2019-04-26

Invitation for e-Infrastructure Collaboration

Purpose of the call

Nordic e-Infrastructure Collaboration (NeIC) invites consortia consisting of e-infrastructure providers, developers, researchers and related communities around the Nordic region to propose collaboration projects within e-infrastructure (digital infrastructure) of joint Nordic interest. The proposals may also be initiated by the NeIC Provider Forum. The proposed collaboration may include development of e-infrastructure solutions supporting open science or exploring new technologies, sharing knowledge or offering training to improve the use of current and future e-infrastructure capabilities.

Eligibility to apply

Participation from at least three countries, of which one can be other than a Nordic country or Estonia, is required. The proposed collaboration project may include partners from beyond the Nordic region. Current NeIC project consortia may apply if their current project ends no later than in the first half of 2020.

Available funding

NeIC’s current funding situation suggests allowing for starting one development project per year from 2020, plus possibly a few pre-studies. Projects are developed in collaboration with researchers and national institutions from participating countries on a cost-sharing basis (see section NeIC collaboration models). NeIC will initiate contract negotiations contacting the successful proposers regarding further details regarding budgets and contract shortly after the decision has been taken. The available funding for new projects is expected to increase in future years and a secondary aim for the call is to gather background information for future calls, fundraising and long-term planning.

NeIC collaboration models

Development project

Typical provider-oriented development projects aim at developing services for a wide range of research problems and the typical project team consists of service providers. A typical community-oriented development project aims at developing e-infrastructure services targeted for one or more significant area of science. The development project proposed may contain elements of both provider-oriented and community-oriented development projects. In the preparation of the development project plan, the proposers should also consider how the anticipated services and/or gained competences would be sustained after the completion of the project.

A typical development project could have a duration of up to three years with a budget covering a project manager at 50% FTE fully funded by NeIC, 4 FTEs funded 50/50% by NeIC and partners and some additional travel/meeting expenses.

The proposers are required to submit letters of commitment from the management of the partner organisations as part of the proposal.

NeIC applies Tieto PPS model for the project steering. The project manager is generally appointed by NeIC.

Community-forming pre-study

The pre-study could aim to Nordic teams-in-formation to explore synergies of common e-infrastructure solutions and the potential to scope a future development project. A typical pre-study could have a duration of 6-12 months and a budget of 200,000 NOK to cover meeting costs and coordination. The funding will be given to the partner who coordinates the pre-study. The pre-study could start during the fall 2019.

How to apply

Proposers must submit their proposal electronically through the NordForsk application portal no later than 12 June 2019 at 13:00 CEST. Direct links to both application pages are below.

Development project
Pre-study

Guidelines for proposing a collaboration project

Guidelines are also available in the NordForsk application portal.

Development project

Further information and contacts

For more information about the collaborative work that NeIC facilitates or the open invitation process, please do not hesitate to contact us: neic-helpdesk@neic.no.

Technical support

For technical support with the application portal, contact support@nordforsk.org.

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