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Guidelines for application categories

Guidelines for application categories
  Application categories:    PhD grant, researcher fellowship (early-career) and open project support  
  Application access:    

The Principal Investigator   (applicant) must hold a doctoral degree, have at least a 20% position at an eligible institution, and have their principal   position in the region.  
  Project duration:    3 years (100% position) or 6 years (50% position) for PhD grants and researcher fellowship (early-career).
3 years for the category open project support.  
  Funding limit:   

Annual lump sum for PhD grants and researcher fellowship (early-career) of  NOK 1440000  for 2027.

1-3 million kroner per year in the category open project support.  
  Start date:   Before 1st December 2027.  

 

Principal Investigator   - requirements 

The Principal Investigator (applicant) is responsible for the academic management of the daily operations and implementation of the project.

The Principal Investigator must have a PhD and be employed in at least a 20% position at the applicant institution from the application deadline and throughout the project period. In addition, the Principal Investigator's primary position must be at either the applicant institution or another institution in the region. The main position may be in the health sector or other sectors.

The Principal Investigator must be the principal or co-supervisor for potential PhD candidates on the project. It is assumed that the applicable guidelines for the principal and co-supervisor at the relevant university are followed.  

PhD grants

Applications for PhD grants must be submitted without a named candidate.

PhD grants must, as a general rule, have a duration of three full-time years (FTEs). It is possible to apply for funding for either a 100% position over three years or a 50% position over six years.

Doctoral grants of a shorter duration (min. one year) are only awarded if the candidate has already started his/her doctoral work without funding from other sources, or has only received internal funds from the applicant institution equivalent to up to two years . If this is the case, these funding arrangements must be explained in the project description.

The candidate must be employed and have their main physical workplace at the applicant institution for the entire project period, with the exception of any research stays abroad.  

Helse Sør-Øst RHF awards a lump sum for this category which includes salary funds, indirect costs and operational (running) funds. For 2027, the rate is NOK 1 440 000 for doctoral grants. It is not possible to apply for additional operational funds in this category.   

Helse Sør-Øst RHF does not provide support to candidates who have already  completed a doctorate, or who have received other doctoral grants from Helse Sør-Øst RHF or other funding sources in the past. The doctoral grant cannot be shared by several candidates.  

Applications for research fellowship (early-career) should be submitted without a named candidate, unless a specific research fellowship (early-career) is being sought specifically for the Principal Investigator. .

In this category, the candidate should:

  • have obtained a doctorate before commencing the research position
  • preferably be at an early stage in their research career (up to approximately seven years after the defence)
  • hold at least a 50% research position (funding can be applied for a 100% position for three years or a 50% position for six years)
  • be employed by the applicant institution and have their primary workplace there throughout the project period, except for any research stays abroad

Helse Sør-Øst RHF only finances one research fellowship (early-career) equivalent to three person-years per candidate. The research fellowship (early-career) cannot be shared among multiple candidates.

Candidates who have previously held a postdoctoral position funded by Helse Sør-Øst RHF cannot be employed in a research position funded through this category.

The project leader may apply for a research fellowship for themselves, provided that all formal requirements are met.

Helse Sør-Øst RHF allocates an annual lump sum in the research fellowship (early-career). The lump sum grant includes salary funds, indirect costs, and operational funds. For 2027, the rate is NOK 1 440 000. There is no opportunity to apply for additional operational funds.

 

Purpose

This application category is intended to facilitate funding for a larger researcher-initiated project of high scientific quality, with expected benefits for future patient treatment.

Duration and Funding

It is possible to apply for 1–3 million NOK per year for a period of up to three years.

The budget of the application must fall within this framework for each individual calendar year.

If desired, after receiving a grant for a project, i changes to position percentages and an extension of the project period of up to six years may be applied for.  

What types of funding can be applied for?

Funding can be applied for:

  • PhD and/or researcher positions
  • Other research personnel, support staff
  • Operational funds

PhD and researcher positions

The requirements for PhD grants also apply within the open project support category. This includes that PhD grants should have a duration equivalent to three full years of work, and that the names of candidates for PhD positions should not be provided in the application.

Within the open project support category, candidates employed in research positions must hold a PhD and have a position percentage of at least 20%. Names of candidates for research positions may be included in the application.

No upper limit has been set on how many years a researcher can be funded by Helse Sør-Øst RHF within the open project support category. This means that the candidate may have previously held a postdoctoral or research position funded by Helse Sør-Øst RHF.

The Principal Investigator may apply for funding for their own research position, provided that all formal requirements are met.

PhDs and researchers funded by Helse Sør-Øst RHF must be employed at the applicant institution and have their primary workplace there throughout the project period.

Other research personnel and support staff

Funding can be applied for to finance other research and support personnel in the project, such as technical staff and research nurses. The need for these positions and their role in the project must be explained in the project description.

All individuals in positions funded by Helse Sør-Øst RHF on the project must be employed at the applicant institution.


Operational funds

Funding can be applied for necessary operational costs for the implementation of the project. This may include:

  • analyses, database solutions, and monitoring
  • minor equipment (up to 300,000 Norwegian kroner in total for the entire project period)
  • publication costs (up to 50,000 Norwegian kroner per year)
  • user involvement
  • ICT access

If the project involves patient recruitment, compensation per recruited patient can be applied for. It must be explained which cost elements are included in the calculation (for example, study nurses and laboratory equipment), and whether patients will be recruited from other health enterprises/hospitals in Helse Sør-Øst than the applicant institution.

Necessary research services can be purchased externally on an hourly basis. Such costs must be made visible in the budget and explained in the application.

It is not possible to apply for:

  • funding for research activities or buyouts/salaries for individuals in other sectors (the higher education sector and the institute sector), in other health regions, or abroad
  • compensation for recruitment costs per patient outside the health region of Helse Sør-Øst. Exceptions may be made if the patient base in the region is particularly low. This must be justified in the project description.
  • purchase of ordinary research support services on an hourly basis to an extent that exceeds a 20% position (i.e., more than 30 hours per month) from institutions that are not eligible to apply. This applies to the total extent of the service, regardless of whether it is shared among several individuals.
  • other remuneration for the project leader or compensation for supervising scholarship holders.
  • support for events

Budget

All applications for open project support must have a complete budget. Funding can only be applied for actual costs that are necessary for the implementation of the project.

The application form must include a detailed budget within an annual framework of 1-3 million Norwegian kroner. The budget should show how costs are distributed across different cost types during the project period. Detailed information about each cost element must be provided.

For each position included in the project, the job title, position percentage, duration, and actual salary costs must be specified (there are no lump sums for PhD and researcher positions in this category).

Costs related to the purchase of necessary external research services on an hourly basis must be made visible in the budget. The need for these costs must be justified in the project description.

The total budget of the project must also be made visible in the project description. It should be clearly stated what Helse Sør-Øst RHF's contribution is, and what may be covered by other funding sources.

The budget forms part of the academic assessment of the application.

Note! For technical reasons, the budget must be distributed across the calendar years 2027, 2028, and 2029, regardless of the project's start date.

It is assumed that ordinary costs related to the operation of laboratories, offices/workspaces, and administration are included in the calculations of indirect costs (contribution margin) for positions in the project. Therefore, it is not permitted to specifically allocate these elements in the budget.

 

 

Mandatory Attachments

The table below shows an overview of all mandatory attachments. Templates for the attachments can be downloaded via the links below:  

The application and attachments must be in English. Norwegian can only be used when the templates are in Norwegian. . 

All documents must be converted to PDF format before uploading in eSøknad. The project description should be uploaded as a separate PDF file, while all other attachments should be compiled into one PDF file. Only the mandatory attachments may be submitted. Additional attachments will not be considered.  

 

Formal requirements 

Project description

The template from Helse Sør-Øst RHF is mandatory.

The project description must be written in English and be a maximum of 10 pages, including figures, tables, and reference list. Only one column should be used in the project description. The reference list may, if appropriate, be formatted in two columns.

Formatting requirements: A4 format, minimum 2 cm margins, single line spacing, and font Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri 11 pt, or equivalent. For references and tables, 9 pt may be used. 

It is not permitted to refer to publication lists via links. 

CV
Each CV must be a maximum of 2 pages and written in English. 

The template from Helse Sør-Øst RHF is not mandatory. However, if another template is used, it must contain equivalent information, including the Principal Investigator's position percentage at the applicant institution.

Formatting requirements for CV: Font Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri 11 pt, or equivalent. 

Publication lists

Each publication list must be a maximum of 3 pages and only include relevant publications. Original articles should be listed before any other types of scientific publications. 

Formatting requirements for publication list: Font Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri 11 pt, or equivalent. 

 

Mandatory attachments and formatting requirements (cf. section above)
Project description  

The project description must be written in English and be a maximum of 10 pages including figures, tables, and reference list.

The template from Helse Sør-Øst RHF must be used.
CV for Principal Investigator and any main supervisor  

The Principal Investigator's CV must be attached.

If the project includes a PhD grant, the main supervisor's CV must also be attached if the Principal Investigator is not the main supervisor. 

In applications for open project support, CVs for up to 2 other key scientific collaborators in the project may also be attached.

Each CV must be written in English and be a maximum of two pages.
Publication list for Principal Investigator and any main supervisor  

The Principal Investigator's publication list must be attached.

If the project includes a PhD grant, the main supervisor's publication list must also be attached if the project leader is not the main supervisor. 

In applications for open project support, publication lists for up to 2 other key scientific collaborators in the project may also be attached. 

Each publication list may be up to three pages.

The publication list must be attached as a separate document. It is not permitted to refer to publication lists via links. 

Letter of intent for collaboration - external Principal Investigator

Please note that it is not possible to be an external Principal Investigator at all non-university hospitals in the region. See requirements for Principal Investigator

If the Principal Investigator is employed at another eligible institution in the region other than the applicant institution (external project leader), a letter of intent for collaboration must be attached.

Note that this arrangement only applies to doctoral and research scholarships.   
Confirmation of transfer of Principal Investigator responsibility   If the Principal Investigator turns 72 during the project period, a confirmation from the applicant institution must be attached stating that the project manager responsibility for the project will be transferred to another person when this occurs.  

 

Last updated 6/4/2026