1. Independent projects – FRIPRO
September 2017

2. VISION FRIPRO: Quality, boldness in thinking and scientific renewal
Scientific quality at the forefront of international research
Boldness in scientific thinking and innovation
Careers for young research talents
FRIPRO should promote:
FRIPRO is one of the Research Council of Norway’s funding schemes. It provides funding for independent projects on the basis of scientific merit, and is a competitive arena open to all research areas and disciplines.
The FRIPRO vision is “Quality, boldness in thinking and scientific innovation”
Projects should promote:
research of internationally leading scientific quality
pioneering and innovative research
careers for talented young researchers
When selecting applications for funding, we emphasize scientific renewal and boldness in thinking in addition to outstanding scientific quality.

3. FRIPRO is all about exceptional quality and groundbreaking results
Will the project contribute to scientific advances in theory or methodology, or lead to groundbreaking results that will expand the current knowledge base?
Originality – scientific innovation and/or the development of new knowledge
Bold hypothesis

4. Is FRIPRO for you?
Are you among the best researchers within your field?
Do you have an outstanding project?
Is your idea new?
Is your proposal well-written?
The competition in FRIPRO is tough, and only the best researchers with particularly good projects and very well-written proposals have a chance at succeeding. The project must bring forth research of high scientific quality and only projects with new ideas they may result in significant advances in the field are funded.
Since the success rate for applications to FRIPRO is quite low, in reality, only those who can answer yes to these questions have a chance of receiving funding from FRIPRO.

5. Which application type best suits you?
FRIPRO Mobility Grants
0-6 years after PhD
Two years abroad, third year in Norway
Young Research Talents
2-8 years after PhD
PI younger than 40 years old
4-8 MNOK
Researcher Project
6+ years after PhD
5-10 MNOK
There are six application types within the FRIPRO funding scheme. Three of them are research funding and support different stages of a researcher’s career.
The FRIPRO Mobility Grant is at the post-doc level. You may apply for this while you’re finishing your PhD or up to six years after you finished your PhD. It is a personal grant, with funding for staying two years at a research institution abroad before a third year back at a research institution in Norway.
The Young Research Talents application type is for young researchers with a little experience after their PhD. During the project period, the project manager should gain experience leading a research project and supervising PhD and/or postdoc fellows.
Researcher projects are for established researchers with excellent track records – with outstanding, innovative projects in the forefront of science.
You may apply for 4-8 million for a Young Research Talents project and 5-10 million for a Researcher project. Be aware that the higher end of the funding range is intended for projects with extra high operating costs.

6. Smaller funding options in FRIPRO
Personal Overseas Research Grant
For PhD and post-doctoral fellows funded through an ongoing FRIPRO project and for project managers of Young Research Talents projects.
No application deadline
Support for events
Partial funding for major international research conferences that rotate between countries.
Project establishment support
To submit a new/updated application to ERC. For ERC applicants who advanced to stage two of the assessment process, but didn’t receive funding.
In addition to the research funding application types, FRIPRO
funds research stays abroad for FRIPRO’s PhD and postdoc fellows and project managers of Young Research Talents project.
supplies partial funding to international research conferences that rotate between countries.
gives grants to researchers who applied for an ERC Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant, got to the second stage of the ERC application review process, but whose application wasn’t granted. The funding is to improve the application and submit again. A new application must be submitted within two years from the rejection of the first application.
ERC = European Research Council

7. When can I apply? Deadline 25th April 2018 at 1.00 p.m. for
Researcher Projects
Young Research Talents
FRIPRO Mobility Grants
Support for Events
Apply any time for
Personal Overseas Research Grants
Project Establishment Support

8. Joint initiatives
Joint funding initiative (50/50) between the research institutions and the Research Council
Joint initiative I
600 million NOK
The success rate increased from 5 % to 15 %
Joint initiative II
300 million NOK
Funding for 42 young research talents
The success rate for this application type increased from 7 % to 19 %
Joint initiative III
1 billion NOK for FRIPRO Toppforsk projects
Approx. 25 % success rate for this application type
Joint initiative IV – 2017
500 million NOK for FRIPRO Toppforsk projects
These boosts matter!
In 2011 and 2013, FRIPRO and the universities joined forces and ensured increased funding to FRIPRO. In 2015 and 2017, the university colleges, research institutes and regional health authorities took part in this initiative as well. Each year, the research institutions have agreed to fund at least half of each additional project awarded within the joint funding scheme in FRIPRO, required that the authorities (through FRIPRO) increased the funding to FRIPRO and funded the other half.
These joint initiatives have increased the overall FRIPRO funding from the authorities from 500 million to almost 1 billion NOK per year over the past ten years.

9. Some numbers... 1300-1400 applications per year
Budget for the 2017 call for proposals:
FRIPRO Toppforsk: 500 mill NOK
FRIPRO mobility grants: 14 scholarships
Others: 917 mill NOK
Including 24 mill NOK for renewable energy and carbon capture and storage
+ 40 mill NOK for ICT
+ 22 mill NOK for Space research
The number of applications for funding from FRIPRO increases every year. In 2017, we received over 1400 applications with an overall budget of about 1.4 billion NOK. In addition the ICTPLUS program has included 40 million NOK to projects within ICT and eScience, and the Space research program (ROMFORSKNING) has included 22 million NOK for projects related to that area.

10. Two-stage decision process
Expert panels evaluate and rank proposals
Almost 50 panels with 230 experts
Granting committees select proposals for funding
Humanities and Social Sciences (FRIHUMSAM)
Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Technology (FRINATEK)
Medicine, Health Sciences and Biology (FRIMEDBIO)
The evaluation of FRIPRO applications is a two-stage process. First, all applications for funding for research projects are assessed by expert panels of non-Norwegian experts. Each panel consists of 4-8 people, and each panel normally evaluates applications. When you write an application to FRIPRO, be aware that there may not be anyone in the panel working in your exact discipline since the panel must cover up to 60 applications.
The panels evaluate and give marks to each proposal, before they rank the best ones.
FRIPRO has three granting committees:
- Humanities and Social Sciences (FRIHUMSAM)
- Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Technology (FRINATEK)
- Medicine, Health Sciences and Biology (FRIMEDBIO)
The granting committees have the final say on which applications are granted and which are denied. They base their decisions on evaluations and ranking lists from the panels, while trying to assess how each panel has used the scale of marks. Assuming all factors relating to scientific merit are essentially equal, the granting committees will give priority to projects led by women project managers.

11. How do you write a good FRIPRO proposal?
Read the call for proposals carefully – all pages!
Read the FRIPRO webpages
Tip: the assessment criteria the expert panels assess your proposal on are available online
Start writing your proposal early
Ask for help
Listen to comments from expert panels from previous years
Submit your proposal early
We will only see the last version you submit

12. Read more on the FRIPRO webpages
(In Norwegian and English)
About FRIPRO
Application types
How to apply for funding
Assessment of applications
...
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