Guidance

At the top of the front page of the Project Databank, users may select between two sections: View Statistics and View Projects. For users wishing to gain a deeper insight into how the service works, we recommend starting with the section for statistics. Try clicking on charts, categories and links to get underway.

Use SEARCH when you know what you are looking for

The Project Databank offers two ways to request and retrieve information: 1) search by text and 2) search according the categories used in the classification of projects (i.e. Year, Thematic Area/Topic, Ministry, Funding scheme, Organisation (institution type and institution name), County/Municipality, Application Type, and Subject Field). As you enter one or more words in the search field a box will appear, displaying relevant search results by category and suggested search text.

When performing a text search it is possible to search for word combinations and specific segments. If you wish to search for a set of specific words, type in the words separated by + to retrieve results containing all selected words. If you wish to search for results containing at least one of the words entered, type in the words separated by a space. Please note, the Boolean operators 'and' and 'or' are used in conjunction with text in quotation marks, for example “Norway” and “Sweden”, “Norway” or “Sweden”, to retrieve results containing both terms or one or the other. Combinations of words enclosed by quotation marks (".....") retrieve results containing exact matches of the search phrase.

Please note: if you wish to find figures for the amount of funding allocated by the Research Council within a specific topic, sector, subject field, funding scheme or the like, we recommend that you use the menu on the left-hand side or select View Statistics and then the 'Amount by' tab.

Navigating the View Statistics section

When you initiate your search, it will incorporate all of the Research Council’s projects available. In the menu on the left-hand side, you can narrow this down by selecting various categories such as Thematic Area/Topic, Ministry, Organisation etc.

By default, the projects found on the basis of your search criteria are displayed by year. You can find more information about the projects by clicking on the category links above the chart to display details for each category. Beneath the chart, you will find links for displaying different types of diagrams.

Clicking on the bars or rectangular elements in the respective diagrams filters your selection in the same manner as the sources/categories in the left-hand menu. All filters selected become active and are displayed between the search field and the diagram.

Category filters

Person:

A project normally involves many researchers, but only the name of the project manager is available for display in the Project Databank. The names of contact persons for EU projects are confidential and will not be displayed.

LTP Objectives and Target Areas:

Shows efforts relating to each long-term plan objective and pertaining target areas. The Research Council has divided the objectives into target areas in order to specify the efforts related to each objective. This is based on classification by Thematic Area/Topic and cannot be summed up since one project can contribute to several objectives and target areas. To see which target areas belong to which objectives, we recommend going to the view of the individual LTP objectives and the view ‘Related themes and topics’.

Portfolios

Shows efforts within the Research Council's portfolios. The Research Council invests in research and innovation through 15 portfolios to ensure the impact of research, provide advice and contribute to research and innovation policy within its area of responsibility. This is based on classification by Thematic Area/Topic and cannot be summed up since one project can contribute to several objectives and target areas.

Classification by Thematic Area/Topic:

Classification by Thematic Area/Topic mirrors the categories used in the Research Council’s formal reports to the ministries, but many of the Thematic Areas are nevertheless of general interest. A project can be classified under multiple Thematic Areas. The combined amounts displayed in connection with the project’s various Thematic Areas may exceed the actual amount of funding granted to the project. EU-funded projects are classified in the same way as Research Council projects. SkatteFUNN projects are not classified according to Thematic Area/Topic.

EXAMPLE: A project that has received a total of NOK 10 million is displayed as follows: 'Miljø' (Environment): NOK 10 million, 'Energi' (Energy): NOK 5 million, 'Grunnforskning' (Basic Research): NOK 7 million, etc.

NOTE: The Research Council first began classifying projects according to Thematic Area/Topic in 2009.

Ministry:

Which ministry has provided funding? The ministries allocate funding for the funding schemes, but not to individual projects. For the sake of simplicity, the distribution of funding from ministries to a funding scheme is also listed for the individual project under that funding scheme. This category is not relevant for projects with EU or SkatteFUNN funding.

NOTE: Ministries may change both in name and structure over time.

Subject Field:

Subject Fields comprise the traditional subjects and disciplines in higher education.

https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norsk_inndeling_av_vitenskapsdisipliner#Teknologi_(510%E2%80%91699)

The combined amounts displayed in connection with the classification by Subject Field of a project may not exceed the actual amount of funding granted to the project (unlike the category Thematic Area/Topic, see above). SkatteFUNN projects are classified according to Subject Field, EU-funded projects will start using this classification system and this will be incorporated in the Project Databank over time.

EXAMPLE: A project that has been awarded NOK 10 million in funding is displayed as follows: History: NOK 6 million, 'Samfunnsvitenskap' (Sociology): NOK 4 million.

County/Municipality:

This category is based on the address of the Project Owner and may not necessarily display where in Norway the research is or was carried out.

Funding scheme:

All projects receive funding from a specified funding scheme. The funding schemes are classified according to a hierarchy which may not be easy to understand or of relevance to some of our users. For this reason, we recommend using the search field if you know the name of the funding scheme. EU projects are linked to a specific framework programme, which, in turn, classifies activities according to programme area or sub-programme.

NOTE: A project may begin under one funding scheme and continue under another during its project period.

Organisation:

This category displays organization type and which institution/company is acting as Project Owner. Only the Project Owner is displayed in the Project Databank. Institutions collaborating on the project are not displayed.

NOTE: Because institutions and companies may change names or alter their organizational structure over time, the data may contain some inconsistencies.

Application Type:

All applications submitted to the Research Council are classified by Application Type.

NOTE: The Research Council introduced different application types in 2004. Projects initiated prior to 2004 will display 'Ingen søknadstype' (No Application Type). This category is not relevant for SkatteFUNN projects, but corresponds to 'instruments/action types' for EU-funded projects.

Partner countries:

The country of foreign partners. Based on the partner's address. The statistics show the number of projects with at least one partner from the country in question, it does not provide an overview of the number of partners from each country.

Abbreviations:

The data underlying the Project Databank originate from the administrative systems for funding schemes in the Research Council. Due to technical limitations, the names of various categories are abbreviated. Information displayed via the Project Databank will reflect this.

EXAMPLE: NORKLIMA – Klimaendr.og kons.f.Norge = NORKLIMA – Klimaendringer og konsekvenser for Norge.

Export to Excel:

When exporting data to Excel, it is possible to choose between two Display types: 'Diagram/statistics' to export the diagram itself (along with related statistics) and 'Project list' to export a list of the projects along with a selection of key information. Please note that you must indicate the number of projects you wish to include in the list.

Language requirements:

As of 2013, all projects are required to submit a popular science project presentation in Norwegian and English. Due to inconsistent use of database fields, the fields may contain errors on the Norwegian and English pages.

Projects have always been required to provide a project summary. The majority of these are presented in English. The project summary will be displayed on both the Norwegian and English project pages regardless of the language selected at the top of the page.

A popular science presentation is now required for SkatteFUNN projects as well. These are now incorporated in the Project Databank.

In case of a stalled search or if nothing is working

Click on 'PROSJEKTBANKEN' at the top of the page to return to the front page of the Project Databank. Then click the F5 button on your keyboard to clear all filters (Mac users should click on Apple-R). Start your search again.

If you have any questions, please contact us at prosjektbanken@forskningsradet.no