries and autonomous regions can be involved in the project as partners (all costs are covered by NordForsk), but the lead partner can only be from those Nordic countries whose research funding organisations (research councils) have joined the respective call.

Who funds Estonian participants, NordForsk?
Estonia participates in the NordForsk application under the virtual common pot scheme, which means that Estonian participants are funded only by the Estonian Research Council and, if relevant, by a sectoral ministry (e.g. Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture). NordForsk funding only covers the costs of Nordic participants, even if the coordinator (lead partner) is from Estonia.

What requirements apply to Estonian participants?
Estonian participants are subject to the ETAG eligibility requirements, which are set out in Annex 1 of the call text  and on the ETAG website. In addition, the general requirements of the NordForsk call apply to all participants.

How can the Estonian partner show overhead costs in the budget?
The Estonian partner can have overhead costs of up to 15% of the personnel costs. This can be shown in the application form under personnel costs, adding overhead costs to the salary costs. In this case, the budget explanation must specify how much overhead costs have been calculated for the Estonian partner. Personnel costs include both the salary costs of the researchers and possible grants for doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows (hence the first two cost categories in the application form).

If there are two institutions from Estonia as partners, how are overhead costs calculated and should a joint budget be prepared?
Both partners could participate in the project with their own budget and tasks, keeping in mind the upper limit established by ETAG for one project: the total budget of the partners in one project may not exceed 150,000 or 300,000 euros, respectively. 300,000 euros can be the budget of the Estonian participants in the project only if one of the partners assumes the role of the lead partner of the entire consortium (project leader/owner). If both partners participate in the consortium as regular partners, their total budget cannot exceed 150,000 euros. It should also be noted that the principal investigator of both participating institutions must meet the qualification requirements outlined in the ETAG compliance requirements.

What could be the expected start date of the project?
This is often referred to in the call text, but if this information is missing, it will take approximately 6-7 months from the closing of the call to the funding decisions. So if the call for proposals deadline is in May-June, the projects could start in the first quarter of the following year.

How long do NordForsk projects last?
Projects generally last 3-4 years.

What does other funding mean in the budget of the application form?
Regarding the budget, the applicant is asked to provide an overview of both the costs related to the implementation of the project, the coverage of which is requested from the funder of the call for proposals (requested funding), as well as all other sources of funding (other funding) that will be used to implement the project, including own contribution, for which no requirement has been established (unless specifically referred to in the call text).

Does an Estonian participant have to submit a budget in Norwegian kroner?
If you enter the EUR vs. NOK exchange rate in the budget file ("Budget per partner"), it is possible to enter a budget in euros, after which the amounts in Norwegian kroner will automatically appear. The total budget of all project partners must be submitted in Norwegian kroner.

Can domestic travel expenses also be reflected in the budget?
Yes, the ETAG grant can be used to cover both domestic and foreign travel expenses during the implementation of the project.

Can partners from third countries (outside the Nordic and Baltic countries participating in the application round) be included in the NordForsk project?
NordForsk calls also allow the participation from third countries (except Russia and Belarus), but at their own expense (as associated partners). Nordic/Baltic partners can cover the travel costs of participants from third countries from the NordForsk grant.

What are the requirements for a Letter of Confirmation (LoC) and is there a separate form for it?
The general requirements for a LoC are specified in the NordForsk application. There is no separate form, so you can follow the previous practice of your home institution. The minimum requirement is that the institution confirms its readiness to implement the project under the leadership of the respective principal investigator and provides the name of the call, the application deadline and the title of the application. The LoC must be submitted by each partner participating in the project, including the lead partner. It must be signed by an authorised person. Only files in PDF format can be uploaded to the application portal.

How are NordForsk applications evaluated?
The evaluation procedure is described in the call text provided in the NordForsk application portal. To assess applications, NordForsk will organise an international panel evaluation, which includes experts from outside the countries participating in the programme. External experts will evaluate the application on a 7-point scale according to 6 evaluation criteria. As a result of the panel evaluation, an evaluation report will be prepared for each application, which also includes the overall score assigned to the application. Applications that have passed the threshold will proceed to the next evaluation stage, during which the applications will be evaluated by the Call Committee according to two evaluation criteria (contribution to call aims and Nordic or Nordic-Baltic added value). The Program Committee, which includes representatives of all funding organisations that have joined the call, will jointly discuss the applications that have reached the top of the ranking and prepare a funding recommendation to the NordForsk Board. Therefore, ETAG (and other Estonian co-founders) can only fund Estonian participants if the application with Estonian participation has reached the top of the overall ranking, and the programme committee has made a corresponding funding proposal. If the funding proposal contains more applications than the (Estonian) funders have budget, negotiations will follow with the funding organisations to find additional funds to fund more applications. NordForsk will inform applicants of the funding decision by e-mail.