1. Purpose
The faculty’s research groups will contribute to high-quality research, to strengthened research collaboration across the faculty's departments, to good academic environments for both recruits and senior researchers at the faculty, and for networking. It is also a goal that the faculty's research groups make contributions to relevant teaching subjects.
The research groups shall contribute to the development of good applications for external funding from the faculty's researchers.
The research groups cannot compete thematically, and any academic overlap must be kept to a minimum.
The faculty aims to have 7-10 research groups at any given time.
2. Appointment and duration
The research groups are appointed by the dean for a period of five years upon application from the academic community. The dean's office sets the application deadline every five years, and the applications are discussed in a joint meeting with heads of department and heads of offices before the dean approves the appointment. In extraordinary cases, the dean may exceptionally approve the application for the establishment of research groups outside the stipulated deadlines. This presupposes that the basis for creating a research group has arisen after the ordinary deadline for applications.
3. Management of research groups
The research groups must have a clear research management, consisting of a head and possibly a deputy head. Rolling leadership can be proposed. The head of the research group must be a permanent employee at the faculty in the position of professor, associate professor or secondary education teacher with a master's degree. The head of the research group is responsible for the operation and development of the research group's activities. Among other things, this entails:
- planning the group's academic goals and initiatives
- working to promote quality and collaboration in research
- working to establish a research environment that connects senior researchers and recruiters
- working to raise the profile of the research group's activities both internally at the faculty and externally
- networking with external environments (national and/or international)
- working to contribute to teaching subjects at all levels where relevant
The head of the research group must ensure a good dialogue with the group members. At least once a year, the head of the research group shall invite the group's members to submit proposals and discuss the group's activities and use of financial funds.
The head of a research group will receive 10 hours of credit in the hourly accounts per semester. Heads who have accumulated plus-hours of more than one semester in the hour-bank may receive a cash supplement as an alternative to credits in the hourly accounts.
No one can be the head of more than one research group or subject group at the same time.
4. Membership in research groups
In order to fulfil their purpose, the research groups must have a certain size and resilience. Research groups should preferably have external members in order to realise the research groups' purpose of networking, among other things. A distinction is made between primary members and associate members. The members shall contribute to the implementation of the group's activities and plans.
The research groups must be open to anyone who wishes to be a member.
4.1 Primary Member
The creation of a research group assumes a certain number of primary members. The head of the research group is considered a primary member, and the group must also have at least five other primary members.
In order to be a primary member, you must be an academic employee in a permanent or temporary position at the faculty. Primary members are expected to make an active contribution to the research group's activities and development, including regular attendance and participation. Thus, the faculty's staff cannot be a primary member of more than two groups (research groups/subject groups) in total.
The research group must have primary members from at least two of the faculty's basic units. Exceptions to this must be justified in each case.
For primary members who become emeriti during the research group's appointment period, further status in the research group must be clarified individually, in the wake of the group's annual reporting, see paragraph 8. Primary members who leave the faculty can continue to associate members.
If the number of primary members falls below five in addition to the leader during the appointment period, the group must have a plan to secure new primary members so that the group's resilience is maintained.
4.2 Associate member
An associate member means and internal or external person who explicitly wants to be a member of a research group, but who either does not want to be a primary member or who does not meet the requirements to be a primary member. Examples of associate members are:
- academic staff at the faculty
- emeriti
- staff at the International Department at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights
- research administration
- external researchers who are not employed by the faculty or others who work in the field
Faculty employees can choose to be an associated member of as many groups as they wish.
5. Host department
As a general rule, research groups should be added to the institute where the research group leader has his/her place of work, hereinafter referred to as the host department. In the case of a rolling management structure, where the heads of the group have their workplace at different departments, the identity of the host department shall be determined through dialogue between the relevant departments, the heads of the relevant research group and the faculty. Changes to the host department must be discussed with the respective heads of department and approved by the dean.
The host department shall support the work of the research group and assist the research group with practical and administrative tasks, such as websites, accounting, research administration, organization of academic activities, etc. Support for NFR and EU/ERC applications is provided according to ordinary procedures.
The management at the host department has overall academic and administrative responsibility for the research group.
6. Financial model
The research group is awarded a base amount of NOK 80,000 per annum. The base amount can be freely used by the head of the research group within the framework and regulations at the University of Oslo and in the state. The host department follows up the financial management in cooperation with the head of the research group.
After the research group has been appointed, the group can apply to the host department to be allowed to dispose of up to NOK 500,000, in addition to the base amount, during the appointment period. The additional grant can be used as the group wishes during the appointment period, i.e. the amount can be spread over the period or the group can choose to use the entire amount together. The application to the host department must state how and when the research group wishes to use the additional funds.
Such an additional grant can be awarded on the basis of one to four main criteria:
- Work on one or more larger research applications
- Support for a major national or international conference with external actors
- Support for publishing articles and books, including open access publishing
- Support for research dissemination
The finances of the research group will be reviewed in connection with the annual accounting review between the host department and the faculty's finance section. The finance section allocates funds to the host department according to consumption at the turn of the year, limited upwards to the allocated amount. Consumption in excess of the allocated amount must be covered by the host department.
7. Application
An application for the establishment of a research group should be sent to the faculty from the academic community itself. The application must be supported by the department of the person proposed as head of the group, i.e. from what may become the host department for the research group.
The application must include a description of the topic for the research group and a justification for why organization as a research group is preferable. The application must also contain:
- an indication of the primary members and a description of what the primary members will contribute to the work of the research group
- a brief description of associate members of the group
- a description of the group's planned activities for the period
- reflection on how the group will contribute to network-building within the faculty, to collaboration and to professional development
- reflection on how the group will contribute to networking with relevant external environments
- reflection on how the group will help the group's members to prepare applications for external funding
- reflection on how the group's activity can contribute to relevant teaching subjects
8. Annual report
Before the end of each calendar year, the research group must prepare an report on the group's activity in the current year. The group shall also report on future plans in relation to the budget, including adjusted plans and requests for adjustments to the budget.
The groups must also report on the status of the group's primary members, see section 4.1. It shall also account for any changes in the research group’s management. Changes in management must be approved by the dean.
The reports must be submitted to the faculty and be reviewed by the dean. Failure to report may have consequences for further financial support. The faculty administration maintains an overall overview of the research groups' allocations and consumption.
9. Closure of research groups
Status as a research group ceases at the end of the five-year period. Furthermore, it may be appropriate to close down the research group during the appointment period if it does not have a sufficient number of primary members, due to absence of a group head, persistent lack of activity or unfulfilled plans. Prior to any closure during the appointment period, the faculty will initiate a dialogue with the head of the group and the primary members of the group, as well as with the group's host department.