The Czech – Norwegian Research Programme

Programme Summary

Why is the programme needed? Investments in research and innovation are widely acknowledged as being a crucial driver for economic growth, for job-creation and to secure social and economic welfare. Investments in research in the Czech Republic are still below the EU average. In 2010, public research investment spending was one of the lowest in the EU. The research programme places itself within overall strategies in Europe, like Europe 2020, the Flagship for Innovation and the coming research programme of the European Union, the Horizon 2020. The programme will increase high quality research cooperation across borders, and thus contribute to objectives of the European Research Area.  What will the programme achieve? The overall objective of the Czech Research Fund is to enhance research-based knowledge development in the Czech Republic through enhanced research cooperation between the Czech Republic and Norway. The programme will fund collaborative research projects in the following areas;

• Environment
• Health
• Social Science and the Humanities

The programme will increase cooperation between research institutions in common areas of interest in the two countries, and also strengthen ties and sharing of experience between research funding institutions in the CZ republic and Norway.How will it be achieved? There will be one major call resulting in the selection of high quality research projects where cooperation between researchers in the Czech Republic and Norway is mandatory. Minimum 20 per cent of the funding/projects will be set aside to fund collaborative projects in social science and the humanities. The duration of research projects will be up to 36 months. The minimum project grant is proposed to be €100,000; the maximum amount is proposed to be €1,000,000.How will bilateral relations be strengthened? The programme will increase cooperation between research institutions in common areas of interest in two countries, and also strengthen ties and sharing of experience between researchers, research institutions and research funding organisations in the two countries.What are the partnership opportunities? All research projects will have a partner from both the Czech Republic and Norway to be eligible.Who can apply for funding? Public higher education institutions, public research institutions and other research entities can apply for funding. Small and medium-sized enterprises provided they provided they cooperate with a research organisation. Only CZ entities can apply as project promoters.