External project funding - application process at MI

• In the planning phase: Contact the institute management
• 4 weeks before the application deadline: Submit this form as soon as you plan to apply for funds (no later than 4 weeks before the application deadline / planned submission date): MI Proposal Information Form
  • The application will then be registered in the project application module and a project economist will be assigned to the project.
  • The budget can then be prepared in collaboration with the project economist in line with the TDI model, see MI’s guidelines for budgeting in project applications
  • If applicable, provide access to the administration manager and project economist in the application portal (NFR, espresso, EU Funding and Tenders portal)
• 1 week before the deadline: Completed budget is sent to the institute management (administration manager) for approval.
• Last week before the application deadline: Completion of formalities (“Letters of intent”, “-support” etc) can only take place AFTER the budget has been approved.
• Upon submission: A copy of the application is sent to the administration manager.
• After submission: Notify the administration manager as soon as you have received feedback on whether the project has or has not been awarded.

The administration does not go into the academic content, but will quality assure applications as they bind the department financially.

Dear project applicants, various cuts and changes in funding of the UHR sector show that the institute’s economy has significant challenges and points towards a large financial deficit that is not easy to handle with the limited scope of action the department has.

One of the most important sources of income for the institute is our externally financed activity. We already have an extensive and very good activity on external financing, but we must do more to bring balance between the Department’s costs and revenues. To achieve this, we need guidelines that govern how we budget in external project applications.

We have the following guidelines (requires Teams login) for the design of future applications for research projects with external financing.

Use of job categories in project applications When you apply for positions in upcoming project applications, you must take into account national guidelines and UiB’s guidelines for the use of fellows, postdocs and temporary vs permanent researcher positions.

1. PhD - Priority use in externally funded projects.

• Basic routine remains unchanged; externally funded doctorates are 3 years.
• When the institute lacks personnel for teaching, the institute leader can decide to add up to one extra year to teaching tasks for externally funded fellow positions. This will depend on how the candidates’ qualifications meet the specific department’s need for extra teaching staff.

2. Postdoc - Used when there is a need for an experienced researcher for the project.

Main rule:

• The employment period must be at least 3 years, and all candidates must have sufficient time (up to 1 year) for qualifying activities (ie: teaching, training in transferable skills, supervision of PhD and master students; contribution to application writing and management of externally funded projects; assistance with organizing conferences, seminars and other events etc.).
• For postdocs funded by NFR, up to 10% of the position funds can be used for qualifying activities.
• If granted, project managers (together with the institute leader and Postdoc) must prepare a career development plan for the postdoc project, shortly after employment.

To be considered for your proposal:

For NFR projects, apply for (at least) a 36-month position, plus at least 3 months of qualification time in the proposal. The maximum limit for postdoc is 4 years (3 years plus max 1 year qualifying work).

Remember to outline a career development plan. Mention the plan in the application in reference to the part of the budget that is set aside for qualification.

Suggested text:

“To ensure the implementation of postdoc qualification in the project, a career development plan that includes guidance and qualification activities such as … is prepared at the start of the employment period.”

In the electronic e-application form under the budget:

Provide information such as: “XX person months employment for a postdoc, of which Y person months are dedicated to qualifying activities as described in the project description.”

3. Researcher - Used when an experienced researcher is needed for the project and the budget does not allow for a 3-year postdoc position. This category should also be used for further financing of our permanent researchers. Be aware that under the current halt in recruitment of new positions, the MATNAT faculty must approve any new positions that our new project applications budget with. It is important that we seek to fully utilize our current research staff before planning new recruitments.

Note that researcher positions beyond 2 years should be permanent.

Researcher positions (which do not involve researchers who are already permanently employed) with a duration of up to 2 years can be temporary, but the research group must provide the rationale for why this is necessary, and the request will be pending approval from HR in each individual case.

If you are planning an employment as part of an application, or if you are in doubt about any of the HR guidelines above, please contact your administration manager in good time to assess any consequences.

Current and planned announcements are published in the Funding and Tender Portal. The Department works closely with the BOA team, which has special knowledge about the EU’s major programs. For more information, see: UiB Horizon Europe.

Please note especially for EU projects that MI employees participate in:

• Register the application via MI Proposal Information Form (see above)
• Fill out the Statement of Participation
• Follow the procedure described here: 10 steps for EU applications at UiB (Login required)
• N.B. EU applications qualify for Project Establishment Support (PES)
• For some types of applications, the purchase of consultancy services may be relevant. This can in some cases be financed with PES funds. See UiB’s page with information about consultancy services for research applications for more information.

MI Contact Person: Lill Knudsen

Contact persons at FIA: Who does what? Local Contact Points and BOA Expert Team

Current and planned announcements are published on the Research Council’s website. The institute works closely with the BOA team, which has special knowledge about the NFR’s major programs SFF, SFI, and INFRASTRUCTURE. For more information, see: Research Council’s application types and program (UiB.no) For all other programs, the guidelines in the institute’s general schedule for applications apply, see above.

4 weeks before application deadline / submission - Create an e-application in the application portal and:

• Share the application with the administration manager and project economist.
• Fill out the fields for “Project Owner” and “Project administrator”.

The finance staff are employed by the faculty and will have tasks for both the faculty and the Department. The economists who have the most tasks at the department share office time between the faculty secretariat and the institute.

The finance section at the faculty has started using the Service Portal UiBhjelp as a system to receive, distribute and answer questions and other inquiries from employees and students at the faculty. By reporting cases via this channel instead of email to individuals, it is ensured that the inquiries will always be handled within a reasonable time regardless of holidays and other absences of individuals.

The faculty’s financial tasks are divided between

• Operational economists responsible for invoice processing, reimbursement of travel expenses (travel bill) and other expenses, variable salary (hourly wage, honorarium) and control of orders
• Project economists who provide support to the project manager related to external projects in various phases: application, contract, operational and closing phase. This involves, among other things, financial reporting, help with application budget and invoicing.
• Controllers responsible for the institute’s total economy, budget, forecast and accounting follow-up.

Finance staff at MI:

Anna Gradomska, controller MI

Dagfinn Høyberg, operational economist

MI Jelena Vlaski, project economist MI

Lise Clarke Capp-Isaksen, project economist MI

The HR staff are employed by the faculty, and share office time between the faculty secretariat and the institute, and will have tasks for both the faculty and the institute.

Magnus Larsen

• Case processing and guidance within recruitment
• General case processing within HR
• Office hours at the institute: Wednesdays