Who can apply: 
The main applicant has to come from a UArctic member university in Norway. A complete and updated list of member institutions can be found on the UArctic website. The project lead institution needs to be a UArctic member.

The funding is targeted to support new cooperative projects on networking activities related to Arctic research and education, across all fields of science. Projects may be funded with a maximum total of 400.000 NOK. In total 4 mio. NOK has been allocated for this call by UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Funding cannot be applied for retrospectively and you cannot apply for funding for activities already carried out at the time when the funding decision is made.

 

Priorities will be given:

UArctic encourages engagement between Norwegian member institutions, and other UArctic member institutions for UArctic activities. Therefore, successful projects should fulfil the following:

  1. Have a minimum of three UArctic members (at least one UArctic members from Norway). However, it is beneficial to have more than three countries involved (there is no limit to the maximum number of partners). The majority of the project partners will have to come from UArctic member organizations, and in addition include partners from other Arctic organizations such as (International Arctic Social Sciences Association IASSA and International Arctic Science Committee IASC). Including all UArctic member regions will be considered an asset (North America, Nordic countries, Russia, Asia and Europe). Unilateral (national) projects are ineligible for funding.

and

2 a) Involve activities within existing UArctic Thematic Networks or UArctic Institutes. The linkage to the Network or Institute needs to be characterized by an established contact to the Network or Institute in question and clearly accounted for within the application. The activities need to be highlighted and specified. For a list of existing networks and institutes, please see: https://www.uarctic.org/organization/thematic-networks/

or

2 b) Develop a new Thematic Network or a UArctic Institute. A description of the developmental process and preparations needs to be clearly elaborated.

 

Activities eligible for funding:

  • Establishment and development of a UArctic Thematic Network or a UArctic Institute.
  • Development of joint courses or joint degree programs on topics with northern relevance at Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD level.
  • Development of flexible education, especially online-based programs or courses.
  • Networking activities related to research activities conducted by the UArctic Thematic Networks. A full list of the Thematic Networks can be found on the UArctic website.
  • Education or research activities focusing on indigenous issues.

Eligible costs:

  • Meeting and workshop expenses, e.g. venue, meals, accommodation and travels of the participants.
  • Teaching fees or payments and per diems. Please note that you cannot cover the permanent salaries for scientific/academic or technical/administrative staff.
  • Consumables related to research work.
  • Overhead costs cannot be covered.
  • Applicants should document funding of at least 25% of the total budget from in kind and or other sources.

Duration of the project and funding amount

Projects are funded with a maximum of 400.000 NOK and a minimum of 50 000 NOK.
Projects can have a maximum duration of two years within the timeframe September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2022.

 

Application deadline
Applications have to be sent by e-mail to ingvild.svestad@uit.no by April 17, 2020 by 23:59 (CEST). Applications received after the deadline or incomplete applications will not be evaluated. The funding decisions will be made by the end of June 2020, and the grants need to be accepted by successful candidates by August 15 by 16:00 (CEST), 2020. Note that it is possible to supplement mobility costs by using the north2north programme for student or researcher mobility, if relevant.

                                                   

Application procedure:

Applications have to include a

  • filled-in application form
  • an endorsement letter*
  • a project plan
  • detailed budget in a separate document
  • main applicant’s CV (max two pages) with a list of the five most relevant publications.

*The applying institution must provide a support letter from the appropriate leadership.

 

Project plan (maximum of 5 pages) has to be attached to the application form and needs to include:

  1. The purpose and overall goal of the project
  2. List and descriptions of the concrete deliverables
  3. Description of the project activities (could be divided into work packages)
  4. What are the planned project outputs (activity results), outcomes for the target group(s) and impacts on the target group(s) wider society, e.g. how will the outcomes benefit the circumpolar world?
  5. Description of how the project fits in with the UArctic strategic plan

 

Evaluation procedure

UArctic evaluation focuses on three dimensions of excellence:

  • Relevance to the North as expressed through UArctic mission, values, and goals including how the project contribute to circumpolar cooperation and is relevant to Northern communities and peoples.
  • Academic excellence in education and or research both “traditional” and interdisciplinary and involvement of traditional knowledge and other knowledge systems.
  • Project technical and managerial issues including handling risk and sustainability plans for the activity and long-term impact.

 

In addition, the project proposals will be evaluated based on the following list:

  • The feasibility of the project, its goals, activities, time line, deliverables and budget.
  • Relevance to UArctic’s goals and values (https://www.uarctic.org/about-uarctic/our-2020-goals/)
  • The experience and scientific merits of the main applicant.
  • Internal project evaluation and communication plan, including measuring impact of the activities and how the sustainability of the project will be ensured.

 

The grant is managed and administered by UiT The Arctic University of Norway in accordance with the recommendations from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.