Research Council of Norway

Funds Norwegian research, innovation partnerships, and international collaboration across science, industry, and public sectors.

The Research Council of Norway is Norway's national research council under the Ministry of Education and Research. It funds research and innovation across basic science and applied development, with roughly NOK 10 billion a year across portfolio boards that span health, climate, energy, oceans, enabling technologies, industry, and internationalisation.

Its main routes include FRIPRO investigator-driven grants, industrial innovation projects, long-term research centres, the SkatteFUNN tax deduction scheme, and support for research commercialisation. FRIPRO is open-ended and only research organisations may apply, with awards from NOK 500,000 to NOK 40 million. Green Platform reaches NOK 80 million, and the long-running research centres can reach NOK 120 million over extended periods. The council also works with Innovation Norway, Gassnova, Enova, Siva, and EU partnership programmes.

RCN fits applicants that can combine scientific quality with a credible delivery plan. It can support curiosity-driven research, company-led innovation, and large centres under one umbrella, but each route is selective and rule-driven. The 2024 FRIPRO success rate of 21 per cent shows that open intake does not mean easy access.