RCN Research Centres — SFF, FME, PETROSENTER

SFF VI — Norwegian Centres of Excellence Phase 2

Funds world-class Norwegian research centres through a flagship support mechanism with broad excellence focus.

SFF VI Phase 2 is the full-application stage of the sixth round of the Norwegian Centres of Excellence (Senter for fremragende forskning) programme, operated by the Research Council of Norway and widely considered Norway's most prestigious research concentration scheme. The programme funds long-term, world-class basic research by creating dedicated centres hosted at Norwegian research institutions. Awards run for 10 years (120 months), giving host institutions a decade of sustained funding to build internationally leading research environments. Phase 2 full applications are due on 11 November 2026; only institutions that were approved in the SFF VI Phase 1 screening stage are invited to submit.

Eligibility is restricted to approved Norwegian research organisations — universities, university colleges, and research institutes on RCN's approved list. Companies, public agencies, and individual researchers cannot apply or lead a centre. The scheme covers all scientific disciplines with no sectoral restriction; previous SFF rounds have produced centres in mathematics, physics, life sciences, social sciences, and engineering. Per-centre award amounts are not published on the call index page and are set out in the full programme guidelines, which define both the annual RCN contribution and the host institution co-financing obligations.

The SFF scheme is fundamentally competitive on scientific excellence: evaluators apply international peer review and benchmark proposed centres against the global state of the art in their discipline. Strong Phase 2 applications typically present a clearly defined, internationally distinctive research agenda, name a proven scientific leader, demonstrate the host institution's capacity to provide facilities and support staff, and show how the centre will generate a critical mass of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers over the 10-year funding period. The 10-year duration and the invitation-only Phase 2 structure mean that institutions must begin preparing their research strategy well before the Phase 1 screening opens.