1. Welcome to the Research Council of Norway
June 1st 2017

2. Agenda
The Research Council's role in the Norwegian research and innovation system
Research and innovation programmes
The Research Council's role as adviser to the Government
Break
International cooperation on research and innovation policy
Case

3. The research council’s role in the Norwegian research and innovation system
Elise Husum,

4. In a closely integrated research, development and innovation system
In Norway research and development is conducted within three main sectors:
Industry - A major portion of Norway’s R&D is carried out within the business sector.
Research performing organisations – A significant portion of Norwegian R&D is conducted by research institutes. The research institutes cooperate closely with industry and the public sector and perform a large part of comissioned research in Norway. Research performing organisations comprise a larger part of the Norwegian R&D system than it does in our neighboring countries.
Universities and university colleges - Research carried out at universities and university colleges accounts for a quarter of Norway’s total research activity. Norway’s universities and university colleges have national responsibility for basic research and researcher training.
Applied
research
Basic research
Industry
Research performing organizations
Universities, university colleges

5. Increase in Norwegian research - in volume and quality
There has been a remarkable increase in Norwegian research over the last years, both in volume as this graph showes, but also in quality. In spite of a rough period in industry, the amount of research is increasing. To be successful we must invest heavily in more research, more innovation, more knowledge.

6. The Research Council’s roles
Adviser to the government
Research funding
Networking
We are a policy advisor to the government on issues related to basic research, applied research and innovation
We fund research, both in industry, institutes universities
Trying to be a matchmaker, stimulating cooperation between businesses, public sector, academia and general public.

7. The strategic role of The Research Council
15 ministries
HOD UD KD
NFD
KLD
LMD
ASD
OED
Norges forskningsråd
Europe and the world
Society
15 departments funding us
Society – We involve a large number of people in our boarding comitties, in advisory grops and
in evaluation of projects
We participate in a wide range of international committies
We fund and we collaborate with industry, institutes and universities. It’s about quality, capacity-building and riskreduction
Institutes
Universities
Industry

8. When it comes to innovation, many want to help!
IN – business development
SIVA – infrastructure
Counties – regional development
FR – research for innovation
Both at regional and national level, we collaborate closely with our sister-organisations.
Our regional offices are located together with IN and we work closely with regional authorities in order to support them in their work with regional development

9. It’s about Public support for research…
Higher
education
sector
Ministry of Education and Research
The Research Council
Research performing
organizations
Other Ministries
The Research Council distributes more than 25% of all public spending on research. The Research Council utilizes targeted funding schemes to translate national research policy goals into action. Most of the money channelled through the Research Council is competitive funding. We involve a large number of people in our boarding comitties, in advisory grops and
in evaluation of projects
Industry

10. GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER
and about dialogue and policy development…
COUNCIL
STRATEGY
GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER
The Research Council of Norway is also a policy advisor to the government on issues related to basic research, applied research and innovation.
The Research Council works to enhance Norway’s knowledge base and meet society’s needs for research by identifying needs and opportunities and recommending national priorities.
In 2015 the Research Council adopted a new main strategy - Research for innovation and sustainability. The strategy focuses on: excellence, societal challenges and competitiveness.
The overall directions for research priorities in Norway is set by the government. In the Long-term Plan for Research and Higher Education the government has identified six broad priority areas:
● Seas and oceans
● Climate, environment and clean energy
● Public sector renewal, better and more effective welfare, health and care services
● Enabling technologies
● Innovative and adaptable industry
● World-leading academic groups
Both the Research Council’s new strategy and the governments Long Term Plan for Research and Higher Education are closely aligned with the structure of Horizon 2020, The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.

11. Long-term Plan for Research and Higher Education (2015 – 2024)
Strategic advises
Long-term Plan for Research and Higher Education (2015 – 2024)
Hav
Klima, miljø og miljøvennlig energi
Bedre offentlige tjenester
Muliggjørende teknologier
Et innovativt og omstillingsdyktig næringsliv
Verdensledende fagmiljøer
RCN policies
National strategies
RCN strategy
Veikart for bilateralt samarbeid
OG-21
Strategi for inter-nasjonalt samarbeid
Energi21
Policy for grunn- leggende forskning
Klima21
Verktøy for forskning
Maritim21
Strategi for instituttsektoren
Hav21
This is an overview of all the strategies that map of all the strategies that are the basis for our work. I have allready mentioned the long-term plan and our strategy. We have different policies for different sectors and topics, for example one for our regional work.
I would also like to mention the National strategies (21-strategies):
These are: Long-term R&D strategies for industrial development and for grand challenges
Involving key players; industry, public bodies and research institutions
Followed up the government; priorities, directions, structures, dimensioning
High legitimacy; alignment, commitment, consensus, cooperation, trust
Policy for FoU ved høgskolene
Skog22
Policy for kjønnsbalanse og -perspektiver i forskning og innovasjon
HelseOmsorg21
Policy for tilgjengeliggjøring av forskningsdata
Miljø21
Prinsipper for åpen publisering
Policy for polarforskning
Strategi for innovasjon
IKT
Policy for regionalt arbeid
Kommunikasjonsstrategien
Organisasjonsstrategien
Nanoteknologi
Policy for innovasjon i offentlig sektor
Evalueringsstrategien
Digitaliseringsstrategien
Bioteknologi

12. Industry driven research
a budget of 9,5 billion NOK
Frontier
research
Infrastructure
Research programmes
The Research Council chanels approximately 1 billion dollars through different funding schemes.
● Research programmes are strategic, targeted and coordinated research initiatives designed to bring forth new knowledge or expertise about a designated thematic area and promote innovation and commercialization within a designated field.
● Open arenas for Industry driven research and Frontier research are important for choosing the very best projects within innovation and basic research.
● There has been a large increase in funding for infrastructure in recent years. Infrastructure has become an extremely important instrument in order to develop world- class research groups and also to attract partners from trade, industry and international academic institutions.
● In the last fifteen years the Centres of Excellence have become an increasingly important instruments for Norwegian research and development.
Centers of
Excellence
Industry driven research

13. Budget development
There has been an considerable increase in money for research over the last years

14. You can see the amounts to the different sectors here

15. A broad and balanced approach to R&I
Open competitive
arena for companies in all industrial and
innovation areas
(BIA)
Open competitive
arena for all
subjects and
thematic areas
(FRIPRO)
Subject fields, thematic areas and innovation initiatives for societal and industrial challenges
Most of the money channelled through the Research Council is competitive funding and organised as programmes with calls. We arrange open competitive arenas for industry on one side and for researchers on the other side.
In addition we have some thematic areas and centre schemes.
Research and innovation will have to be designed to facilitate basic research and applied research, giving the basis for, or leading to, practical commercial application.
SkatteFUNN R&D
tax incentive scheme
Centre schemes
National research infrastructure
Basic funding

16. It’s about changing the R&D landscape of Norway through Centres of excellence…
Norwegian Centres of Excellence (SFF)
Centers for Research-based Innovation (SFI)
Centers for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME)
There are three types of centers of excellence:
● Norwegian Centres of Excellence (SFF)
● Centers for Research-based Innovation (SFI)  
● Centers for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME)
The following principles are important for alle three centre types:
● Internationalization – It is a goal of the center-scheme to attract top notch researchers from around the world and lead to more international collaboration. The centers have done well at the international level, partly because they have had the resources to be able to fund international projects, hire in senior researchers from abroad, extend invitations to guest researchers and set more substantial travel budgets for their own staff than other research groups.
● User involvement – Many of the centers have partners from both industry and public sector.
● Transdisciplinarity –More and more research shows that it is when researchers from different fields come together to work on the same challenges, that breakthroughs are achieved. Transdisciplinarity is therefor an important principle for the centres of excellence.
It has also helped to increase the level of national and interdisciplinary cooperation.
internationalization
user involvement – industry and public sector
transdisciplinarity

17. It's about international involvement…
Horizon 2020
bilateral cooperation
multilateral research programs
Research and development is becoming increasingly internationalised.
As all ambitions research nations Norway wants to increase is international research cooperation to:
-to learn from the best
-solve societal challenges
-gain access to larger markets and bigger networks
The Research Council of Norway practices internationalisation through the so-called mainstreaming principle. Mainstreaming means that internationalisation is embedded in all of the Research Councils programmes and instruments. It is not a separate funding mechanism.
● Horizon 2020 – is our main platform for international cooperation.
● Bilateral cooperation – The Research Council has developed roadmaps for cooperation with 8 prioritized countries outside Europe - USA, Canada, Japan, India, China, South Africa, Brazil, Russia).
● Multilateral research programs -

18. And for the future it will be all about …
change
cooperation
involvement
● Change - In the future Norway needs to restructure its economy. We will need to draw on our experience and technological know how renew existing industries and businesses and build new ones. To be successful we must invest heavily in more research, more innovation, more knowledge.
● Cooperation – Cooperation will be key to success. This includes international cooperation as well as cooperation between businesses, public sector, academia and general public. ● Involvement – To ensure that R&D activity is relevant it will be important in the future that businesses, the public sector, academia and the general public are involved in defining our R&D needs and goals.