Upcoming calls for proposals

1. Calls for Ground-breaking research

• RCN - Researcher Project with International Mobility (International Mobility): 0-7 years after PhD, with research stay(s) abroad 

This call is aimed at researchers at postdoctoral level who wish to spend 1-2 years at one or two foreign research organisations, combined with 1-2 years in Norway. The goal of this call is career development and independence for the researcher, and to bring new knowledge to Norwegian research environments.

• RCN - Radical Research Ideas for Early Career Scientists (Radical Research Ideas): 2–7 years after PhD, short project to find out if your most riveting research idea is viable 

This call is the first step in phased funding and is aimed at researchers who want to test particularly bold research ideas (with project duration of 4-12months). The ideas must be so bold that the risk of failure is too high to justify starting a large project, but where the research could have a significant impact on the field if the project is successful. Project managers for successful research idea projects may later apply for larger FRIPRO projects and be prioritized there. 

• RCN - Researcher Project for Early Career Scientists (Early Career Scientists): 2–7 years after PhD, to gain experience in leading a research project

This call is aimed at researchers at an early stage in their careers, who have demonstrated the potential to conduct research of high scientific quality and who want to gain experience in leading a research project.

•  RCN - Researcher Projects for Experienced Scientists (Experienced Scientists): 6+ years after PhD. This call is aimed at experienced scientists who have demonstrated the ability to conduct research of high scientific quality.

• Funding scale: NOK 4 000 000-12 000 000
• Project duration: 36-96 months

•  RCN - Top Researchers: 6+ years after PhD for the project manager and 2+ years after the PhD for at least one other project participant. A large project with the goal of making the research community world-leading in its field. 

• Funding scale: NOK 15 000 000-40 000 000
• Project duration: 48-96 months

2. Mobility grant for RCN funded Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows

The scheme applies to doctoral and post-doctoral research fellows who are wholly or partly (at least 50%) funded by the Research Council and affiliated with an ongoing project for a minimum of 36 months. The research stay abroad can be a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 12 months, and the stay must be completed at least 3 months before the end of the grant period. 

READ MORE

3. UiB tidleg idé

Are you a student with an idea of a product or service which can improve people's lives? Or a researcher who wants your research findings to become useful for people? In addition to the UiB idé call with deadlines, UiB tidleg idé can be used to bring forward ideas at a very early stage and make it easier to develop innovation projects to the point where they qualify for other funding sources. This call is open all year around! READ MORE

4. RCN - Support of events

Through this call, one can apply for funding to organise conferences, workshops and seminars. The event will be a meeting place for dissemination of research results, knowledge sharing, development of a knowledge base and/or the establishment of scientific collaboration. The event can be both physical and digital.

Relevant thematic areas for this call:

• Energy and transportation
• The research system
• Health
• Innovation
• Climate and the environment
• Food and bioresources
• Enabling technologies
• Cross-cutting topics

Target groups: Public sector, Industry, Research organisations

READ MORE

5. RCN - Communication and Dissemination of Climate, Environment and Ocean Research

The purpose of this call is to provide support for dissemination and communication that increases people's understanding of climate, environmental, circular economy, polar and ocean research, and that facilitates the use of research-based knowledge. The Research Council wants to support projects that cannot be carried out in ordinary communication work and that differ from it. Applications are not required to be linked to projects that already receive funding from the Research Council. The call is available in both Norwegian and English. The text of the Norwegian call for proposals is legally binding. Applications aimed at Norwegian target groups should be written in Norwegian. READ MORE

1. Peder Sather Grant - deadline 2026-04-13

The Peder Sather Center for Advanced Study supports projects carried out by researchers at UC Berkeley in collaboration with researchers from eight Norwegian universities. Funds are made available to support activities such as workshops, mini-conferences, virtual intellectual exchanges, the undertaking of exploratory and pilot studies, activities such as PhD student exchanges, longer-term stays for Principal Investigators, the collection and analysis of data, and other core research activities.

• Funding scale: between $10K and $25K
• Project duration: 2 academic years 
• Application process, guidelines and FAQs can be found here.

2. MSCA Staff Exchanges (SE) - deadline 2026-04-16

It funds short-term (1-12 months) international and inter-sectoral exchanges of staff members involved in research and innovation activities of participating organisations. 

Who can apply? 
MSCA SE is open to international consortiums of universities, research institutions, businesses, SMEs and other non-academic organisations. They need to include:

• at least three organisations in three different countries, two of which need to be located in a different EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country 
• above this minimum, the participation of organisations from any country is possible
• if all participating organisations are from the same sector (academic or non-academic), at least one must be from a non-associated Third Country

Individual staff members are selected by their sending organisations to take part in the planned exchanges. Staff funded by Staff Exchanges:

• can be researchers at any career stage, from PhD candidates to postdoctoral researchers, as well as administrative, technical or managerial staff involved in research and innovation activities
• can be of any nationality
• must be engaged in, or linked to, research and innovation activities at their sending organisation for at least one month prior to the secondment
• should return to their sending organisation after the secondment, to pass on their knowledge and foster collaboration

What will the funding cover? Seconded staff receives: 

• a top-up allowance (for travel, accommodation, subsistence costs), which is on top of the salary paid by their organisation
• a special needs allowance, if applicable
• In addition, funding is provided for research, training and networking activities
• management and indirect costs

How to apply?!

3. UiB AI seed funding - deadline 2026-04-20 23:59CEST

UiB AI has opened the call for applications for seed funding to foster new collaborations around AI research, education and/or innovation. The idea behind this call is to facilitate NEW collaborations across UiB and/or with external partners. HERE you will find the call text as well as the application form. All applications (either in English or Norwegian) should be sent to uibai@uib.no.

4. Belmont Forum Ocean 2 - deadline for pre-proposals 2026-04-30

This is the Belmont Forum's second call for proposals on the marine and coastal environment research; and in this call the Research Council of Norway contributes with NOK 17 million to Norwegian research organisations. The purpose of the call is to enhance our knowledge about the oceans and foster international, transdisciplinary research to address global environmental challenges facing our oceans. All Norwegian sea areas are included in the call, included the polar oceans.

The Belmont Forum’s OCEAN 2 Collaborative Research Action (CRA) supports transdisciplinary research addressing global ocean challenges and contributes to the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Projects are expected to last 36 months and involve research consortia with participants from a minimum of three of the countries participating in the call. See specific information for Norwegian partners in the national annex for Norway in the call on the Belmont Forum website.

Proposals should focus on at least one of three key areas:

• Biodiversity Conservation and Nature-Based Solutions

• Ocean-Biodiversity-Climate Integration

• Nature Futures, Ocean Governance, and Ethics for Sustainability.

How to apply? https://belmontforum.org/archives/open-opportunity/ocean-2/ 

Main deadline for full proposal: 2026-08-27, by invitation only.

5. EU TalentOn 2026 - deadline 2026-04-30

From September 7 to 11, 2026, Brest will become the beating heart of European science as it hosts the third edition of EU TalentOn, a dynamic contest for young research talents aged 21 to 35. Organized by the Technopôle Brest-Iroise as part of the EU-funded Science Comes to Town initiative, this five-day event will bring together over 100 of Europe’s brightest early-career scientists to tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges.

Selected participants will work in multidisciplinary teams to develop solutions linked to the five EU Missions under Horizon Europe: Adaptation to Climate change, Cancer, Ocean, Cities and Soil. These young researchers will receive the necessary tools to create innovative and marketable solutions, and will have the opportunity to follow workshops, company visits, lectures, master classes, personal guidance and cultural experiences. At the end of the event, each team will pitch their solution to a professional jury. Winners will receive sponsored prizes from the EU, industry and mentors.

• Where and When: Brest, France 7–11 September 2026
• Travel support: Travel, accommodation and meals are fully covered
• Award: €80,000 in prizes (incl. €12,000 Grand Jury Prize)

Who Can Apply?

• Students enrolled in a Master’s programme, Master’s graduates, PhD candidates, postdocs, and young researchers (21–35 years old)
• All academic disciplines
• Open to applicants from across Europe

How to apply? Follow here.

1. Young CAS Grant - deadline 2026-05-13

The Centre for Advanced Study (CAS) has now opened the call for the Young CAS Grant for the period January 2027 – December 2028. This is a unique opportunity for young researchers who is lacking hands-on experience in research leadership and strong international networks. 

• The PIs should have completed a PhD and be below the age of 40 at the application deadline. Extensions will be granted for statutory leaves of absence, compulsory military or civilian service, and continuous full-time and/or part-time sick leave equal to at least eight weeks full-time absence.
• Two Young CAS projects will be selected for funding under this call, and each project receives NOK 750 000 to host 3 workshops and complete a 2-month research stay at CAS over the 2-year period (for detailed information about what the funding covers, please see the budget template).

Need inspirations? Here is an overview of funded CAS projects. 
How to apply? Detailed application requirements can be found here.

2. Universal Design in Higher Education - deadline 2026-05-18 15:00 CET

The Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) has opened a call for application of project funding for 2026 within the area of universal design in higher education. The call is part of the Competence Enhancement Programme for Universal Design and aims to strengthen knowledge and expertise on universal design both as a strategy for inclusion and as academic content in higher education. This might be a good opportunity if you have concrete plans after our Institute Seminar at Ullensvang. 

The funding scheme is divided into two categories:

• Learning environment funding, aimed at improving students’ learning environments through universal design.
• Academic funding, aimed at strengthening teaching and learning about universal design as a subject within relevant study programmes.

Funding scale: max. NOK 200,000 per project. More information about the call can be found here.
 

3. NSUP Research Seed Fund 2026 - deadline 2026-05-20 12pm (GMT)

The North Sea University Partnership is pleased to announce the launch of its first call of Research Seed Funding, to further strengthen research collaboration among its partner institutions.

Through a competitive process, NSUP will jointly advertise, select, and fund collaborative research projects involving at least two NSUP institutions. Successful projects are expected to lead to outcomes such as third-party funding applications, larger-scale interdisciplinary collaborations, and significant joint publications. In its first year, the call will prioritise proposals addressing the NSUP key priority area:

North Sea priorities: energy, the green transition, marine/maritime research, and resilience/security. We encourage interdisciplinary perspectives across science, humanities and social sciences related to these North Sea priorities.

The selection panel will aim to achieve a balanced portfolio across these priority areas. Projects may request up to £25,000 for activities lasting 12–24 months, with each project researcher funded by their respective institution. Participation of each applicant will be funded and supported by their home institution.

READ MORE HERE

1. Research to improve societal security and emergency preparedness - deadline 2026-06-10 13.00 CEST

This call is supporting research that strengthens Norway’s ability to prevent and manage crises that threaten lives, health, and critical societal functions. The call encourages strong collaboration across research, public sector, and industry, and welcomes both applied and foundational research with real societal impact.

• Funding scale: 4-14 MNOK per project
• Project duration: 3 - 4 years
• Applications to be submitted to this call must fall under at least one of the two overarching areas and at least one, but preferably more, of the themes. See details here (only Norwegian call text is available at the moment).

2. Environment and Natural Values Related to Possible Future Mineral Activities on the Norwegian Shelf - deadline 2026-06-10 13.00 CEST

The projects shall promote research collaboration between Norwegian research communities and relevant societal and industry stakeholders to increase the knowledge base on seabed mineral activities and the potential consequences that any mineral extraction may have for the marine environment.

• Funding scale: 8-16 MNOK per project (based on the total budget of the call, about 3-6 projects can be selected for funding)
• Project duration: 2-4 years
• Projects eligible for funding within this theme must fall under at least one of these four areas (detailed call text can be found here)
• Please note that this year NFR is also announcing funding for a large collaborative project within seabed minerals. [LINK COMING]

1. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships - deadline 2026-09-09

The 2026 call is now open with a total budget of €399.05 million, and nearly 1,600 projects are expected to be funded. The Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF) target researchers who hold a PhD and wish to pursue research abroad, acquire new skills, and further develop their careers. The action supports researchers in gaining experience across different countries, disciplines, and non‑academic sectors.
Who can apply? 

• Applicants must hold a PhD and have a maximum of eight years of full-time equivalent research experience from the date of award of the PhD (with applicable exclusions).
• Applicants can come from any discipline and can apply together with a host organisation, which may be a university, research institution, business, SME, or other organisation based in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country.
• Applicants must comply with the mobility rule: applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or of the outgoing host organisation (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships), for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.
• Note that, from 2026 onwards, resubmission restrictions apply for applications that scored below 80% in the previous year.

Types of Postdoctoral Fellowships

• European Postdoctoral Fellowships: These fellowships are open to researchers moving within Europe or coming to Europe from other parts of the world. They take place in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country and last 1–2 years. Researchers of any nationality may apply.
• Global Postdoctoral Fellowships: These fellowships support mobility outside Europe. They last 2–3 years, with an initial 1–2-year outgoing phase in a non-associated Third Country, followed by a mandatory 1-year return phase to an organisation based in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country. Only nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries are eligible to apply.

Both fellowship types may include short-term secondments anywhere in the world and may also offer an optional six-month placement in a non-academic organisation at the end of the standard fellowship.

What is funded? The MSCA provides a contribution to:

• The salary costs of the recruited researcher (including living and mobility allowances)
• Research, training, and networking costs, as well as the overall management of the project.

Detailed information on the MSCA financial contributions is available in the MSCA Work Programme.

Full call text is available here

February - 2026

1. UiB idé - deadline 2026-02-14

Are you a student with an idea of a product or service which can improve people's lives? Or a researcher who wants your research findings to become useful for people? UiB idé gives employees and students the opportunity to verify good innovation ideas that need to be developed and tested before they can be taken further. The maximum grant amount is NOK 500,000 for researcher projects and NOK 100,000 for student projects. 

READ MORE

2. UArctic - deadline 2026-02-27

The UArctic call is now open for applications for networking projects in Arctic research and education, for engagement between Norwegian UArctic member institutions and other UArctic member institutions for UArctic activities.

Who can apply? The main applicant must come from a UArctic member university in Norway.

Funding scale: Up to NOK 400,000 per project (Total call: NOK 2.5 million)

Focus area:

• Arctic research & education
• International collaboration
• UArctic Thematic Networks / Institutes

Activities eligible for funding:

• Establishment and development of a UArctic Thematic Network or a UArctic Institute
• Development of joint courses or joint degree programs on topics with northern relevance at bachelor’s, master’s or PhD level
• Development of flexible education, especially online-based programs or courses
• Networking activities related to research activities conducted by the UArctic Thematic Networks. A full list of the Thematic Networks can be found on the UArctic website.
• Education or research activities focusing on Indigenous issues.

Eligible costs:

• Meeting and workshop expenses (e.g. venue, meals, accommodation and travels of the participants)
• Teaching fees or payments and per diems. Please note that you cannot cover the permanent salaries for scientific/academic or technical/administrative staff.
• Costs for online conference platforms and tools
• Consumables related to research work
• Overhead costs cannot be covered
• Applicants should document funding of at least 25% of the total budget from in kind and/or other sources.

More details of this call can be found here.

March - 2026 

1. Call for applications for funding within the themetic area of Global Societal Challenges - deadline 2026-03-01

Global Societal Challenges (GSU) is one of three priority areas where UiB aims to utilise and further develop the university’s unique opportunities for academic mobilisation, in‑depth study, and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries. GSU invites applications for the following categories:

• Support for events that highlight UiB’s engagement in global collaboration and efforts related to global challenges, as well as visiting researcher stays at UiB that include the organisation of open events focusing on global societal challenges. Maximum NOK 100,000 per project. A digital application form can be found here.
• Collaborative projects within Global Societal Challenges to stimulate collaboration across faculties. The call targets academic staff at the postdoctoral, researcher, associate professor, and professor levels with a primary position at UiB. Early‑career applicants are encouraged to apply. Maximum NOK 100,000 per project. A digital application form can be found here.

2. Svalbard Strategic Grant - deadline 2026-03-11 13:00 CET

Svalbard Strategic Grant is a seed money program aimed at advancing coordination, collaboration and data sharing between researchers with a relevance to Svalbard. The program is financed by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and administered by the Svalbard Science Forum (SSF) secretariat in Longyearbyen.

Funding is available for collaboration and network activities:

• cooperation/network projects  
• workshops 
• initiating pre-projects 

Priority in this call will be given to activities that contribute to the following: 

• establishing new scientific cooperation and/or monitoring initiatives in Svalbard to fill current knowledge gaps; 
• increased mobility and cooperation between research localities in Svalbard (Longyearbyen, Ny-Ålesund, Hornsund, Bjørnøya, Hopen and Jan Mayen); 
• increased mobility and cooperation between research localities in Svalbard and Greenland; 
• placing Svalbard research in a pan-Arctic and global perspective; 
• developing the Ny-Ålesund flagship programmes and other existing scientific networks in Svalbard; 
• data management compliant with SIOS data policy and FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management; 
• developing sustainable cooperation under the auspices of SIOS; 
• SIOS offers tailored help and training in data management to support funded projects in navigating the hurdles of data management and making the output of Earth System Science projects visible through the SIOS data access portal. 

Funding scale: NOK 50 000 - 500 000

Relevant thematic areas for this call: Climate and the environment

Project duration: 12-24 months

The English call text is the legally binding version and can be found here.

3. SPIRE seed funding - Deadline 2026-03-13

The Strategic Program for International Research Collaboration (SPIRE) at UiB has now opened a call for seed funding to initiate and develop new international research collaborations as a foundation for project proposals for external funding to Horizon Europe, the Research Council of Norway, and other external funding sources. Project proposals that include researchers from institutions outside the EU/EEA area may be given priority.

SPIRE funds may cover:

• Compensation/refund for work done with proposal writing in relation to an application to Horizon Europe, the Research Council of Norway and other external funding sources, by academic staff in tenure-track positions (combined positions with a research component), researchers (codes: 1109, 1110, 1183 – with a PhD) and postdoctoral fellows at the University of Bergen. NOTE: To apply for compensation/refund for proposal writing related to an application, prior approval from the Head of Department is required. The compensation or refund is allocated to the Department or unit, not to the individual researcher. 
• Procurement of external assistance and consultation. Ordering external consultation must be done by a purchaser at our department. UiB has signed a framework agreement for pre-award services. 
• Travel, accomodation and meeting costs related to research collaboration, as well as visits from international researchers in connection with proposal writing.

Who can apply?

• Academic staff (combined positions with a research component), researchers (codes: 1109, 1110, 1183 - with a PhD), and postdoctoral fellows at UiB.
• Academic staff must hold at least a 50% position at UiB.
• Postdoctoral fellows must hold a 100% position at UiB and must have employment at UiB for the next two years to be eligible to apply.

Application process:

• The application should be sent to the local research coordinator within March 13, 2026. 
• Application form can be downloaded here (in English) and here (in Norwegian).
• The faculty deadline for finalizing the evaluation is March 31, 2026.
• A new application round may be opened during autumn 2026 (which are administered by the faculties).
• The deadline for using SPIRE funds granted in 2026 is December 18, 2026. 

4. Support for marine cooperation - deadline 2025-03-16

UiB Ocean seeks to stimulate marine collaboration, both within UiB and with marine actors in the region. If you need support for an ocean-related activity that will promote such collaboration, it's now possible to apply for strategic funding from UiB Ocean. 

• Applications related to 'Polar Oceans' are especially welcome. The same applies to applications that aim to prepare interdisciplinary grant proposals to e.g. the Research Council of Norway or Horizon Europe. 
• Funding scale: max. 50000NOK
• Individual research expenses or travel support to conferences etc. will not be provided.
• E-application form can be found here.

5. UiB Momentum Programme - deadline 2026-03-20 17:00 CET

Momentum is a career development programme for excellent early-stage researchers at UiB. This is a call for applications to the 8th programme which will be run in 2026-2027. Up to 24 applicants will be accepted.   

The programme includes five compulsory seminars that are structured around the key categories of 'career development' and 'external funding', with the topics of the seminars being 'excellence', 'impact', 'research leadership and implementation', 'internationalization', and 'grant writing'. Each seminar lasts for 2 days, located in the Bergen area. In addition to the seminar series, Momentum delegates receive a NOK 50 000 stipend to spend on career advancing activities like mentoring, networking, research stays, conferences, workshops, application development, field work, pilot data etc.

Postdoctoral researchers, researchers and associate professors can apply, and candidates will be selected according to the following eligibility criteria:

• The candidates must be employed by UiB, normally in a minimum 80 % FTE position.
• Employees in fixed-term positions must have at least one year left on their contract at the start of the programme.
• It should be no more than nine (9) years since candidates have obtained their PhD.
• The programme holds a strong focus on strengthening the candidate’s ability to attract external funding and win research grants. Candidates should be motivated to apply for external funding, in agreement with their department/faculty.  

How to apply? Please use the e-application form and upload the following documents (NB: there is no template for those required attachments, but since GEO had successful experiences, please contact the research coordinator if you need help).

• A cover letter explaining your motivation for applying to Momentum and your motivation to apply for external funding (maximum 2 pages).
• Your academic CV.
• A short letter of recommendation from your head of department (maximum 1 page).

More  information about the call can be found here.

6. Seed funding: UiB Climate and Energy Transition - deadline 2026-03-22 23:59 CET

UiB’s strategic initiative Climate and Energy Transition hereby invites applications for seed funding under the following guidelines:

• The funds must be used to increase academic activity within climate and/or energy transition.
• Seed funding may be used for: travel, events, visits from other research institutions and/or from industry. If applying for support to prepare a specific project proposal, funding may also be granted for teaching buyout and hiring a research assistant or similar.
• Funds will not be granted for equipment.
• For the preparation of a project proposal, the call for which you are applying must be specified.
• Maximum amount per application: NOK 120,000.
• Funds must be used by the end of June 2027. Unused funds must be returned.
• The application must be written in English or Norwegian and may be a maximum of 9,000 characters.
• Attach a short CV for the project leader, max. 4 pages. The project leader cannot be a PhD candidate or master’s student.
• All points must be addressed (see details listed below). Applications that are too long or fail to answer any of the questions will be rejected on formal grounds.
• Applications will be evaluated based on quality, academic relevance to climate and energy transition, and whether they contribute to academic innovation.
• Applications will be evaluated by a committee consisting of Berte‑Elen R. Konow, Knut Eirik Ringheim Eliassen, Nils Anfinset, and Rasmus T. Slaattelid, with Kristin Guldbrandsen Frøysa as secretary. The committee is appointed by the steering group for climate and energy transition.
• Application deadline: 22 March at 23:59 CEST, with responses sent to applicants in week 16. (Note: this is an internal GEO deadline — GEO will submit a compiled list of all applications to the faculty. Applications should be sent to the Research Coorinator.)

Requirements for an application for project development funding:

1. Project title
2. Call for proposals that the application responds to
3. Project summary (max. 2000 characters)
4. Description of relevance to climate and energy transition
5. Project leader
6. Administrative responsible person
7. Partners (research partners and key user partners you wish to include)
8. Timeline for the application process
9. Simple budget for the use of the seed funds (including VAT)
10. Any other relevant information

Requirements for an application for support to increase academic activity:

1. Which academic field (topic) do you wish to strengthen?
2. Description of the field’s relevance to climate and energy transition
3. Simple project plan – what are the key activities you intend to carry out?
4. List the main collaboration partners – include both institution(s) and contact person(s)
5. How will the collaboration partners contribute to increased academic activity at UiB?
6. Project leader at UiB
7. Project staff from UiB
8. Administrative responsible person
9. Timeline
10. Simple budget for the use of the seed funds (including VAT)
11. Any other relevant information