Breakthrough enabling technologies
Download the call
This call is planned to be published in our new application system. If this changes, we will inform all applicants as soon as possible.
The call for proposals will be published in a temporary version. Some descriptions, claims, and links may be incomplete. The full and final text of the call will be published at a later date.
Important dates
What you can do now
Get to know the new application form
Here you can read about how the new application form is structured and find explanations of terms used in the form.
10 Jun 2026
Application deadline
01 Jan 2027
Earliest permitted project start
01 Jun 2027
Latest permitted project start
Important dates
About the call for proposals
This call is in a new application system. You can find more information about the new system here.
Purpose
We will publish more information as it becomes available.
Thematic or subject-specific guidelines
The projects must either:
- have an idea that can lead to scientific breakthroughs in technological development, and/or
- have an idea that leads to a breakthrough in a sector, and/or
- have an idea that points to a completely new solution or application that does not exist today and that will contribute positively to society.
Projects must be carried out in accordance with the Guidelines for Responsible Research and Innovation. This approach encourages the incorporation of methods and processes to consider four important dimensions related to research and innovation: anticipate, invite, reflect and respond. See more about how this can be done on the guidance page.
Delimitations
Multiple applications may be submitted, but the Research Council will not fund more than one application from the same project manager under this call.
Structural guidelines
Companies may not participate as partners in the application, but during the project period, the project must involve the business sector or the public sector in an appropriate manner in order to link results and users towards applications. This can be done, for example, through the establishment of an advisory group or through R&D cooperation.
- We expect that projects of this type will have a high risk, so this will not be considered negative in the application assessment.
- We also want younger researchers to be able to participate in groundbreaking projects, so seniority will not be given decisive importance.
Prioritisation of applications
In the event of a similarity in character, a drawing of lots will be carried out.
Why we have this call for proposals
This call has been established to allow for projects that fall outside more established funding pathways, but which may be of great importance in the longer term. The call is intended to help mobilise project teams that wish to explore ground-breaking technological directions, including where outcomes, applications and societal consequences have not yet been fully clarified.
We want the applicant to be aware of the composition of the team, size and partners as prerequisites for achieving breakthroughs with disruptive potential. More about this can be read in the article Large teams develop and small teams disrupt science and technology
Who can participate in the project?
In addition to our requirement for who can be the Project Owner, we set requirements for the project manager's competence and for who can be partners.
For all participating organizations, the following applies:
- One and the same actor cannot have two different roles in the project. This means that, for example, a subcontractor cannot simultaneously be the Project Owner or a partner in the project.
Requirements relating to the Project Owner
The Project Owner must be an approved Norwegian research organisation. You can find an overview of approved research organisations here.
The research organisation listed as the Project Owner in the application form must have approved the submission of the application.
If the application is a collaboration between several organisations, the Project Owner must submit the application on behalf of all partners..
Requirements relating to the project manager
The project manager's expertise and suitability to carry out the project will be assessed by peers. There are no formal requirements for the project manager's qualifications.
Requirements relating to collaborating partners
We do not require collaboration in this call. If you are going to include collaborating partners, the following applies:
- Only approved Norwegian research organisations (see "Who is eligible to apply?" above) or equivalent research organisations in other countries are eligible to be collaborating partners and receive funding under this call.
- Other types of organisations, including companies and other enterprises, may not be collaborating partners.
- All collaborating partners must enter into a collaboration agreement with the Project Owner if they are awarded funding from the Research Council.
Requirements relating to R&D providers
You cannot include R&D providers in the project.
About collaborating with foreign organisations
Foreign organisations similar to Norwegian research organisations are eligible for funding under this call. Other foreign organisations are not eligible to participate in the project.
Information Will Be Updated
The Project Owner or collaborating partners may engage subcontractors to deliver services and contribute to the implementation of certain tasks in the project. Subcontractors cannot be given rights to project results.
Organisations that are subject to the regulations for public procurement must in the usual way carry out the selection of subcontractors in line with these regulations.
What can you seek funding for?
You can apply for funding to cover the actual costs necessary to carry out the project. The Project Owner must obtain information on costs from the collaborating partners in the project. These costs must be entered in the budget under the cost type to which they belong.
We require that you break down the project budget into the following cost types in your application:
- Payroll and indirect expenses, which are costs related to researcher time (including research fellowship positions and the project manager's position) at the research organisations participating in the project. For doctoral scholarships, the support is limited to three full-time equivalents. For postdoctoral fellowships, the support is limited to a minimum of three years and a maximum of four years. See our website about postdoctoral research fellowship positions and doctoral research fellowship positions.
- Other project expenses, which are costs for other activities that are necessary to carry out the project's R&D activities. Any purchases from subcontractors must be entered here. All costs you enter as other project costs must be specified in the application.
- Equipment, which are costs that include operating and depreciation costs for scientific equipment and research infrastructure necessary to carry out the project.
You are not to use the cost type Procurement of R&D services.
You can find more information about how to set up a budget on our website Set up work packages and budget in the new application system (My page).
Research stays abroad and visiting researchers
If doctoral and postdoctoral research fellows are included in the project and there are specific plans for them to stay abroad, this may be included in the application. We also have a separate call for proposals for research stays abroad for doctoral and post-doctoral research fellows. Here, the project manager can apply for funding for research stays abroad for research fellows who are part of the project during the project period.
If you have specific plans for visiting researchers or stays abroad for researchers in the project, this may be included in the application. The rules for such stays and information about rates can be found on the page about work packages and budgets under the section Other project expenses.
Scope of support
Funding of NOK 4-8 million per project is available under this call.
Conditions for funding
We do not award state aid under this call. This means that the funding should only go to your organisation’s non-economic activity. We assume that the necessary accounting separation is in place.
Our conditions for funding and the disbursement of funding can be found in our general terms and conditions for funding for R&D projects (in Norwegian, English version will be available shortly).
Information Will Be Updated
The application must be created and submitted via the Research Council's application system.
Dere skal ikke legge inn sikkerhetsgradert informasjon i søknaden
Please note that you can only submit the application once. If you submit the application and subsequently discover that it still needs to be changed, you must submit a new application and notify us that the original application is to be withdrawn. When you submit the new application, you must fill in the entire application form again.
You must write the application in English.
You should not link to websites in the application. Any links you provide will not be included in the assessment of the application.
The Research Council of Norway may reject applications where the Project Owner or any partner has significantly breached its obligations in other projects funded by the Research Council within the two years prior to the submission of the application.
The application may be rejected if the project manager has been convicted of misconduct by the Joint Integrity Committee or the Investigation Committee in the last two years prior to the submitted application.
The call is available in both Norwegian and English. The text in the Norwegian call for proposals is legally binding.
Ethical standards
The Research Council requires a high standard of research ethics in the projects we fund. You must provide a brief description of how ethical issues will be handled, to show the panel that you have an appropriate plan for this.
The responsibility for ensuring that the research ethics standard is followed lies with the individual researcher and research organisation (cf. the Research Ethics Act). The panel's assessment and the Research Council's decision regarding funding do not entail any approval of research ethics.
For more information, see the Research Council's page Ethical standards in research.
If you are granted fundingIf your application is a
If your application is awarded funding, you must be aware of the following:
The project manager and the Project Owner must have assessed and managed any issue of research security in the project. Research security refers to the risks related to undesirable transfer of knowledge and technology, malign influence on research and innovation or violations of research ethics or integrity, where knowledge and technology are used to undermine key societal values.
Grant recipients in research organisations and the public sector (Project Owners and collaborating partners) must have action plans for gender equality (GEPs) available on their websites. The requirement does not apply to the private sector, interest groups or the voluntary sector.
The Research Council requires full and immediate open access for scientific articles, see Plan S - open access to publications.
For all projects that handle data, the Project Owner must prepare a data management plan in connection with the revised application, where you will find more information about the requirements for data management plans in projects that receive funding from us.
For medical and health studies involving humans, the Research Council sets special requirements and guidelines for prospective registration of studies and publication of results.
Assessment
The panel will assess the application in light of the purpose of the call and the following criteria:
Excellence
- The extent to which the objectives are clear and relevant to the purpose of the call.
- The extent to which the project is ambitious and will challenge the state of the art
Impact
- The extent to which the expected impact of the project underpins the purpose of the call.
- The extent to which the results from the project are likely to make significant and important contributions.
- The extent to which the planned results will contribute to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Implementation
- The extent to which the project participants’ expertise is complementary and that they as a whole have the necessary expertise.
Administrative procedure
Applications that do not satisfy the formal requirements or do not meet the purpose of the call will be rejected. Applications that fall outside the delimitations set out in the call will be rejected without further consideration.
Applications that meet the formal requirements and fall within the scope of the call will be submitted to a panel of at least three members for assessment. The panel members make their individual assessments of the application and award a mark per criterion. After they have written the individual assessments, the panel meets for discussion, so that the application receives a joint panel assessment. At the meeting, the panel agrees on a joint panel assessment with grades and written assessments for each of the criteria.
The grading scale goes from 0 to 5, where 5 is best. You can find more information on our information page about Assessment criteria and grading scale.
Thresholds for marks
- Only applications where at least two of the evaluators have given a mark of four or higher on all the assessment criteria are eligible for funding. All other applications will be rejected.
Further processing of qualified applications is based on the assessments of the two evaluators who have given the best assessment.
Applications are ranked according to the average of the marks for the three criteria, and research quality is weighted twice. In the event of a similarity in character, a draw is carried out.
Assessment of whether the application satisfies the academic, thematic and/or structural guidelines set out in the call
The administration will assess the extent to which the application meets the requirements and the thematic, academic and/or structural guidelines described in the call.
Portfolio assessment and decisions by the portfolio board
The administration makes a recommendation to the portfolio board. Applications can be recommended for allocation or rejection.
The portfolio board makes the decision on allocation or rejection.
Feedback on the application
You will receive feedback in the form of a decision letter. This includes written assessments and grades for each assessment criterion and a written justification for the decision.
Expected response to the application
The applicant can expect an answer to the application in mid-December 2026
Messages at time of print 28 April 2026, 21:27 CEST
Important message
For the calls for proposals with the application deadline 29 April at 13:00 CET, we manage our hotline +47 22 03 70 00 Monday 27 April and Tuesday 28 April at CET 08:00–15:45 and Wednesday 29 April at CET 08:00-13:00.