DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (DST)

and

RESEARCH COUNCIL OF NORWAY (RCN)

CALL FOR PROPOSALS on Indian - Norwegian researcher projects on
nanotechnology, microtechnology and advanced materials (2018/2019)
Last date for submission of proposals:
For Norwegian applicants: 13 February 2019
For Indian applicants: 22 February 2019

Guidelines and important considerations relevant to all types of

applications in this call for proposals:

Under the Agreement of Cooperation in Science & Technology concluded between the Government
of India and the Government of Norway, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the
Government of India and the Research Council of Norway (RCN) have started a program for joint
funding of Indo-Norwegian joint research projects in mutually agreed fields to achieve world-class
scientific results.

DST and RCN invite Indian and Norwegian research institutions to submit research proposals
within the thematic areas listed below.

Objective of this call for proposals:

The objective of this call is to strengthen Indian – Norwegian research collaboration in bilaterally
funded researcher projects. Further strengthening of on-going research collaboration is highly
relevant and encouraged. Grant applications should also contribute significantly to added value of
joint research activities within nanotechnology, microtechnology and advanced materials and be of
relevance to one or more of the following application areas:

• renewable energy;
• environment and climate;
• improving health and promoting new medical technology;
• increased value creation and innovation based on natural resources of importance in both
India and Norway;
• greater insight into the impacts of nanomaterials on human health and ecosystems.

The research projects should benefit long-term cooperation between the partners and the two
countries.

The projects must adhere to principles of responsible research and innovation (RRI) and be based
on ethical, cultural, health-oriented and environmental perspectives to the benefit of society and
the individual.

Joint proposals must be developed in cooperation between Principal Investigators (PIs)

representing a research institution in Norway and a research institution in India.
 Amount of funding presumed available for this call for proposals:

Funding of up to NOK 30 million (3,1 mill Euro) is available to the Norwegian participation of the
bilateral projects. An activity matching funding is available from the Department of Science and
Technology (DST) to the Indian participation of the bilateral projects.

Project duration: 3 years.

The financial support from DST shall be available for mobility (up to 2 visits per year from each
side with sending side provides international travel-related expenses while the receiving side
provides the local hospitality as per their national norms) of project participants; one manpower ie
JRF/SRF, RA etc; minor equipment (accessories) and chemicals / consumables/ contingency.

Prerequisites for funding

Each proposal shall have one Norwegian and one Indian Principal Investigator (PI). Norwegian PIs
must submit the proposal to the Research Council of Norway. Indian PIs must submit the proposal
to the Department of Science and Technology in India. The proposals should be identified with a
common short name/acronym, and a common project description.

Requirements for the Indo-Norwegian call that shall be described in the project description:
 Relevance to the call
 Planned activities according to a timeline, and organised into well-defined work packages with
corresponding responsibility
 Research methodology
 Milestones that can be used to easily follow the progress of the project
 Management structure and partner roles/responsibilities.
 Budget, cost plan and funding plan should only be entered to the respective national funding
agencies. Norwegian partners must include this information in the electronic grant application
form.
 Impact the results of the project will have for the users, the research field and society at
large.
 Dissemination plan – for Norwegian applicants this is to be included in the electronic grant
application form.

Proposals for funding from the DST must be submitted according to the rules and regulations of the DST.

Requirements and criteria for this type of

application:
Application requirements

 Grant applications, including all attachments, must be submitted in English.

 All attachments must be uploaded in PDF format.
 Grant applications must satisfy the general application requirements and the requirements
for Researcher Projects.

Evaluation criteria:

 Scientific merit
 Project management and the Project group
 Implementation plan and resource parameters
 Dissemination and communication of results
 Relevance to the call
 Overall mark of the proposal
 Specification of the evaluation criteria "Relevance to the call"
 Indo-Norwegian cooperation: Consideration to how applications presents a balanced and
strong consortium, level of integration of partners and distribution of research tasks and
responsibilities as well as project organisation.
 Responsible research and innovation (RRI): Consideration to whether applications take
adequate account of ethical, cultural, health-oriented and environmental perspectives to the
benefit of society and the individual.

Application requirements in addition to the application requirements for Researcher projects:

Mandatory attachments
 A project description of maximum 10 pages. Norwegian applicants must use the designated
template at Annexure. The proposals submitted to the respective national funding agencies
must include the same information, with an identical short name/acronym for the project title.
 A CV for the project manager and key personnel in the project (maximum four pages pr CV)

The page format must be A4 with 2 cm margins, single spacing and Arial, Cambria or Times
New Roman 11-point font. It is permitted to use 9-point font for the list of references and
figure text in the project description.

 The commitment from the partners shall be clear in the joint application. Therefore, letters of
confirmation from partners are not asked for.

Links to websites and documents, as well as other attachments than those specified above, will not
be included in the application review process.
Grant applications that do not satisfy the above requirements will be rejected.

Additional information

Collaboration agreement
A consortium agreement detailing the obligations of each partner must be drawn up before the
contract with the Research Council Norway enters into force. Read more about Collaboration
agreements here

The Bilateral agreement of Science and Technology between India and Norway has stipulated the
following provisions for local hospitality between the partners:

 Norwegian scientists visiting India shall be paid an amount of INR 2500, -per day towards
food and out of pocket allowances, or as agreed in contract negotiations for each project plus
fully furnished guest house accommodation on actual cost at the host Institute. In case a
suitable guest house accommodation is not available at host institute, accommodation would
be arranged by the host institute in a suitable hotel/guest house subject to max charges of
INR 4000,- per day.
 Indian scientists visiting Norway on short term basis shall be provided an amount of NOK
460,- per day and 13 800,- per month on a long term visit towards food and out of pocket
allowances, or as agreed in contract negotiations for each project
 For short term visits the maximum payment shall not exceed the total per diem for 20 days
 Free furnished accommodation in a guest house or a hotel with reasonable amenities and
facilities shall be provided
 Transport to and from the airport for visiting scientists shall be arranged. In case of senior
scientists (in the rank of director or above), transport shall be provided for all official
engagements.

Administrative procedures:
Grant proposals will be assessed separately according to the rules of procedure in each country.

Grant proposals submitted to the present call for proposals from the The Research Council of
Norway, will be assessed by an international referee panel.

The Department of Science and Technology and the Research Council of Norway will implement a
joint decision-making procedure to determine the outcome of the call. Projects must receive a high
assessment score in both countries to be funded. Importance will be attached to achieving a
balanced project portfolio that reflects the full spectrum of the stipulated research challenges. The
selected projects will receive funding from the Department of Science and Technology and the
Research Council of Norway, respectively.

Anticipated date for notification of results of application process:

The final decision on grant allocations is planned to be taken during August 2019. The outcome will
be published by the Research Council and DST and applicants will be notified individually as soon
as possible.

Proposal Submission

Each proposal should have one Norwegian and one Indian Principal Investigator (PI). Norwegian
PIs must submit the proposal to the RCN electronically using the My RCN Web.

For Indian applicants may use the Application given at Annexure. The application should include
a jointly formulated and identical copy of the project description, including acronym, submitted to
the RCN by the Norwegian partner. Only one original hard copy of the completed application (by
post through proper channels) at the following address. Soft copy in a single soft file (do not
include any scan page in the soft copy as signatures are not required in softcopy of the proposal)
in ms-word or pdf format as email attachment are required to be submitted. However, only the
hard copy of the applications received before the due date will be accepted. DST does not hold any
responsibility of not receiving the proposal due to postal delays etc. Incomplete applications will be
rejected. Proposals by hand at DST are also not accepted.

Contact at DST:

Dr. Chadaram Sivaji, Scientist-F

International Bilateral Cooperation Division

Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India

Technology Bhawan, New Mehrauli Road,New Delhi 110 016 India

Phone: +91-11-26590489; Email: [email protected]

For Norwegian applicants, application as per the procedure indicated above be submitted to
RCN via the RCN electronic application system (www.rcn.no for guidelines).

Contact Persons in Norway:Contact persons at RCN are Merethe Sandberg Moe ([email protected],
+4722037159) and Aase Marie Hundere ([email protected]+47 41 42 20 58).

Last date for submission of proposals:

For Norwegian applicants (to RCN): 13 February 2019
For Indian applicants (to DST): 22 February 2019
 Annexure

APPLICATION FORM

PART 1: General information

1. Title of the project:

2. (Subject Area, as specified in the announcement)

3. Contact details / Address of the project leaders:

Indian project leader Norwegian Project leader

Name & Designation

Department & Institute/

University (address)

Telephone (Work)

Telephone (Residence)

Fax No.

Email ID

4. Other participants in the project:

Indian side Norwegian side

 INSTITUTIONS ENDORSEMENT

Certified that –
i) The project participants involved in the project as mentioned above
are affiliated to the Institute/ University.
ii) All information provided in the project proposal is correct; and
iii) the necessary facilities including scientific equipments etc for
implementation of the project are available in the Institution and all
necessary administrative support will be extended to the project

Signatures of the Indian PI Signatures of the Norwegian PI

Signatures of the Head of Indian Signatures of the Head of Norwegian

Institution with seal Institution with seal
PART-II

1. Project title
2. Scientific objectives
3. Current state of the research/ technology of the topic
4. Proposed activities including methodology of the proposed research work
5. Preliminary activities by the Indian side
6. Preliminary activities by the Norwegian side
7. Detailed description of the Indo- Norwegian co-operation
(Justification/ Rationale for collaboration)

7. Compatibility of intensions of both sides with regard to individual components

of the project, working method etc

8. Expected results and dissemination plan

(Describe in detail the expected outcomes of the proposed activities and

outline potential follow-on interactions between the involved
institutes/institutions. If applicable, explain how you will disseminate your
findings to key stakeholders and community and address potential for
knowledge transfer to industry)

9. List of milestones

(Outline major milestones of your project on a time-scale of months and list

the activities that will be required in order to achieve the milestone)

10. Ethical, safety and regulatory issues

(Does your proposed work raise ethical, safety or regulatory issues? If yes, how
will you deal with it? Clearly indicate)

11. List of the five most important publications of the project participants, which
have a bearing on the project (please do not send copies of the publications
themselves or lists detailing all publications of the group)

PART-III Budget requirement:

A. Indian side (In Rupee only)

i. Visit of Indian scientists to Norway

Name of Indian Tentative dates of proposed visit and Anticipated budget estimates for international travel
Scientists visiting duration of stay in Norway (including domestic travel in connection with the
Norway international travel, visa fees, medical insurance, etc)
Please indicate break-up for each head
1.
2.

3.

4.

ii. Visit of Norwegian scientists to India

Name of Norwegian Tentative dates of proposed Per-diem charges @ Rs. 2500/- Accommodation charges @
Scientists visiting India visit and duration of stay in per day Rs. ______ per day
India
1.

2.

3.

4.

iii. . Other project costs:

Item Details ie name, number, Budget Budget requirement Budget requirement
quantity etc requirement
(2nd year) (3rd year)
(1styear )
Scientific manpower

Spare parts /
Consumables

Contingency etc

NOTE: The total project cost (ie A(i), A(ii) and A(iii) must not exceed Rs. 50 Lac)
 B. Norwegian side (In Norwegian currency only)

i. Visit of German scientists to India

Name of Indian Tentative dates of proposed visit and Anticipated budget estimates for international travel
Scientists visiting duration of stay in Norway (including domestic travel in connection with the
Norway international travel, visa fees, medical insurance, etc)
Please indicate break-up for each head
1.

2.

3.

4.

i. Visit of Indian scientists to Norway

Name of Norwegian Tentative dates of proposed Per-diem charges as per the Remarks
Scientists visiting India visit and duration of stay in norms indicated above
India
1.
2.
3.
4.

iii. Other project costs:

Item Details ie name, Budget requirement Budget requirement Budget requirement
number, quantity etc
(1styear ) (2nd year) (3rd year)
Scientific manpower

Spare parts /
Consumables
Contingency etc

PART-IV (For Indian partners only)

1. List of on-going/completed research projects with the Indian project participant(s):

Title of the Brief description Duration with dates of Funding available
project commencement and and source of funds
completion of the
project

2. Infrastructure available/required to implement the project:

Facilities List of items required for the If not available presently, how it is
project proposed to be
procured/recruited. Please
indicate the source of funding

Equipment

Manpower

Consumables and
Contingencies

3. Does the project involve (i) Biological Material Transfer / Use of GMOs /
Radioactive materials; (ii) Human / animal trials?
(If yes, submit necessary clearance of nodal agency / department of
GoIin this regard)

4. Is the collaborative proposal involves IPR related issues?

(If yes, the partners need to submit the IPR sharing agreement by the
collaborating institutes before sanction of the project by DST and RCN.

5. Please mention Name/Address/Contact details including email address/

area of specialization of 3 possible peer-reviewers.