FRIPRO — Free Investigator-Driven Research

FRIPRO — Researcher Project with International Mobility

Funds postdoctoral mobility for Norwegian researchers by enabling international research stays and collaboration.

The FRIPRO Researcher Project with International Mobility is a subcall within the Research Council of Norway's FRIPRO (Free, Investigator-Driven Research) portfolio. It funds postdoctoral researcher-led projects that include a mandatory international mobility component of one to two years spent at a foreign research institution. Projects run 36 to 48 months and individual awards range from NOK 4,700,000 to NOK 7,400,000, drawn from a total program pool of NOK 40,000,000. The call operates on a rolling, open-ended intake with no fixed annual deadline. Only approved Norwegian research organisations may apply; companies are excluded from participating even as partners and may only serve as subcontractors.

Eligibility is restricted to postdoctoral researchers employed at approved Norwegian research organisations. The project manager must personally undertake the international mobility period of one to two years abroad, not merely supervise others doing so. A one-year waiting period applies between a project manager's successive submission attempts. All FRIPRO scoring rules apply: applicants must receive a score of six or seven on every assessment criterion to be considered for funding — partial scores on any criterion disqualify the application from the funding queue. The 2024 across-FRIPRO success rate was 21 percent, reflecting the programme's competitive nature.

Winning applications articulate how the international mobility component will generate scientific breakthroughs not achievable domestically, specify the host institution and planned research activities abroad, and demonstrate the project manager's suitability for independent leadership of a research project. Applications are submitted via the Research Council of Norway's online portal. Prospective applicants should review the full call text at forskningsradet.no and engage their institution's research grants office early, as Norwegian research organisations must formally endorse and submit applications on behalf of the researcher.