Security, Reliability and Resilience in Digital Ecosystems
Important dates
10 Jun 2026
Application deadline
01 Feb 2027
Earliest permitted project start
01 Sep 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
The purpose of this call is to support projects that will contribute to building and strengthening national research and innovation communities in the field of digital security, and will provide research that can increase the security, reliability and resilience of digital ecosystems. The projects must contribute to new knowledge in information and communication technology, and/or new knowledge that integrates technology research with other disciplines, including the social sciences and humanities.
Results from the projects will contribute to strengthening Norway's ability to withstand, adapt and recover quickly from unforeseen events, so that critical functions and societal values are maintained and vulnerabilities in digital ecosystems are reduced. The projects will facilitate the development of research results into new security products, processes and/or services and, where relevant, also for policy development.
Thematic or subject-specific guidelines
Digital sovereignty, balance between control and robustness, applicability and openness are examples of dimensions that are important for the security, reliability and resilience of digital ecosystems and that can be included in the research/research challenges.
A digital ecosystem can include, for example, digital platforms, communication infrastructures, data and information flow, regulation and standards, automation and AI, etc., in addition to the actors operating within the ecosystem.
The research challenges/issues can be linked to one or more components and/or the entire ecosystem.
Projects must be carried out in accordance with guidelines for responsible research and innovation. This approach encourages the inclusion of methods and processes to assess four important dimensions related to research and innovation: Looking ahead, inviting with, thinking through and working together. See more about how this can be done on the guidance page.
Information Will Be Updated
National and international research collaboration, and collaboration between research organisations, the business sector, the public sector and other actors who are problem owners/problem solvers, shall contribute to the quality and relevance of research, so that results and technological solutions are quickly put to use.
If relevant, the project must use and/or facilitate connection to national and international technology infrastructures, where relevant. (Examples: Regulatory sandboxes, 6(5)G testbeds, AI factories, Cyber Ranges, etc.).
The projects that receive funding must collectively contribute to the education of more specialists with master's and doctoral degrees, as well as postdoctoral positions, and that more of those who receive the training must be able to hold positions that require security clearance. Applications that plan to contribute to the training of personnel who may subsequently hold positions that require security clearance must explain how they will contribute to this.
It is not a requirement that all projects must include doctoral or postdoctoral positions. The objective is for the funding announced to fund at least 12 doctoral and/or postdoctoral research fellows, of which at least 4 must have the objective of being able to obtain security clearance.We will publish more information as it becomes available.
Prioritisation of applications
The portfolio of projects to be funded must:
- cover a wide range of technology areas and areas of application
- make a significant contribution in areas with a particular need for national expertise, including encryption, cyber security and forensics, security and resilience of digital communication infrastructures, software and data platforms
- have at least 12 doctoral and/or postdoctoral research fellows, of which at least 4 must have the objective of being able to obtain security clearance
- contribute to national collaboration or division of labour between the research communities within the above-mentioned technology areas
- involve a wide range of actors from business and the public sector
- include interdisciplinary collaboration where humanities and/or social science research challenges are linked to technology research
have work packages led by companies, the public or voluntary sector
Applications are ranked according to average mark if several applications meet the same priority
Who can participate in the project?
In addition to our requirement for who can be the Project Owner, we have requirements for the project manager's competence and for who can be collaborating partners.
For all participating organisations, 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 collaborating partner in the project.
- Some research organisations, such as health trusts and some research institutes, have tasks of a more administrative or commercial nature in addition to their research activities. The nature of such tasks enable them to be included in a project as a representative of the societal or industrial challenge. However, it is important to note that an organisation cannot act both as a research organisation and as a partner outside the research sector in the same project. If they act as a research organisation, they will not count toward our requirements relating to collaborating partners. The roles must therefore be clearly stated in the project description.
- Public agencies or entities can be considered different partners in the project even if the legal owner is the same. We then assume that they contribute with different user perspectives. This must be stated in the project description.
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 the 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
In this call, you are required to include at least two Norwegian collaborating partners (hereinafter referred to as user partners) who are not research organisations, and all collaborating partners must have costs in the project. The user partners must contribute with costs that in total correspond to at least 10.0% of the amount that you seek from us for the project (hereinafter referred to as the participation requirement). Participation may consist of personnel and indirect expenses (e.g. hourly effort) and/or other project costs that are necessary to carry out the project. The costs must be entered in the project budget and be retrievable in the user partners' accounts. Equipment, data sets, unpaid work or the like that are made available for the project without it being accounted for do not count as costs in the project. Collaborating partners may fully finance their own costs without applying for support from us. Such own financing counts towards the participation requirement.
In addition, the following requirements apply:
- You are to carry out the project in effective collaboration. Read more under Article 25: Important definitions.
- The user partners must be societal or industrial actors who contribute expertise and experience, and who ensure that the project and the objectives of the project address real challenges in society and/or the industrial sector.
- Universities, university colleges and institutes whose main task is to conduct research cannot have the role of social or industrial actor.
- Sole proprietorships can be collaborating partners.
- Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) and Norwegian-registered foreign companies (NUF) do not count toward our requirements relating to collaborating partners.
- The application must be strategically supported by all collaborating partners.
- The Project Owner and collaborating partners must be independent of each other. This means that one cannot have a controlling influence over the other. This applies both between the Project Owner and the collaborating partner, and between all the collaborating partners. Any subcontractors and the Project Owner or collaborating partners must also be independent of each other. By controlling influence, we mean majority ownership or other specific legal or factual circumstances that mean that one actor can control the other. Read more about such dependencies here.
- The project should have a steering group or reference group in which the collaborating partners are represented.
- The project cannot be commissioned research.
- You must describe how the expertise built up in the project can benefit larger user groups.
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 may participate in the project, but are not eligible to receive funding.
Using subcontractors in the project
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 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. For researcher positions in the institute sector, you must use the reported hourly rates.
- 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.
The item Procurement of R&D services must not be used.
You can only apply for funding for research activities that can be characterised as basic research or industrial research (for sectors that are not the industrial sector, industrial research can be understood as applied research). Under this call, we do not provide funding for experimental development, operational activities or measures for commercialisation, marketing or other utilisation of research results.
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).
Foreign organisations similar to Norwegian research organisations are eligible for funding. See Budgeting costs for collaborating partners abroad.
Expenses of Norwegian collaborating partners that are not research organisations
Industry partners
Companies that are to be collaborating partners must be registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises and have economic activity in Norway. By economic activity, we mean offering goods or services in a market. This means that the collaborating partner must either be a private company, or a public enterprise that conducts activities of an industrial or commercial nature. Collaborating partners whose project expenses are covered by our support will be recipients of state aid. The state aid rules impose restrictions on such funding. These limitations depend on the size of the enterprise and the type of research being conducted. Please note, however, that in this call, we only grant funding that corresponds to the funding intensity for industrial research, even if the company or companies are involved in basic research in the project.
If the application is recommended for funding, we will ask for more information to ensure that our funding is in line with the regulations.
Public actors
Public actors other than those mentioned in the section above are not covered by the state aid rules. This means that we can cover up to 100% of their costs.
The voluntary sector
Actors from the voluntary sector that do not fall under the definition of economic activity are not covered by the state aid rules and can have up to 100% of their costs covered.
Foreign collaborating partners
We cannot cover the expenses of foreign collaborating partners that are not research organisations. Such costs must therefore be kept out of the budget tables. However, you must mention the activities they will carry out and the costs associated with them in the application.
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.
Conditions for funding
The following conditions apply to the allocation of funding:
- The funding to the research organisations goes to their non-economic activity in the form of independent research. It therefore does not constitute state aid. The Research Council assumes that the necessary accounting separation between the organisation's economic and non-economic activities is in place.
- The call for proposals has been notified as an aid scheme to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) and has the reference GBER XX/2026/R&D&I. If an undertaking is to be reimbursed for part of its project costs as a collaborating partner in the project, this must be done in accordance with Article 25 of the General Block Exemption Regulation (Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014). See the Consolidated Block Exemption Regulation with amendments up to and including June 2023. In addition, the general conditions in Chapter I of the Regulation must be met. Terms and concepts shall be interpreted in accordance with the corresponding terms and concepts in the aid rules. In the event of any conflict between the announcement and the state aid rules, the latter shall take precedence. For the same reason, the call for proposals may also be adjusted.
- Aid may not be granted to undertakings that have not complied with the requirements for repayment following a previous decision by the ESA/EU Commission declaring the aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market. Nor may aid be granted to undertakings in difficulty within the meaning of EEA law.
The Research Council's conditions for granting and disbursing funding are set out in the General Terms and Conditions for R&D Projects (in Norwegian,, English version will be available shortly). We will publish more information as it becomes available.
Practical information
The application must be created and submitted via the Research Council's application system.
You must not include classified information in the application.
Please note that you can only submit the application once. If you submit the application and subsequently discover that it 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 found guilty 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 on ethical standards in research.We will publish more information as it becomes available.
If you are granted funding
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. Here 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.
- The extent to which interdisciplinary approaches are adequately addressed.
- The extent to which the gender perspectives in research and/or innovation are adequately addressed.
- The extent to which ethical issues are adequately addressed.
- The extent to which the theoretical approach, research design and choice of methods are credible and suitable.
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.
- The extent to which the plans to achieve the described impact are credible.
- The extent to which the plans and measures for dissemination and exploitation of the results are suitable for maximising the expected impact.
- The extent to which proper practice for open research is integrated, including the sharing and management of the research results.
- Where relevant, the extent to which the plans for cooperation with stakeholders, including citizens, end users and society in general, are suitable.
Implementation
- The extent to which the project participants’ expertise is complementary and that they as a whole have the necessary expertise.
- The extent to which the project manager has relevant expertise and experience.
- The extent to which the allocation of tasks ensures that all project participants have a clearly defined role and adequate resources to fulfil that role.
- The extent to which the plan for the implementation of the work is clear and realistic with defined milestones, work packages and deliverables.
- The extent to which the proposed management structures and governance are appropriate.
- The extent to which the project is strategically supported by the Project Owner and the collaborating partners.We will publish more information as it becomes available.
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
- We consider applications with an average mark ≥3.0, and no partial mark ≤2, to be eligible for funding.
- All other applications will be rejected.
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. The decision is based on a portfolio assessment with the aim of identifying the applications that best meet the objectives, guidelines and priorities of the call as a whole.
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, 21:28 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.