The Department supports externally funded projects that are in line with the academic priorities.
Approval process
All new projects must be approved by the Head of the Department before submission. The department head assesses the project's legal and financial implications and whether it is in line with academic priorities.
The research administration will assist the applicants with the approval process. All applicants must complete this online form at least 6 weeks before the planned submission (for larger projects, at least 3 months before). This will give sufficient time to plan and complete the applications and budgets.
The following information may be relevant in the approval process:
- Academic content /topic /title
- Role in the project (coordinator or partner)
- Type of call (RCN, DIKU,?EU, ERA, JPI, centre, foundations, UiO-calls etc.)
- Personal needs (PSI participants and type of employment)
- Budget (max. amount, self-funding etc.)
- Project start and project duration
- Application deadline or delivery deadline
All applications should be approved by the management two weeks before the deadline.
Applicants
Most calls today are directed towards established researchers/ educators.?
Academic staff in permanent positions can follow the abovementioned approval process.
Temporary academic staff (postdocs, researchers, lecturers) should first discuss this with their group leader and/ or Head of sections. When this is done they can follow the usual approval process.?
When PSI serves as the host institution for an external research funding application, this also implies an expectation that the institute will be able to employ the candidate if the project is awarded funding. In accordance with the university’s regulations and general principles for recruitment at UiO, the institute must therefore have conducted both an academic and an institutional assessment of the candidate and the project before such an application is submitted through PSI.
As a general rule, researchers apply for external funding through PSI only if they already hold a position at the institute. In exceptional cases, external candidates without an employment relationship with PSI may be permitted to submit applications for external funding through the institute. This will normally apply only to particularly qualified candidates and in connection with larger academic initiatives where the project is clearly anchored both academically and strategically in an established research environment at PSI, where the funding also covers the institute’s indirect costs (overhead) in addition to the candidate’s salary, and where the candidate already has a connection to or collaboration with researchers at PSI. In such cases, the institute must be able to explain why it is desirable for the application to be submitted through PSI.
The process is as follows:
1. Clarification with collaborator and research environment
The external candidate clarifies which internal researcher/project leader/research group may serve as the relevant collaborator. The candidate and the collaborator clarify the potential form of collaboration and affiliation.
2. Pre-application to apply through PSI
The external candidate submits a pre-application to PSI requesting permission to submit an application to an external funding body through PSI. The application must be submitted via the Nettskjema and must include:
? Justification for the application
? Information about affiliation, collaboration, and potential departmental/centre affiliation
? Project outline
? Information about the type of funding and the call for proposals
? CV
? Letter of support from the internal PSI collaborator
The pre-application must be submitted at least 10 weeks before the deadline for the project application to the external funding body.
3. Preliminary assessment
The management at PSI conducts a preliminary assessment of the application plans. If PSI considers the application relevant to proceed with, the case will be forwarded to the relevant department or centre.
4. Interview and reference check
The head of the relevant department or centre conducts an interview and reference check for the candidate and assesses the department’s capacity. Minutes with a recommendation are sent to the PSI management, which provides the final decision on whether an application for external funding may be submitted with PSI as the project owner and place of work.
5. Further process
If the pre-application is approved by PSI, the candidate submits a standard application for approval (via the Nettskjema) at least 6 weeks before the application deadline. The case is prepared in the usual way by the research administration and project finance officers and is processed at PSI approval meetings.
Buy-out and office space
If the project leader needs a buy-out ("frikj?p") for the project this will be taken equally from their research and teaching time. The project leader should discuss possible buy-out with their Head of Section.
Successful projects
If the project is successful the project leader will get support in the contract phase, operating phase and end phase from the research administration.
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About commissioned projects
There are two types of externally funded projects in the university sector; commissioned projects and collaboration projects.?
In commissioned, project work is carried out on behalf of a client. The client can set terms on results, secrecy, publications, rights to data and work. Such projects are therefore often more demanding for the project leader and administration. Due to that the Department only recommends taking part in a commissioned project when there is a high academic gain.
Collaboration?projects are funded by external actors that contribute with funding. Grant projects have fewer constrains on results, publications and other academic liberties. Projects from EU, RCN, DIKU and foundations are often collaboration projects and are easier to administer.