The Q&A is formulated based on questions and answers raised during Webinar 1 and Webinar 2 in 2024. For further inquiries, you are welcome to contact Senior Adviser Maj Dang Trong or Higher Executive Officer Ditte Stiler. 

You can also access the presentations from Webinar 1 and Webinar 2 via the links below.

Webinar 1 presentation

Webinar 2 presentation

Call for Proposals 2024: The Nordic Energy Research Mobility Programme

Consortium

Will a large number of diverse partners in a consortium be a plus?  

It is required to have at least two Nordic countries represented in a consortium. However, it strengthens the application to have relevant partners and observers from more Nordic countries. Additionally, we appreciate consortia with a good gender balance.  

Can an industrial partner be a Project Partner and be entitled to funding? 
Yes, applicants are encouraged to include industrial and other types of partners in their consortium where relevant.  

Researchers and research groups must be based at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), research performing organisations, public and private enterprises, or other organisations with a strong research focus.   

Funding to partners outside this definition are limited to the equivalent of EUR 200 000 per partner per 3 fiscal year period in accordance with EU/EFTA regulations on de minimis aid.  

What is the career stage of the project manager?
We have not defined specific requirements. The project manager must be able to carry out the project on behalf of the project owner, the Higher Education Institution (HEI); thereby, it is expected that the project manager has experience in managing research projects and networking activities.  

The application will be evaluated based on an assessment of 1) the CV and Relevance and 2) the feasibility of the Implementation. Here, the project manager’s experience plays a role. 

Is this compulsory to have applicants (project managers) from two different Higher Education Institutions (HEI)?
No, only one project manager is needed, who must be employed at the HEI, specified as the Project Owner in the application. 

Budget

How to understand the salary mentioned in the call text? 
The funding can cover salaries (in other words: Time used by employees at the Project Owner or one of the Partners) for managing, planning, and facilitating, e.g., summer schools, webinars, conferences, meetings, etc. These activities can be internal for the consortium participants or with the participation of external stakeholders.  

What is included in the eligible costs?   
The eligible costs include three key categories:   

  1. Planning and administrative cost:Planning, preparatory measures, and salaries while setting up and managing a networking/mobility project, constitutes a maximum of 20% of the total funding.  
  2. Mobility costs.
  3. Communication and dissemination costs.  

Below, we have provided additional information to complement the content on the website.

1. Planning & Administration: 

  • Planning activities: Expenses related to the practical planning of the project, including man hours.  
  • Salaries: Salary for the project manager. You can include as in-kind, the project manager’s ordinary salary.  
  • Travel and accommodation: Only expenses related to perform planning & administration of the project. 

Funding sought for Planning & Administration must not constitute more than 20% of the total funding.  

For more information see budget guideline in Call for Proposals: The Nordic Energy Research Mobility Programme 2024 – Insights (nordforsk.org)   

2. Travel and accommodation: 

  • Generally: Expenses related to mobility and exchange activities for PhD students, postdocs, and researchers, participating in the consortium. 
    • Here following the Norwegian guidelines for rates for 2024: 
      • Single: NOK 23 000 per month 
      • Family: NOK 39 000 per month 
  • Indirect costs: Covering expenses related to renting a conference hall, meeting room, laboratory, IT equipment etc. No procurements. 
  • Events: Renting accommodation, allowances for speakers, refreshments, and food, etc. 

3. Communication & Dissemination: 

  • Participation in the Annual Gathering: Covering transportation and accommodation costs of participants from the consortium.  
  • Salaries: Salary for a communication team at a university or an industrial partner. 
  • Travel and accommodation: Related to external dissemination, e.g., to attend external conferences or facilitate an event open for participants not involved in the consortium. 

In case of any partner from any company – do they have to include their own cost, or their participation can be covered in some form?
All industrial partners (including private companies) are limited to receiving a maximum of 200 000 EURO for a 3-year fiscal period, following the EU/EFTA regulation of de minimis state aid.  

What is the allowed overhead cost?  
There is no predetermined ceiling on overhead costs for the project. Nevertheless, we strongly advise adhering to national regulations and the practices set forth by the applicant’s institution.  

Is there an obligation for any self-funding? 
No, there is no obligation for self-funding. However, it is a prerequisite that the PhD student, post-doctorate, or researcher receiving mobility funding has existing funding in salaries or scholarships. Thus, you could say that self-funding is expected in terms of ordinary salaries and covering costs related to conducting research unrelated to mobility activities, e.g., procuring technical equipment for laboratory experiments.   

If necessary, renting a laboratory or other direct cost related to the mobility can be considered eligible as it comprises renting a location for performing the mobility activity.  

What kind of activities can the indirect cost cover? 
Indirect costs cover expenses related to e.g., renting facilities that accommodates the mobility and networking activities. Indirect costs must not cover procurement of equipment or devices, e.g, for conducting experiments.  

It is important to justify your use of funding and resources. We recommend adhering to both national and institutional regulation.  

What are the evaluation criteria? 
You find the evaluation criteria in the application portal. These comprise 1) Quality of curriculum and relevance and 2) Implementation.  

How much will the CV of project leader count? 
It will be used as a part of the basis for assessing the project’s feasibility. It recommends seeing the call text for further information.   

How to understand a long stay (e.g., >6 months), and what is the limit? 
Researchers are only allowed for exchanges up to 3 months with funding from this call. There is not settled a limit for long term stays for PhDs, but a long stay is usually defined as 3–12 months. However, since the project period can be four years, there might be the need for stays (at least split in intervals) that exceed 12 months for a PhD in total.  

Read more about the Nordic Mobility, Exchange, and Networking call 

The Annual Gathering

Where and when will the annual gathering take place? 
The annual gathering in 2024 will occur on October 2–3. The location is yet to be decided. 

Individual Exchange Support

Can you submit an application as a group of, for example, 2–3 researchers from the same institution, or is it only allowed individually? 
All applicants must apply individually. However, applicants are welcome to submit a similar application as colleagues, where they describe the link between the two or three applications.    

Does the funding include the salary of the researcher at the host university or only the other expenses (such as rent and travel etc.)? 
The funding does not include salary of the researcher at the host university.   

It should be regarded as an additional support to the person undertaking the exchange to cover expenses such as rent, travel, and additional costs for living abroad.   

Is it possible for PhDs and researchers to be hosted in the same Nordic country but at different universities? 
No, the application is only eligible for funding if the exchange is performed at a host institution located in another Nordic country.   

The research-oriented organisation, for instance, RISE in Sweden, is it qualified as the host for exchange? 
Yes, RISE in Sweden is a qualified host institution for an exchange.  

Read more about the Individual Exchange Support call 

Networking and Event Support

If you are planning an event, such as a workshop or conference, would you need confirmation of the invited speakers? 
No, applicants do not need to send confirmation of participation from invited speakers when they apply for support.  

Who should sign the ‘Letter of Intent’? 
The Letter of Intent must include signatures from both the Event manager and the Event owner.   

Read more about the Networking and Event Support call 

Participation from other countries than the Nordics

Will there be any development of new (extended) Baltic consortia and call for a Latvian-Nordic Energy research programme?  
Nordic Energy Research is working for potentially extending the next call under the Joint Baltic-Nordic Energy Research Programme to have participation from Latvia and Estonia. Please stay tuned through our Newsletter and social media accounts.    

Can a PhD student from a country outside the Nordic region participate the Nordic Energy Research Mobility Programme 2024?  
Funding for participation in the programme is only possible for PhD students or researchers who are employed at, have a stipend, or are affiliated with a research performing organisation or higher education institution located in a Nordic country.   

However, it is open for PhD students from outside the Nordic region to attend activities, with expenses covered through in-kind support.  

Will research visits to institutions located outside the Nordic countries be eligible for funding within the framework of this call, provided these visits will strengthen the research collaboration and the consortium.  
Funding from this programme cannot be used to finance visits to countries outside the Nordic countries.  

Does the programme allow the applicant to gather experts from non-Nordic countries and are travel expenses for these experts covered? 
It is permissible to bring together relevant experts from outside the Nordic region, but funding from this programme may not cover the travel and accommodation costs for experts from countries outside the Nordic region.  

Providing an honorarium/fee to speakers with funding from this programme is allowed – also to speakers outside the Nordic region. The size of the honorarium/fee must be justified.  

Other

What is the difference between the calls a) Individual Exchange Support, b) Networking and Event Support and c) Call for proposal 2024: Nordic Mobility, Exchange, and Networking? Which of these has a deadline? 
The Individual Exchange Support and Networking and Event Support contribute financially to short-term mobility activities, e.g., a 6 months exchange for PhD student or a one week summer school. Importantly, these activities do not require affiliation with a funded research consortia project under Nordic Energy Research. There is no deadline for submission for these two calls. However, the call will close when the available budget is distributed following a first-come, first-served principle. At the turn of the year, the calls will be open again with a new budget for the new year.  

The Call for Proposals 2024: Nordic Mobility, Exchange, and Networking supports long-term consortia partnerships and Nordic mobility and networking activities (up to four years). Submission deadline for this call is 30 May, 13:00 (CEST).    

See examples of ongoing research consortia projects from a previous programme, the Nordic or Nordic-Baltic PhD Researcher Mobility Programme.  

What is the definition of a researcher? Does it also apply to postdoctoral researchers as well as faculty members (Assistant, Associate and Full professors)? 
The definition of a researcher includes postdocs, as well as Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Full Professors.  

Are researchers affiliated with non-profit research institutes eligible for funding? 
Yes, a researcher from a non-profit research institute is an eligible partner or applicant to the calls.  

In Danish universities, it is the university that covers the accommodation and transportation for PhD exchange. These above expenses are not covered by this funding, right?  
Yes, these expenses can be covered by funding from the calls under this programme.   

What is the difference between the Project owner and the Project manager? 
The Project manager (the Coordinator) is the individual responsible for the professional progress, implementation, and completion of the project on behalf of the Project owner, as per Nordic Energy Research’s standard terms and conditions.

The Project owner is the institution responsible for ensuring that the project is completed in accordance with the contract, as per Nordic Energy Research’s standard terms and conditions.