Dear colleagues,
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After the Research Council of Norway switched to a rolling application deadline for the FRIPRO announcements in October 2023, they have, as expected, received few applications at the beginning. However, things have picked up again. The first allocation of funding will be in June.
MED has done well
The Research Council of Norway has announced funding for Free Project Support (FRIPRO) for a number of years. Funding from FRIPRO is allocated after critical peer review and is highly sought after.
Researchers from all disciplines apply. There are no thematic limitations or requirements regarding use or immediate usefulness of the research.
The Research Council of Norway states that only applications that reach the highest grade will be successful, and even then, only a handful make it through the process. We are proud that over the years, a steady stream of funding has been allocated to researchers at our faculty in this highly competitive category.
The goal is to submit fewer and better applications
The purpose of the switch to rolling application processing is obviously to reduce unnecessary work for researchers, the support system and the Research Council of Norway. The aim is for researchers to submit applications when they are well-written and ready, and not simply to meet an application deadline. The hope is to get fewer, but better, well-written applications.
It doesn’t matter when an application is submitted, it will not affect the possibility of obtaining funding. The Research Council of Norway will arrange regular panel meetings so that funding is distributed throughout the year. Applications that receive a good grade but do not manage to get through the first stage will get another chance through being processed in additional panel meetings before a final decision.
However, if an application receives a grade below the given threshold, the applicant may be quarantined for one year if the application has been given a relatively high grade. If an application has received a low grade, the applicant can be quarantined for two years.
How can we best adapt?
Of course, the psychology of application writing varies between individuals, but deadlines can probably help many of us prioritise tasks and plan ahead. Our research advisors have the opportunity to help with FRIPRO applications in the spring when there are fewer EU announcements, and have set a deadline of 22 April for submitting drafts that require help.
It is understandable that the academic communities have not yet fully adapted to the situation after the Research Council of Norway removed the application deadlines. It is now time to get started again and we encourage our academic communities to use the opportunity to get help writing the applications. Read more about the support the faculty can provide this spring.
Best regards, Jan