Draft of Call for Proposals


Please notice that this version of the draft was updated after the 2nd Meeting of the Board of the Fund.



Information Processing Centre (IPC)
the Fund Operator of Polish-Norwegian Research Fund
announces

a draft of Call for Proposals

for the submission of applications for projects within the framework of
Polish-Norwegian Research Fund.

The official Call for Proposals will be announced on September 26, 2007 at the Launching Conference in Warsaw.

Applications can be submitted
from September 26, 2007 to December 28, 2007 until 3 p.m1.

Polish-Norwegian Research Fund was established within the allocation of the Priority No. 6 Academic Research of the Operational Programme – the EEA/Norwegian Financial Mechanisms.

The total amount available for Call for Proposals is EUR 14 594 000.

Within Activity 1.: Research projects beneficiaries may receive grant assistance up to 2000000 Euro for the realisation of the individual research project.

Within Activity 2.: Workshops and Seminars beneficiaries may receive grant assistance up to 20000 Euro for the realisation of the workshop/seminar.

There is no minimum amount for project but preference within Activity 1.: Research projects will be given to larger projects that include participation of young scientists early in their career (no later than 5 years after PhD). Project shall be completed by December 31, 20102.

The objective of Polish Norwegian Research Fund is establishing and strengthening the co-operation between Polish and Norwegian researchers focusing primarily on environmental and health research. Both the importance of scientific purpose and the excellent quality of project will be prioritised.

Projects shall be realised in partnership with a Norwegian university or research organisation/institution. The admissible participation of the Norwegian partner in the eligible costs of the project shall not exceed 50%.

The following applicants are eligible:

  1. primary organisational units of schools of higher education or schools of higher vocational education, as understood by provisions of those schools’ statutes;
  2. research centres of the Polish Academy of Sciences;
  3. research and development entities/institutions;
  4. non-governmental organisations.


Applications shall be submitted within 2 activities:
Within Activity 1. Research projects beneficiaries may apply for grant assistance for research projects under two scientific fields:

  • Protection of the environment, including:
    • environmental management, economy as a factor of climatic changes, biological diversity and its protection, optimisation of the use of natural resources, re-circular economy and other means of technical protection of the environment, arctic research, energy including the alternative sources of energy, forestry and water, in particular water scarcity.
  • Healthcare, including:

    • epidemiology, molecular background and risk factors influencing the processes of ageing, pathogenesis, genetics and immunology of cancerous diseases, innovative and genetic medicines, medicine’s impact on the improvement of health condition and quality of public life, environmental conditions and its’ impact on the health threats, health system and health services research, telemedicine, regenerative medicine.

    Within Activity 2. Workshops and seminars beneficiaries may apply for grant assistance for workshops and seminars under the priority areas of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. It is possible to apply (organise a workshop/seminar) within more than one priority area of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.

    The following rules of the grant rate levels apply:

    1. co-financing up to 60% of total eligible costs with the exception of the situation referred to the point 2,
    2. co-financing up to 90%; in case if 10% or more of total eligible costs will be financed from the budget of polish public finance entity.

    Excerpt from the procedure for submitting Applications:

  • The Application shall be submitted in English on the specific Application Form. All monetary units in the Application Form shall be given in Euro. The Applicant shall fill in the Application Form in accordance with The Application Form User Guide.

  • The Application shall be submitted both on-line and in hard copy. Necessary condition is therefore a successful on-line registration in order to obtain access to the system and fill in the Application Form. The Application Form shall be filled in attentively and completely and all necessary supporting documents shall be enclosed. The hard copy shall be the same as the on-line version. There shall be 3 hard copies submitted (1 original and 2 copies, marked respectively), originally signed by the Applicant. The hard copy shall be bound in the way preventing from accidental separation and all pages must be of A4 size and one-sided.

  • The outer envelope/parcel must be sealed and bear the full name and address of the Applicant, and include the sentence: “Polish-Norwegian Research Fund – Call for Proposals 2007”. Detailed information about the on-line registration and the Application Form as well as the Call for Proposals announcement, the list of supporting documents that shall be enclosed to the Application Form and The Application Form User Guide can be found at www.fbn.opi.org.pl.

  • The Application shall be submitted in person, by courier or sent by post to:
    Information Processing Centre
    (Ośrodek Przetwarzania Informacji)
    Al. Niepodległości 188 b
    00-608 Warsaw Poland.
    If the Application is forwarded by post or by courier, the date of receipt is binding.

    • Excerpt from the appraisal procedure:
    The appraisal of the submitted Applications consists of three stages:
    Stage I – Formal/general appraisal, which will be carried out by the Joint Fund Secretariat. The Application that fails to meet formal criteria set out in the Call for Proposals announcement will be returned to the Applicant and be accompanied with reasoned opinion on the rejection of the Application. The original version of the rejected Application will remain in the Fund Operator. Any Applicant may appeal against the decision of refusal of its Application with regard to the compliance with formal requirements within 14 days of the notification of results to the Applicant by the Joint Fund Secretariat.
    Stage II – Content-related and technical appraisal will be carried out by the team of external referees (in case of Activity 1 Research Project) and by the Joint Fund Secretariat (in case of Activity 2 Workshops and Seminars).
    Stage III – Decision on co-financing the project are made by the Board of the Fund. The Board’s decisions will be supported by (respectively) external referees’ appraisal and the Secretariat’s appraisal. The Applicant can appeal against neither the decisions of a content-related character nor the decisions of the Board of the Fund.

    Questions may be sent by e-mail or by fax no later than 7 days before the relevant deadline for the receipt of proposals to the address listed below, indicating a clear reference to the Call for Proposals. Questions will be replied within 7 days. Questions that may be relevant to other Applicants together with the answers will be published on the web site www.fbn.opi.org.pl.

    More information related to Polish-Norwegian Research Fund and EEA/Norwegian Financial Mechanisms are available in the Operational Programme for the use of financial resources under Polish–Norwegian Research Fund (with Annexes) and the Operational Programme for the use of financial resources under the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. The above-mentioned documents as well as other detailed information related to the Fund are available on the web site: www.fbn.opi.org.pl

    Contact:
    Fund Operator
    Information Processing Centre (Ośrodek Przetwarzania Informacji)
    al. Niepodległości 188 b 00-608 Warsaw Poland
    www.fbn.opi.org.pl
    Monika Żylarska monika.zylarska@opi.org.pl, phone:: +48 22 825 65 78
    Marcin Langa marcin.langa@opi.org.pl, phone:: +48 22 825 65 78
    Sylwia Matejek sylwia.matejek@opi.org.pl, phone:: +48 22 351 70 84

    Research Council of Norway
    P. O. Box 2700 - St. Hanshaugen
    N - 0131 – Oslo, Norway
    www.rcn.no
    Odd M Reitevold, omr@rcn.no,
    phone:+47 2203 7000

    ________________________
    1. In case of unused resources, there will be 2 more deadlines for submission of applications within Activity 2. Workshops and Seminars: the first one is June 30, 2008 and the last one is June 30, 2009. Information about the possible additional deadlines will be provided through the website: www.fbn.opi.org.pl.
    2. The Board of the Fund tries to extend the duration of the Fund and postpone the completion date for the projects till December 31, 2011. Information about the final date will be published on these websites as soon as the final decision has been made.