The application deadline is Thursday, 3rd September 2026 at 16:00
Please note that Helse Sør-Øst RHF has now introduced a total limit of 480 applications across all applicant institutions.
Application categories
For 2027, research funding is available within the following categories:
- PhD fellowship
- Researcher fellowship (early-career)
- Open project support
See the guidelines and an overview of mandatory attachments for applications in all categories.
Who can apply?
The Principal Investigator must hold a PhD and be employed in at least a 20% position at the applicant institution from the application deadline and throughout the entire project period. In addition, the Principal Investigator's main position must be at either the applicant institution or another institution in the Helse Sør-Øst health region.
Please note: Each Principal Investigator may submit only one application under this call.
Helse Sør-Øst RHF has set an upper annual funding limit per Principal Investigator. This limit is NOK 4.5 million for 2027 and includes both ongoing and new research projects, regardless of application category.
Please refer to the requirements for the Principal Investigator and the list of approved applicant institutions for further information.
Selection of subject area
The application must be submitted electronically via the web-based system eSøknad. In the application form, you must classify the application in one of the following subject areas:
- Clinical research in mental health and substance abuse/addiction
- Research in public health, epidemiology, health services etc.
- Clinical somatic research
- Clinical somatic research, including treatment research
- Health and biomedical informatics
- Biomedical research with a translational perspective
- Experimental medical research
- Translational research and precision medicine
The review panels are structured to reflect the thematic profile of each subject area.
Correct classification is therefore essential for both the application process and the allocation of applications to panel members.
Please note that there are subgroups within the subject areas for clinical somatic research and biomedical research with a translational perspective. These may be merged if the number of applications in one group is low.
The Principal Investigator is responsible for classifying the application in the correct subject area. The administration of Helse Sør-Øst RHF cannot assist with reclassification after the application deadline has passed.
See the description of the composition of each subject group.
Targeted research funds to thematic areas
The Board of Helse Sør-Øst RHF has allocated up to NOK 10 million of the call budget to research projects within two thematic areas:
- Quality improvement and patient safety
- Digitalisation
Please see the guidelines and description of the prioritised areas.
Strategic allocation to non-university hospitals
The Board of Helse Sør-Øst RHF has allocated up to NOK 6 million to strategic research funding to non-university hospitals in the region. The funding is included in this call for proposals.
Please see the guidelines for the strategic research funding for non-university hospitals.
Requirements for the application format
The application must be complete and comply with all the requirements set out in the call for proposals. We draw particular attention to the following:
- The Principal Investigator must meet all formal requirements.
- The application must include all mandatory attachments.
- All attachments must comply with the specified page limits.
- The budget must be prepared in accordance with the guidelines for the relevant application category.
- User involvement in the project must be described, or a justification must be provided if this is not relevant.
Applications that do not comply with all the guidelines and requirements in the announcement may be rejected. See the overview of possible reasons for rejection.
Application form
Create an application for research funding.
Application review
The applications are assessed by members of international expert panels according to criteria for scientific quality and expected benefit for patient treatment and specialist health services.
See a description of the application review process for regional research funding in Helse Sør-Øst RHF.
Frequently asked questions and contact information
Under frequently asked questions you will find answers to many of the most frequent questions regarding applications for research funding. If you have further questions, please contact us via email: forskningsmidler@helse-sorost.no
If necessary, please contact:
Berit Merete Øien, tlf. 974 00 284
Randi Vad. tlf. 936 18 028
In the event of any discrepancies between the Norwegian and English versions of the tender documents, the Norwegian version will take precedence.