RCN Research Commercialisation — Qualification and Verification

RCN Qualification — Commercialisation of Research

Funds feasibility studies that convert publicly funded Norwegian research into commercial products and services.

The RCN Qualification grant is the Research Council of Norway's entry-level instrument for commercialising publicly funded research, providing NOK 100,000 to NOK 500,000 for projects lasting 3 to 12 months. The 2026 programme pool is NOK 60 million, distributed on a rolling intake basis with no fixed annual deadline. The grant is designed to bridge the gap between a research result and a viable commercial venture by funding commercial feasibility studies, market assessments, IP evaluations, and early proof-of-concept work that would not be funded under a standard research call.

Eligibility requires that the underlying technology or knowledge originates from publicly funded Norwegian research. Approved research organisations, technology transfer offices (TTOs), and early-stage companies that hold IP from a publicly funded research project can apply; a connection to an approved research organisation is required throughout. Purely commercially originated R&D is ineligible. The programme is open to researchers across all scientific and technology disciplines, and there are no sector restrictions. Given the small award size — maximum NOK 500,000 — the programme is not a substitute for full innovation project funding from RCN or Innovation Norway; it is a stepping-stone instrument whose outputs are intended to support subsequent applications to larger funding schemes.

Strong Qualification applications identify a specific research result with commercial potential, articulate a clear 3–12 month work plan for testing that potential, and name the team members who will carry out the feasibility work. Evaluators assess whether the technology has genuine novelty derived from publicly funded research, whether the commercial hypothesis is testable within the grant period, and whether the applicant team has the combined research and business competence to execute the plan. Organisations that receive a Qualification grant frequently proceed to Innovation Norway's commercialisation support instruments or to RCN's Verification grant for the next stage of development.