Dag 1 & 2: Introduksjon i søknadsskriving

Research shall contribute to solving scientific, socio-economic, and technological problems on local to global scales, and where applicable help to reach sustainable development goals. Research proposals must focus, amongst others, on (scientific) excellence, impact and innovation, implementation, and dissemination and communication. There is a high demand for interdisciplinary as well as cross-sectoral research, and citizen engagement is gaining more and more importance. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is promoted across all disciplines, along with appropriate data management.

Depending on the funding scheme, one can apply for funds for fundamental or applied research, for personal or collaborative grants, for local, national or international grants etc. Today’s funding landscape is quite complex, and each funding agency has its own requirements. Despite these differing requirements, all proposals must show high quality research and answer all aspects mentioned in the call in a clear and understandable way.

During this course, participants will get an overview of the funding landscape relevant for the academic sector in Norway. We will focus on personal and collaborative research grants from the Research Council of Norway and the EU, including both fundamental and applied research. Furthermore, the course will include hands-on training in clear and concise writing. The course is intended to help participants structure their proposal work and improve their project descriptions.

The course will not focus on industrial grant applications.

Type of course

The course is voluntary. The course is open to all PhD candidates enrolled in the Department of Informatics' PhD program as well as the department's Postdocs.

General learning objectives

The course’s main aim is to help participants obtain the necessary skills for preparing competitive research grant applications. The focus will be on proposals for the Research Council of Norway and the EU. However, the experience from the course will enable participants to prepare research proposals for other funding agencies as well.

Knowledge

• gain knowledge about the funding landscape relevant for the Norwegian academic sector; including, but not limited to, the Research Council of Norway and the EU
• be able to navigate through selected funding databases
• gain knowledge about different types of research-related applications used by the Research Council of Norway and the EU (e.g., research and innovation actions, coordination and support actions, researcher projects, mobility grants, ERC/European Research Council)
• learn how to analyze research funding calls
• learn how to manage the proposal writing process
• learn how to structure a research proposal (concept development)
• gain knowledge about the different parts of a research proposal and how to address them (focusing on excellence, impact, and implementation, but also including information on e.g., administrative forms and CVs; one optional topic in addition: RRI/ethics, budgeting, open science or other)
• learn and practice how to write a research proposal (project description)
• gain knowledge about research proposal evaluation processes; including, but not limited to, the Research Council of Norway and the EU

Skills

• know how to find, interpret, and answer research funding calls
• know how to formulate a research proposal (project description)
• know about CV requirements
• be able to avoid pitfalls in proposal writing

General competence

• understand the importance of applying for external funding
• have learned how to initiate and manage a proposal process (time management)
• have learned how to improve their proposal text (writing skills)
• be able to critically evaluate project descriptions and give constructive feedback
• know where to get help