Does a proposed project have to be internationally leading or can the aim be to bring Denmark up to par?
- Scientific quality and impact is included as one of the four evaluation criteria. Therefore, this criterion will influence the assessment of each proposal.
What does the DeiC declaration mean in terms of which infrastructure that can receive funding?
- National access to computing and storage can be provided via the Danish e-infrastructure Consortium (DeiC) or can be covered by the institutional capacity within the partnership.
- Danish universities and The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science collaborates on digital research infrastructures at national level through DeiC, and therefore as a general rule, proposers cannot include new investments in high performance computing (HPC) and data storage in the budget.
- If, however the current infrastructure provided through DeiC cannot provide the needed capacity for computing and storage, the proposer can exceptionally include new investments in high performance computing (HPC) and data storage in the budget (either applied for or as co-funding). This requires a letter from the Director of DeiC stating that the needs fall outside DeiC’s technical capacity. Requests for such a letter with the draft proposal enclosed should be sent to DeiC at sekretariat@deic.dk no later than 20 September 2024.
What are the co-funding requirements?
- The research institutions of a given proposal must commit in total to co-finance at least 50 pct. of the construction/establishment of the research infrastructure and 100 pct. of the operation of the research infrastructure for a period of at least an additional five years from finished construction/establishment.
- The Roadmap provides a grant period of 5 years and, in special cases, a grant period of 10 years.
- Any investments made before a given grant period cannot be included as co-financing for a given proposal.
- State funding to research and knowledge dissemination organisations (research organisations) and research infrastructures can in certain circumstances constitute State aid, cf. article 107(1) in the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Are there any cases where housing and rental costs can be included as co-financing?
On a general level the following can be stated:
- Construction costs for an existing building cannot be included in the budget/as co-financing.
- Costs for renovation of or changes to an existing building that are directly related to and necessary for the proposed research infrastructure may be included.
- Costs for construction of a new building, provided that it is directly related to and necessary for the proposed research infrastructure, may also be included.
Furthermore, the investments must be concurrent, meaning that the expenses must occur within the grant period. In the call text it is stated that “Costs that incur either before or after the expected project period of a grant” cannot be included in the budget. This means that if the funds are to be used at a different time than during the grant period, they cannot be included in the budget.
If only part of the existing/new building is used for the research infrastructure while the rest is used for other purposes, then only the costs corresponding to the portion used for research infrastructure should be included – i.e., the costs should be proportionate.
In general, It is difficult to provide a definitive answer regarding what can be included as co-financing for a research infrastructure proposal without knowing the specific details of the proposal. Ultimately, this will be a case-by-case assessment.
Can external funding (e.g. private funding) be included as co-financing?
- In the call text it is stated that “Costs that incur either before or after the expected project period of a grant” cannot be included in the budget. This means that if the funds are to be used at a different time than during the grant period, they cannot be included in the budget. In general, funds from private foundations can be part of the co-financing if the funds are used for the construction/establishment of the proposed research infrastructure, but there must be a time-based alignment with the grant period.
- When allocating funds, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science is obligated to comply with the applicable state aid rules.
Read more about state aid rules on the Ministry’s website:
Can an existing consortium apply for additional funding for a given research infrastructure if the proposal is already on a previous roadmap for research infrastructure by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science (2011, 2015 or 2020)?
- Grants from Roadmap for Research Infrastructure 2025 can be allocated to the construction and establishment of new national research infrastructures as well as significant upgrades of existing national research infrastructures.
Can funds from the Roadmap be allocated for a Danish membership of an ERIC?
- Support for a Danish membership of an ERIC can only be provided if the proposal contains construction of new research infrastructure or significant upgrades to existing research infrastructure and if the proposal has been selected to be included in the roadmap based on the roadmap’s evaluation criteria.
- Funding of a membership of an ERIC can only be provided within the 5-year grant period, and in special cases, the 10 years grant period.
- After the grant period, the institutions must secure their own funding if the consortium wishes to continue the ERIC membership.