Project and application development

Please do not hesitate to contact forskadm@kristiania.no or the contact person assigned to your school. We will also contribute to finding relevant calls for proposals and in developing the application. We recommend gradually increasing the level of ambition, from smaller applications and feasibility studies through participation in larger projects to being a sub-project manager and eventually a coordinator for large applications.

It is important to ensure that applications are based on ongoing research activity in research groups and that they further develop research quality through collaborations with strong research communities.

Project and application development

All research should be based on the existing knowledge base or a status overview within the field of research. A project idea can be developed based on a need for information, development of a method, a hypothesis or another idea. Project ideas may arise in research groups or in dialogue with other communities and across disciplines. It is important to seek out relevant meeting venues where the status of information is discussed, research ideas arise and where new partners can be met. Partners could include other research communities, the private sector or public sector partners.

In recent years, the benefits of early user involvement in project development and implementation have received increasing attention.

Research Support will challenge applicants to place project ideas in a wider context, to utilise Kristiania’s advantages that could make us an attractive collaborative partner and to address major societal challenges, as well as having consideration for research ethics. In order to achieve high-quality research, we need to collaborate with strong research communities both nationally and internationally. The choice of method is crucial in being able to find answers and not just new questions and any lack of expertise must be supplemented through collaboration. Research communication and the social impact of research is one of Kristiania’s priority areas and will be followed up on separately.
The University College aims to expand its research activities and all applicants are encouraged to utilise the opportunities to apply for externally funded trainee positions at Kristiania University College, for example PhD, postdoc or research assistant roles.

All project applications must be supported by Kristiania University College. The Head of Faculty must be informed of all planned applications at an early stage. Research Support must be involved at an early stage and budgets must be clarified in good time. The final application or letters of intent must be signed by the Pro-Rector of R&D/AD in good time before submission.

Application development requires the use of resources from the research group, support body and the funder. Applications that are submitted should be of high quality and properly prepared. It is important that applicants contact Research Support immediately after deciding to submit an application. This will prevent wasting time for all parties later on in the process. Applications must be ready for management endorsement and submission no later than one week before the submission deadline.
A research application must fulfil a request from the funder and must be in accordance with the funder’s application template. It is important to address all allocation criteria in a manner that will clarify to the funder that the project will meet the funder’s requested needs for knowledge. Users may be included in a reference group and may help in identifying relevant research topics and needs for knowledge, as well as in identifying barriers to research and implementation and assisting in communicating and disseminating the project results.

Research Support will help applicants to view the application from the funder’s perspective and will contribute to ensuring that the various parts of the application are of high quality in terms of both content and language.
An application should clearly show the relevance of the project in a wider context. It should show the current status of information and the need for information, as well as project goals and milestones and include a specific description of the methods. It must be possible for peers to assess whether the choice of method has been thoroughly considered and whether it is suitable for providing clear answers and results. Applications should normally include a work schedule with work packages that will meet the goals and that include planned activities and timelines. The project organisation and allocation of tasks must be specified and a plan must be drawn up for scientific publishing, academic and popular scientific dissemination and for the future use of the results and anticipated social impact. The application must explain how compliance with laws and regulations will be ensured, as well as how consideration will be given to research ethics and how the project will address the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The application budget is particularly important in order to prevent subsequent challenges and Research Support will contribute to ensuring that all project costs are calculated in the most realistic manner possible. The funder’s guidelines must be followed in terms of the expenses that can be covered and any need for funding for own costs from the faculty must be supported by management from the beginning. A distinction is made between collaborative research and contract research, which corresponds to the purchase of a service by a client.