Norwegian Innovation Clusters (NIC)

Norwegian Innovation Clusters — Admission (NIC Opptak)

Supports innovation cluster organizations across Norway through tiered funding and collaborative development.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

Norwegian Innovation Clusters (NIC) Admission 2026 is a national competitive process through which cluster organisations can join the NIC programme at one of three funding tiers. The NIC programme is jointly owned by Innovasjon Norge, Siva, and Forskningsrådet under a mandate from the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries (NFD). The 2026 admission deadline is 26 June 2026 at 16:00. The three tiers are NIC Connect (NOK 3 million per year for three years, minimum 10 business members), NIC Explore (NOK 4 million per year for three years, minimum 20 members), and NIC Impact (NOK 5 million per year for three years, minimum 20 members). Total programme participation across all levels is capped at a maximum of 10 years per cluster organisation.

The applicant is the cluster organisation itself — not individual member companies. Eligible organisations are nonprofits serving as formal cluster bodies; individual for-profit companies, universities, and research organizations may not apply directly. Cluster organisations must meet the membership minimums for the tier they are applying to. The programme operates under GBER Article 27 (cluster operating support) and Article 28 (SME innovation support). All NIC levels are open to clusters across all sectors and regions of Norway.

Cluster organisations applying for the first time should target NIC Connect as the entry point, while established clusters with 20 or more members and a track record of collaborative innovation activity may apply directly to Explore or Impact. Because funding is disbursed annually over three years, the programme provides sustained operating support rather than a one-time project grant. Applications are evaluated by all three co-owning agencies, and proposals should demonstrate both the quality of the cluster's innovation activities and the strategic importance of the industrial ecosystem it represents.