The Institute of Health and Society has secured EU funding for several research projects
“I have followed the EU application efforts of Anne Moen since 2016. Anne has done everything completely by the book: She has been fearless and daring, she has put in the necessary work to coordinate such applications and she has never given up when she has received a rejection,” Malin Solli Wandem, Head of Section for Research Administration at the Institute of Health and Society explains.
“These efforts are precisely what we are now seeing the fruits of, she is currently managing a major EU project with 40 partners, while also having been invited to participate in new projects that were approved this summer,” Wandem continues.
“We see the same when it comes to Rose Bernabe, Jan Helge Solbakk and the general community at the Centre for Medical Ethics. They have put in the effort, achieved their goals and continue to secure new and important research projects for the department as both coordinators and partners,” Wandem adds.
Anne Moen, Professor at the Department of Public Health Science at the University of Oslo has secured funding in 2022 for the OneAquaHealth and XpanDH research projects - both projects in which the University of Oslo is a partner. Rosemarie de La Cruz Bernabe, Professor at the Centre for Medical Ethics at the University of Oslo coordinates, among others, the XR4HUMAN (link in Norwegian) project from the University of South-Eastern Norway, in which the University of Oslo is a partner. Jan Helge Solbakk, Professor at the Centre for Medical Ethics, University of Oslo, is the coordinator for the MORE (link in Norwegian) project.
Wandem hopes that more people at the department will feel inspired to consider new opportunities for research funding.
“These are excellent examples of it being possible to succeed in the EU framework programmes,” Head of Section Wandem concludes.
Anne Moen: participant, partner and coordinator of several EU projects
In 2020, Professor Anne Moen secured EU funding for the Gravitate-Health research project, in which Moen and the University of Oslo fill the coordinator role. The project consists of 40 partners from 15 countries and will create digital solutions that improve access to information about your own health and pharmaceuticals, as well as strengthening the understanding of information to ensure safer drug use. Moen has also been involved as a participant and contact person for the University of Oslo in several previous EU projects.
“I knew how interesting and challenging it can be to participate in major projects. I had attempted to become a coordinator for a couple of applications that were not approved for funding before we started working on the application that led to the Gravitate-Health project,” Moen explains.
“When working on the Gravitate-Health application, we established a core group to develop the ideas and write the application and I had bit of extra work to do as the University of Oslo was the coordinator.”
Researchers are supported by research advisers when preparing EU applications
Moen explains that she has collaborated with the Division for External Research Funding at the Faculty of Medicine when working on EU applications.
“I collaborated with the Division for External Research Funding so that we could make sure we included all the required information about partners, which spanned everything from registering contact persons, department names and identification numbers to describing what the various partners would do and what expertise and experience they would contribute to the project. This gave me some breathing room to deal with the other aspects involved in preparing an application,” she says.
“In addition to the Division for External Research Funding, I also got great advice from the Research Administration at the Institute of Health and Society, as well as excellent tools from the project economist at the department, who helped prepare the budget.”
“The great thing about Anne is that she gets people involved and makes use of the administration. She is an excellent coordinator,” says Hilde Henriksen, Senior Adviser at the Research Administration at the Faculty of Medicine. Henriksen works on assistance and advice to researchers, departments and the Faculty in connection with EU projects and other external funding.
Research consortium involving 40 partners in Gravitate-Health
Moen explains that there was a lot to keep track of when working on the Gravitate-Health project as the project is funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and the University of Oslo had never coordinated such projects before.
“We ended up creating a consortium consisting of 40 partners that all needed to be registered and had to provide updated information and agree with or consent to the proposed budget allocation,” Moen explains.
“29 partners shared the Horizon 2020 budget and 11 partners provided so-called “in-kind” or self-funded contributions. There were a lot of things that were new, both to me and to the research advisers, but together we managed to secure the project.”
Moen says that she has positive experiences of collaborating with the Division for External Research Funding but that the crucial thing for her was that the Institute of Health and Society also had resources and expertise it could contribute to the application work.
“During this process, I also learned that it is important to be realistic in terms of what the different units and individuals you work with can contribute to the application. As a coordinator, you need to focus on achieving the application and making sure that it is as good as it can be,” says Moen.
It was the content, direction and opportunities of the call for proposals that motivated Moen to look for support.
“It was important that we could secure funding to create the project, what we refer to as Project Establishment Support funds (PES). There is no doubt that this helped ensure I did not give up when the application work posed challenges,” Moen says.
“Processes like these can fluctuate a lot and there is a lot to keep track of. However, the fact that the project provided the opportunities to collaborate with many talented people and experienced partners was also a motivating factor,” she says.
Moen has received EU funding for new partner projects in 2022
The projects Moen will now be a partner in will help expand the horizon and provide synergies, especially in relation to the Gravitate-Health project.
“In XpanDH, which is a two-year network project with coordination and support actions (CSA), we will be able to continue working on the dissemination of digital solutions to support access to information and mobility in Europe, multilingualism and citizens’ use and control of their own health data,” says Moen.
She explains that this research can contribute to realising the European Health Data Space. The European Health Data Space is a health-based ecosystem presented by the EU that will establish the rules, standards and practices for the management of health data across EU member states.
“The OneAquaHealth research project, which is also now starting up, includes a contribution to public health work, particularly activities in and around rivers in urban areas and their importance when it comes to well-being, health and quality of life,” Moen explains.
She explains that being part of the funding application design process helps build networks, regardless of whether or not the projects end up receiving funding.
“This means that there will be more people to ask to participate in projects and more people who will ask you to do so”.
Tips for researchers who plan to apply for funding for research projects
“Establishing a researcher consortium, developing concepts and writing applications are all unique exercises. It is both fun and demanding,” says Moen.
She explains that there are great differences between being a coordinator and being a partner in a project and that this is something you should be conscious of. It is crucial that you carefully read the call for proposal, that you answer all of the included elements and that you highlight the importance of the project when it comes to the big picture.
“My best advice would be: Start on your application early, develop collaborations with partners in other countries over time, be brave and creative while also situating the work in a wider context. Create a realistic but ambitious work schedule and utilise the available support systems,” Moen concludes.