Invitation to pool resources for young, talented researchers

Norway’s universities and the Research Council of Norway are joining forces to give the country’s talented young researchers an extra financial push. The joint funding initiative will provide NOK 300 million in funding over a three-year period to top young talents starting in 2014. “In 2012, a joint funding initiative between the universities and the Ministry of Education and Research was used to award grants to 90 extra projects under the funding scheme for independent projects (FRIPRO). This shows just what can be achieved when resources are pooled to give research a boost. Now we are looking to repeat the success and put together another funding initiative, only this one targets Norway’s young outstanding researchers,” says Anders Hanneborg, Executive Director at the Research Council. Clear signal from the universities “This is a clear signal from the universities of the importance of investing in younger, highly skilled researchers. Once again, the institutions are willing to set aside funding from their own basic allocations to shore up an area that is vital to Norway’s future as a knowledge nation.” Under the first joint funding initiative, Norway’s universities and the Ministry of Education and Research combined resources to increase the budget of the Research Council’s FRIPRO scheme by NOK 600 million over a three-year period. This led to a rise from 6 to 15 % in the percentage of projects awarded funding in 2012. Some 90 high-quality research projects received support that would otherwise not have been available due to budget constraints. NOK 300 million to 40 promising researchers In this round, the eight universities will contribute roughly NOK 150 million to a funding pot earmarked for young, talented researchers to be distributed under the FRIPRO scheme. This is assuming the Ministry of Education and Research contributes a matching amount, in keeping with the Research Council’s budget proposal for 2014. If the proposal becomes a reality, some 40 younger researchers will receive allocations totalling NOK 300 million over three years. This will give them a unique opportunity to develop their research targets at an early stage of their career. Making researcher careers more attractive “If Norway is to achieve prominence as a research nation, more of the best and the brightest must choose a career as a researcher. This is also crucial to maintaining the quality of Norway’s educational institutions in the future,” asserts Mr Hanneborg. Creating better opportunities for young, talented researchers is one of the new primary objectives of the FRIPRO scheme. The scheme will help a greater number of younger researchers to pursue their own ideas and build up their own research community. The improved framework this generates will in turn make it more attractive to pursue a career as a researcher. Source: forskningsradet.no  / Written by: Christian Lund/Else Lie. Translation: Victoria Coleman/Carol B. Eckmann