“While we still don’t have the final overview, as we may also be in funded projects lead by other partners, 2022 results for the NVI coordinated projects is a true achievement of our researchers, with a funding rate of 52 % of the total budget we requested to RCN over seven funded projects out of the 12 applications we submitted”, says Carlos das Neves, Director for Research and Internationalisation.
The Norwegian Veterinary Institute runs each year an internal process of selection of possible projects for submission. For the RCN 2022 calls, 24 concepts were received, and after internal discussions and evaluations 17 of these were approved to move forward, of which 12 made it to full submission.
“The number of submissions has reduced from 2021 to 2022, which reflects perhaps a lower number of relevant calls for us this year especially in aquatic topics unfortunately, but also a more “efficient” internal process of selection with the help of scientists and leaders at NVI” says Carlos das Neves.
“Despite this reduction in submissions we were able to increase our funding from 44 to 46 million NOK, which is a good sign that our joint efforts to prioritize and improve the quality of our applications is paying off” added Carlos.
The Norwegian Veterinary Institute submitted applications in seven different programmes and was able to secure projects in all but one of these calls. Funded projects (see table below) are diverse ranging for example from antimicrobial resistance in a One Health perspective in developing countries to transforming raw materials into feed sources by detoxification of insect larvae. Worth mentioning also the approval of a project on Chronic Wasting Disease under the highly competitive FRIPRO programme, which this year funded only 82 out of more than 1500 submitted applications (approx. 5.3 % approval rate).
“2022 results confirms the incredible breadth of competence and working topics we have at the NVI. This diversified societal mission spanning from plants to animals and humans, from oceans to mountain ecosystems, and from Norway all the way to Tanzania, shows well how important is the work our scientists do on a daily basis to ensure a more sustainable planet”, refers Carlos das Neves.
He concludes “on behalf of our institute I want to congratulate all who contributed to this year’s process. Of course a special congratulation to those who received funding, but an equal big thank you to all those who submitted and led applications, and to the many who from the back stage helped along this process, including communication and administrative staff, as well as section and department leaders. This really was a team effort… and it has decisively paid off”.
