Committees from various funding sources (Research Council of Norway, Norwegian Cancer Society, etc.) have spent the autumn analyzing applications and CVs to seal out the around ten percent they think should be funded. The results from the Research Council of Norway’s program FRIMEDBIO show that the new committee established during summer 2017 has not found research at K2 worthy of being funded. In reality, success rates were poor from the Research Council of Norway this year.

So, what about getting on the other side of the fence? For the Research Council of Norway, you need to be invited to sit in the committee, but EU’s Horizon2020 program encourages researchers to register in the expert database. They are looking for two things: high expertise in relevant research field, and that you are available for random short-term assignments. The European Commission considers several factors when choosing evaluators for a call. In addition to scientific qualifications, gender and geographical spread are important factors.

There are many advantages of being an evaluator. You will get direct insight into the process and gain experience with the evaluation process. You will get the opportunity to read several proposals, both good and bad, and will learn which level is expected and what to avoid. This experience is useful when writing proposals for national announcements, which, to an ever-increasing degree, copy EU announcements.

Instead of providing you with a detailed description of the registration process, I have reserved 19 December and 10 January to assist you. You are welcome to come by my office, or invite me over.

Amra